When it comes to holiday nostalgia, it doesn’t get much bigger that Jean Shepherd’s winsome memoir about a boy and a Red Rider BB gun. Her story, set in the 1940s, became a holiday classic when the baby boom generation embraced a 1983 movie version of the story.
Whidbey Island Center for the Arts presents the stage adaptation of “A Christmas Story” in performances that play three weekends at the Langley arts center.
The play, like the movie, follows 9-year-old Ralphie Parker as he imagines himself as a neighborhood hero battling bullies with his trusty rifle, and his plots to convince his parents and Santa Claus of this need for the shiny air gun.
Set in the late 1930s, “A Christmas Story” evokes the nostalgia of a simpler time, when memories were made by the rosy glow of a department store window, time spent with family around the radio and in front of the fire, and friends in the school yard.
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”: The Herdmans are a rotten bunch of kids. But they do know how to put on a good Christmas pageant – actually it’s “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”
And the Driftwood Players show how they do it in the stage version of Barbara Robinson’s classic story about a family of incorrigible children who take over the annual Christmas pageant with surprising results.
The one-act play is an Alternative Stages production of Driftwood and opens Saturday for six performances at the Wade James Theatre in downtown Edmonds. The dinner-theater production includes a dessert buffet in the theater lobby following each performance.
Christmas looks grim when the horrible Herdman kids take on an annual Christmas pageant, cast as Mary, Joseph, the three wise men and the angel of the Lord with disastrous results.
They don’t know the Christmas story, but it’s their journey of discovery that helps everyone else discover its true meaning.
“Nutcracker”: Performances of the dance classic “Nutcracker” are holiday tradition, and Snohomish County dance companies continue the tradition with performances that open this week.
Everett Dance Theatre has crafted a performance especially for children with “A Child’s Storybook – The Nutcracker,” which is back again this year with performances at the PUD Auditorium in Everett, complete with a Christmas tree that grows on stage, snow flakes, the Mouse King and dancing dolls.
Olympic Ballet Theatre’s traditional “Nutcracker” opens for three performances this weekend at the Mountlake Terrace Performing Arts Center. This is a fully staged production with elaborate costumes and staging, choreographed by Olympic Ballet Theatre’s founding directors John and Helen Wilkins, with additional choreography by their son Daniel Wilkins.
The show moves to Everett Dec. 11-12 where it’s presented with the Everett Symphony and moves on to Meany Hall at the University of Washington Dec. 18-19.
Where to see it
“A Christmas Story”: 7:30 tonight and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 12, and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10-11, 17-18 at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, 565 Camano Ave., Langley. Tickets, $10-$15, 360-221-8268, 800-638-7631, www.wicaonline.com
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”: A Driftwood Players Alternative Stages production opening Sunday night at the Wade James Theatre, 950 Main St., Edmonds. Performances at 7 p.m. Sunday, 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 7 p.m. Dec. 12, 8 p.m. Dec. 13-14. Tickets, $10 includes a dessert buffet, 425-774-9600.
“A Child’s Storybook – The Nutcracker”: An Everett Dance Theatre production for children, performed at 7 tonight, 6 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the PUD Auditorium, 2320 California St., Everett. Reserved tickets $8-$10, 425-348-5955 and at 7207 Evergreen Way Suite K, Everett.
“Nutcracker”: Olympic Ballet production at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday at Mountlake Terrace Performing Arts Center, 21801 44th Ave. W., Mountlake Terrace. Tickets, $12-$28, 425-774-7570 and at Ticketmaster, 206-292-ARTS.
Where to see it
“A Christmas Story”: 7:30 tonight and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 12, and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10-11, 17-18 at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, 565 Camano Ave., Langley. $10 to $15, 360-221-8268, 800-638-7631, www.wicaonline.com
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”: Driftwood Players Alternative Stages production opening Sunday at the Wade James Theatre, 950 Main St., Edmonds. Performances at 7 p.m. Sunday, 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 7 p.m. Dec. 12, 8 p.m. Dec. 13-14. $10, includes dessert buffet, 425-774-9600.
“A Child’s Storybook – The Nutcracker”: Everett Dance Theatre production for children, performed at 7 tonight, 6 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the PUD Auditorium, 2320 California St., Everett. $8 to $10, 425-348-5955 and at 7207 Evergreen Way Suite K, Everett.
“Nutcracker”: Olympic Ballet production at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday at Mountlake Terrace Performing Arts Center, 21801 44th Ave. W. $12 to $28, 425-774-7570 or Ticketmaster, 206-292-ARTS.
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