'A Tucson Pastorela' at Borderlands Theater Mixes Religious Tradition With Local Color. By Margaret Regan THERE'S NOTHING LIKE a little cultural syncretism to get you in the holiday mood. How about undercover angels dressed as Batman and Robin? Or drug-dealing devils in grungy plaid flannel? The mythic biblical struggle between good and evil has been interpreted in a half-dozen updated ways in the delightful new Borderlands play, A Tucson Pastorela. As a matter of fact, this charming Christmas production loosely based on a traditional Mexican narrative includes everything its makers could think of to get across its seasonal message of peace. The cast of 30 features some of Tucson's best-known actors. The sing-song script, in English with lots of Spanish words, is chock-a-block with contemporary jokes skewering everybody from Charles Keating to Pima County Supervisor Raul Grijalva. Raucous "Jingle Bells" songs give way to sweet Spanish carols. A three-piece band gyrates smoothly between traditional and rock. There's even a piñata party for the kids at the end of every show. Strange as it sounds, this cross-cultural, century-striding approach strengthens the play's old Nativity story. Alerted to the glad tidings by the Archangel Michael (Carlos Acuña), a band of impoverished shepherds struggle to get to Bethlehem in time to honor the newborn baby Jesus. Along the way, devils battle the angels to try to tempt the shepherds from their journey. Borderlands commissioned this version from playwright Max Branscomb, who wrote another Pastorela for a 1992 San Diego production. He's tailored his material nicely to Tucson, which, as one of his devils fondly remarks, is hotter than you-know-what. But his technique of using familiar cultural reference points to get across the story is not new at all. That's what Pastorela makers have been doing for the last 400 years. Pastorela, based on the Spanish word for both pastor and shepherd, is part of a long church tradition of using popular entertainments to teach religious truths. Back in Europe in the Middle Ages, the illiterate faithful picked up Bible stories through plays and processions. When Spanish missionaries arrived in Mexico in the 1520s in the wake of Cortez's conquest, they were quick to use these European rituals to teach the new faith to the indigenous people, blending them with native customs to make them more palatable. Mexico eventually developed some 2,500 versions of the Pastorela, according to a program note. The fine Borderlands cast, directed by Chris Wilken, has a lot of fun with the material. Suzi List does a star turn as the sizzling Lucifer; local arts administrator Albert Soto is a hoot as Satan. If the many processions of the singing shepherds sometimes slow the action, the sweetness of the proceedings more than makes up for it. Borderlands hopes to produce A Tucson Pastorela every Christmas season from here on in. That's welcome news: This funny and heartfelt play is a wonderful celebration of the Old Pueblo's rich traditions. A Tucson Pastorela continues through Sunday, December 22, at the PCC Black Box Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets range from $4 (children) to $10. For more information call 882-7046.

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