This Week Holiday Entertainment Abounds

Capital District – As far as theater goes it’s the time of year when holiday themed shows tend to proliferate area stages.

Indeed, the redemptive theme of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” dominates local theaters. However, they are each a bit different. Helpful is that all have a long run, as most continue until December 22.

Actually, the only traditional version is at the Unicorn Theatre of Berkshire Theatre Group in Stockbridge, MA This is the 18th season of what is a Berkshire tradition. It has a cast of 25, lovely costumes and inspiring music.:

At Curtain Call Theatre in Latham a less traditional “A Christmas Carol” is offered. It does tell the full story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s visit by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, but only uses six actors. One actor plays Scrooge, all the other characters are played by just five actors.

Beating that minimalist production is the one man version of “A Christmas Carol.” It plays downtown Troy at The Waiting Room on 3^rd Street. It only plays tonight and Monday this week and again in the black box theatre at The Rep in Albany on November 16.

There’s a mash up at the Rep with “A Sherlock Carol.” It’s a Sherlock Holmes mystery involving Scrooge and the characters from Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol. It’s clever fun and combines the deductive logic of Holmes with the redemptive moral of “ A Christmas Carol.”

Another holiday favorite made fresh is “A Christmas Story – the Musical” at Cohoes Music Hall. It addresses the burning question that comes every holiday season, “Will Ralphie shoot his eye out with a Red Ryder BB Gun?” Only this time it does it with song and a lot of tap dancing. All the things Playhouse Stage does so well.

But, not everyone wants to find the holiday spirit through theater. Arguably, the only other holiday entertainment that is as popular as “A Christmas Carol” is the ballet “The Nutcracker.”

And there are several playing locally. The Northeast Ballet performs the classic for three performances at Proctors Saturday and Sunday, December 14-15.

It’s a busy ”Nutcracker” weekend as at the Egg in Albany the Albany-Berkshire Ballet offers three performances of the family-friendly ballet the same weekend.

A week later on December 19-20, the Egg hosts the Grand Kyiv Ballet who also dances the Tchaikovsky Masterpiece.

Classical music fans are not neglected this holiday season. At the Troy Savings Music Hall, Albany Pro Musica offers their annual holiday concert on December 21 .

Titled “The Many Moods of Christmas” it is performed with a full orchestra. The chorus will perform classical pieces that are both seasonal and popular. They combine them with contemporary holiday favorites.

Another popular local choral group, the Mendelssohn Club presents its annual holiday concert at the Egg this Friday, December 13.

It’s a lot in a very short time, but the choices are all terrific. No matter what entertainment you select, you will likely f