Historic Nauvoo Pageants and Performances

Throughout the summer, more than 1,100 missionaries and other volunteers in Historic Nauvoo put on a wide variety of live musical and theatrical performances to celebrate the history and spirit of the early Latter-day Saints who lived in Nauvoo in the 1840s. Many performance elements are based on actual people, records, accounts, and journals of the early Church members and leaders. Performances include the Nauvoo Pageant, the British Pageant, and many smaller vignettes, concerts, and shows. These performances invite visitors to experience the joy, hope, and inspiration that the early Saints found in living Christ’s gospel.

The Nauvoo Pageant: A Tribute to Joseph Smith

The Nauvoo Pageant is a live outdoor theatrical production that portrays early converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the US and England. The show highlights the prophetic mission of Joseph Smith and honors the sacrifice, faith, and courage of early members of the Church who gave of themselves to build a city and a temple. Lasting about 2 hours, the performance is filled with authentic hymns, folk songs, lively dances, and tender moments that share the joy these early Saints found in living Christ’s gospel. As a culminating experience to the historic sites visited throughout the day, it invites all to feel the joys, sorrows, and powerful testimonies of these faithful Saints and enjoy a dramatized taste of what it was like for them to live in Nauvoo in the early 1840s.

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The British Pageant is a live outdoor theatrical production that celebrates the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and early missionary efforts to establish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the British Isles. With dramatic ties back to early British religious reformers, it depicts the journey of faith and sacrifice many early British converts made as they embraced the light of the restored gospel. The pageant is filled with authentic hymns, folk songs, lively dances, and tender moments that share the joy these early British converts found in living Christ’s gospel. Audiences delight in seeing characters familiar from the Nauvoo Pageant reemerge on stage, as well as a finale that showcases the ongoing world-wide missionary work of the Church.

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In addition to their roles in large-scale pageants, cast members and missionaries visit Historic Nauvoo throughout the day and give visitors a chance to experience historical figures (like Joseph and Emma Smith) in smaller, more historic settings. Through music, song, dance, and theatrical performance, these short vignettes convey the spirit of Nauvoo, bringing the landscape to life, and inviting guests to learn more about the people and events that took place that made Nauvoo “the loveliest place and best people under the heaven.” Be sure not to miss these vignettes that occur throughout the day all over Historic Nauvoo.

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