'La Natividad' takes Christmas story to Minneapolis streets

A bridge over the Midtown Greenway in south Minneapolis might be the last place you'd expect to find King Herod.

Yet there he was, shouting threats and waving a huge puppet hand, blocking the path of pregnant Maria and her husband, José, astride an outsized donkey powered by six human legs.

But the awestruck children holding candles in paper cups as they stared at bombastic Herod weren't trembling in their snow boots. They knew it was all part of "La Natividad," an imaginative street-theater version of the Christmas story put on by In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (HOBT) and St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church.

In this culturally diverse pocket at Lake Street and 15th Avenue S. that is home to many Latinos, the bilingual English/Spanish show moves among several locations, including the Plaza Verde minimall and Las Mojarras Restaurant. A short walk up 15th — safely blocked off by police cars — ends at St. Paul's for a musical finale and fiesta with hot soup and snacks.

"I like to say we perform the show in the landscape of real life," said HOBT artistic director Sandy Spieler, who presides over all like a benevolent new-age Mother Superior. Spieler recently won a prestigious McKnight Distinguished Artist Award for her 40 years of creative work.

A cast of 80 mostly volunteer actors and musicians, many of them church congregants or community residents, includes an angel choir enthusiastically led by music director Laurie Witzkowski, shepherds, the three kings, animals of the manger and children dressed as stars, cherubic angels and birds. As is the case with HOBT's beloved May Day parade, it's the giant puppets — in this show that includes the three wise men and a crescent moon — and expressive masks that draw the most oohs and aahs.

"La Natividad" is partly inspired by the Mexican tradition of Las Posadas, a series of evening processions featuring candles and carol singing on each of the nine nights preceding Christmas.

Emiliano Gomez, 8, is already an old pro. At 1 month old, he played the first baby Jesus, and has since portrayed a star, a bird, a candle bearer and a neighbor.

His mother, Lizete Vega, still plays Maria; his father, Delfino Gomez, has played José in the past, and sister Belem also participates in the show.

"I like how the audience gets to move around with us, too," said Belem Gomez. "It makes them happy to be part of it."

"They become part of the story, which is much more powerful," Cabello-Hansel said. "The final scene, where everyone is welcomed to come in out of the cold, is just like Mary and Joseph coming into the manger."

The struggles faced by immigrants seeking new lives echo the discrimination Mary and Joseph encountered, Spieler said.

On top of the symbolism and interactivity, the play has occasional elements of unpredictability.

When marching to the church, cast members knock on the door of an actual home, only to be told by its occupant that there's no room at her inn. During last Thursday's opening night, however, the neighbor decided to burst into song herself, perhaps thinking this might be her "America's Got Talent" moment.

Along with the May Day celebration, "La Natividad" serves as a reminder to the community at large of In the Heart of the Beast's importance to the inner-city social fabric.

This year's show is bittersweet for the HOBT staff and board. Despite being one of the most highly regarded puppet theaters in the country, it has struggled with financial woes for several years and recently had to lay off workers and shut down temporarily.

While its educational programs continue to be funded and May Day is scheduled to go on as usual in 2015, there are no other productions planned.

Spieler was in the parking lot of the Lake Street Target store when Cabello-Hansel ran up, introduced himself and told her that he and his wife, Luisa, had just become ministers at St. Paul's.

"He said he didn't know me, but had walked as the back end of a buffalo puppet in a show I did in Washington, D.C., and he'd really like to work with us," she recalled.

They brainstormed on how best to present a Christmas show for a blended congregation of English and Spanish speakers.

"Suddenly it was, Eureka! Let's take it to the streets," Spieler said.

Although attendees are cautioned to wear walking shoes and dress to be outdoors for a good 20 minutes or so, last weekend's relative balminess made the immersive experience even more pleasant.

Kristin Tillotson • 612-673-7046