PALMYRA, NY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' annual Hill Cumorah Pageant will celebrate its 65th anniversary on 5-6 July and 9-13 July 2002. The annual pageant is derived from writings in the Bible and the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. The 90-minute outdoor theatrical production is staged a few miles from Palmyra, New York, southeast of Rochester.
Every night of the pageant, approximately 9,000 spectators from across the United States and Canada will watch a cast of 650 perform significant scenes from the two books of scripture. The audience will experience a 10-level stage production, 50-foot light towers, brilliant costumes and Hollywood-like special effects.
"This year's pageant is absolutely breathtaking and an experience for all ages," said Ray Crystal, Hill Cumorah Pageant director. "The visual and auditory effects will have the audience on the edge of its seat. Words can't describe what you will see."
A Hollywood production team designed the special effects, including waterfalls, water screens, volcanoes, fireballs and explosions with sound effects taken from the movie Earthquake. An estimated 500,000 watts of electricity are required to power each performance. In addition, pageant organizers must obtain clearance from U.S. aviation authorities to execute several of the lighting and flaming effects. "The earthquake scene is so powerful it has set off car alarms hundreds of yards away in the parking lot," added Crystal.
The pageant has been performed in upstate New York since 1937. Hill Cumorah is one of the Church's most significant landmarks. Latter-day Saints believe it was here, in 1827, that the Church’s founder, Joseph Smith Jr., received from an angel a record of ancient American peoples who knew of and believed in Jesus Christ. The record, written on gold plates, was translated into what is known as the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.
The 65th annual Hill Cumorah Pageant also coincides with the opening of the Church's Palmyra Visitors' Center. "We are hoping that the new visitors’ center will bring people to Palmyra more than just once a year for the pageant, " said Crystal.
The pageant is free and begins at dusk (around 9 p.m.) and is located off exit 43 on Highway 21 near Palmyra, New York. There is seating for 9,000. (Seating is handicapped-accessible.) For more information, call 315-597-5851 or visit www.hillcumorah.com