The Hill Cumorah Pageant was an annual production of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...
(LDS Church) staged at the foot of the
Hill Cumorah
Cumorah (; also known as Mormon Hill,A. P. Kesler"Mormon Hill" ''Young Woman's Journal'', 9:73 (February 1898)."Thomas Cook History, 1930", in Dan Vogel ed. (2000). ''Early Mormon Documents'', vol. 3 (Salt Lake City: Signature Books ) pp. 243– ...
in
Palmyra, New York. Premiering in 1937, it was considered to be the flagship
pageant of the LDS Church.
It depicted
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...
's encounter with the
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates (also called the gold plates or in some 19th-century literature, the golden bible) are the source from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith. Some acco ...
(translated into English as the
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...
), as well as a dramatization of the events recorded therein. The pageant featured more than 700 cast members, 1,300 costumes, and a 10-level stage. It ran for seven nights in late July and attracts approximately 35,000 viewers annually. No donations were accepted and no tickets were required, although seating is first-come, first-served.
The Pageant was performed for the last time in 2019; the LDS Church announced plans to discontinue the event after 2020 due to new directives discouraging large-scale pageants. The final performance was postponed to 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, but was later canceled in full.
History
The pageant traces its roots back to the early 1920s and the "Cumorah Conference" of the Eastern States
Mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
,
which was held each year annually in late July.
Mission president
Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending o ...
B. H. Roberts would take some of his
missionaries from
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and travel to Palmyra and the recently acquired
Smith Family Farm
The Smith Family Farm was the boyhood home of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.
The farm—located in the townships of Palmyra, Wayne County and Manchester, Ontario County, New York—includes the Sacred Grove, the Smit ...
to celebrate
Pioneer Day
Pioneer Day is an official holiday celebrated on July 24 in the American state of Utah, with some celebrations taking place in regions of surrounding states originally settled by Mormon pioneers. It commemorates the entry of Brigham Young and ...
, acting out scenes from the Book of Mormon and LDS Church history as part of the commemoration.
[ Over the next decade, the conference grew in duration and scale, and ]New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
English professor H. Wayne Driggs wrote the script ''America's Witness for Christ'' for the first official performance of the Hill Cumorah Pageant, which premiered on July 23, 1937.
The pageant advanced technologically over the next few decades, with stereophonic sound inventor Harvey Fletcher
Harvey Fletcher (September 11, 1884 – July 23, 1981) was an American physicist. Known as the "father of stereophonic sound", he is credited with the invention of the 2-A audiometer and an early electronic hearing aid. He was an investigator i ...
designing, building, and installing a five-track recording system; and Crawford Gates Crawford Marion Gates (December 29, 1921 – June 9, 2018) was an American musician, composer, and conductor known for his contributions to the body of music for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Early life and educatio ...
composing an original score for the pageant, which was recorded by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir, acting as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for ov ...
and the Utah Symphony Orchestra
The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving c ...
in 1957. In 1973, LDS Church president Harold B. Lee visited the pageant and called for a phasing out of full-time missionaries in the pageant. Consequently, the cast has since consisted entirely of regular church members. In 1988, author Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...
was tasked with writing a new script. He was instructed to make the script "accessible to a modern audience, targeting the non-scripture-reading, non-Mormon young adult," which he did in part by making the new version approximately 40 minutes shorter than the previous one.[
In 1991, local service organizations were invited to provide snacks and meals to pageant visitors. The offer was accepted by Rotary International, ]Lions Clubs International
The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, by Melvin Jones. It is now headquartere ...
, and Kiwanis International
Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizati ...
, which have turned the pageant into their primary annual fund-raising event.[ In 1997, Donny Osmond left his starring role in the tour of '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' to participate with his family in the cast of the pageant. Osmond played the role of the prophet ]Samuel the Lamanite
According to the Book of Mormon, Samuel the Lamanite is a prophet who lived in the ancient Americas, sent by Jesus Christ around 5 BC to teach and warn the Nephites just before his birth in the Old World. The account is recorded in Helaman 13-16 ...
.
During the 2012 season, the pageant held festivities and reunions in commemoration of its 75th anniversary.
Brent Hanson, a faculty member at Southern Virginia University, served as the pageant's artistic director from 2005 until 2018. Starting at the end of the 2018 season, Utah educator Shawnda Moss replaced Hanson as artistic director.
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' contrasted the pageant's sincerity with the raucous tone of another major production, the satirical Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musical ''The Book of Mormon''.
It was previously announced the 2020 would be the pageant's last year, as a result of new directives by the Church to discourage large-scale pageants. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, this was initially delayed to 2021. However in March 2021, the Church announced that the Pageant had been cancelled and will not be rescheduled, thus ending its 82-year run. Commemorations (including an online stream of the 2019 edition) will be held to celebrate the history of the event.
Scenes
The pageant is 70 minutes in duration and depicts the overarching story of the Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...
, which Mormons believe Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...
translated from Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates (also called the gold plates or in some 19th-century literature, the golden bible) are the source from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith. Some acco ...
he received from an angel on the Hill Cumorah itself. The pageant also includes the story of Smith's encounter with the angel, Moroni.
The script for the pageant is taken from the Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
and the Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...
, including ten short story scenes:
# The Prophet Lehi
# The Visions of Christ
# The Building of a Ship
# The Voyage to Ancient America
# The Burning of Abinadi
# The Ministry of Alma
# The Prophecy: A Day, A Night and a Day
# The Resurrected Christ Appears to Ancient Americans
# The Written Word: A Golden Message
# The Restoration of Christ's Kingdom
Cast, setting, and special effects
The pageant's cast includes approximately 700 people. Prospective cast members, many from outside New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
, apply online between the previous August and November. Since the pageant soundtrack is prerecorded by professional actors, with singing by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir, acting as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for ov ...
, cast members need only to memorize movements and follow cues. The show opens after only a week of intensive rehearsals, and it closes after seven performances.
Over 1,300 costumes are utilized for the pageant, which plays out on a 10-level stage. Special effects include earthquakes, floods, and fireballs.
There are 8,000 chairs available for audience seating in a large outdoor "bowl" at the foot of the stage, which is built on many levels up the side of the hill. Audience members may also bring their own chairs and blankets. Parking is available for 3,000 cars. The pageant attracts approximately 35,000 visitors annually.
References
External links
Hill Cumorah
Official site
Pageants
Latter-day Saints Official site
{{Portal, LDS Church
Latter Day Saint movement in New York (state)
Latter Day Saint plays and pageants
Recurring events established in 1935
Recurring events disestablished in 2021
Works based on the Book of Mormon