Shows you can't beat

Highlights of the holiday season on stage

The holidays are beloved by all, and not merely because of all those colorfully wrapped goodies accumulating under the living-room tree.

The accompanying sounds and sights of the season on stage offer joyous delights for ears and eyes of all ages.

Making — and moving to — a joyful noise

By Marc Shulgold
News Music/Dance Writer

The wonders of The Nutcracker, the otherworldly beauty of a church choir, the splashy excitement of a full orchestra — such traditional holiday experiences never fail to excite the imagination of young ones.

Bring the kids. And don't forget to leave room for the kid in you.

THE NUTCRACKER

The biggest staging remains Colorado Ballet's lavish production at the Auditorium Theatre (running through Dec. 27), one of only a handful presented with live orchestra. It's pricey, but the high production values and solid dancing are worth the cost. If you bring little ones, make sure they have a booster seat, since sightlines downstairs can get dicey. Information: (303) 830-8497.

Now relocated to the Lakewood Cultural Center, near South Wadsworth Boulevard and West Alameda Avenue, the witty David Taylor Dance Theatre staging remains one of the most charming versions of the holiday classic. And the rake of the 350-seat theater is ideal for young ballet watchers. Performances run from Dec. 15 to 23. Information: (303) 987-7845.

In outlying regions, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet will perform its staging Saturday and Sunday at the Fort Lewis Community Concert Hall, Durango (970-247-7657); and at the District Theatre, Aspen, Dec. 21 to 23 (800-905-3315). From tonight through Sunday, the Fort Collins-based Canyon Concert Ballet will perform with an orchestra at the Lincoln Center. Information: (970) 221-6730.

Smaller-scale productions offer a reasonably priced alternative and a chance to spot some bright young dancers in the making. Among this year's offerings are the CSA Ballet Foundation's show (featuring the Young Voices of Colorado), presented three times Dec. 15 and 16 at Sheridan High School, 3201 W. Oxford Ave. (information: 303-781-0833); the Academy of Russian Ballet twice on Dec. 16 at the Paramount Theatre (information: 303-695-1165); and a trio of performances by Belliston Ballet at the Houston Fine Arts Center, 7111 E. Montview Blvd, Dec. 15 to 17 (information: 303-933-4889).

CHORAL PROGRAMS

From the quiet reflection of a candlelight performance of the "Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols" to the hand-clapping, foot-stomping fun of a gospelized interpretation of Handel's Messiah, local choirs offer something for every holiday taste.

Adult and children's choirs will participate in the annual "Lessons and Carols" presentation twice on Dec. 17 at St. John's Cathedral, 1313 Clarkson St. (information: 303-831-7115). St. John's will also host three programs on Christmas Eve and one, at 10 a.m., on Christmas Day.

The Cherry Creek Carole will present "Carols by Candlelight" today and Saturday at Bethany Lutheran Church (information: 303-809-1549), while candlelight will illuminate the Ars Nova Singers' holiday concerts, promising music from the Middle Ages to the present, at two Boulder churches and St. Elizabeth's on the Auraria campus, Thursday and Dec. 15 and 17 (information: 303-499-3165). The Colorado Chorale will also present a muted, traditional program with candlelight Dec. 16 at Trinity Methodist Church and Dec. 17 at Lakewood's St. Jude Catholic Church (information: 303-292-6700). A multifaceted show is promised by Randolph Jones' Colorado Choir, combining art, music and theater Tuesday and Dec. 15 at Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 E. Alameda Ave. (information: 303-892-5922).

If you're seeking a little more lightness, the Northland Chorale will serve up a "Rocky Mountain Celebration" today and Saturday at the Northglenn Recreation Center, Interstate 25 at 120th Avenue (303-426-8487). A combined choir of 250 voices from the University of Northern Colorado will sing holiday favorites at 7 p.m. Sunday in Greeley's Union Colony Civic Center (information: 970-351-1921).

In terms of sheer size, few events can touch the Colorado Symphony's popular "Colorado Christmas" shows, expanded to six performances Thursday through Dec. 17. More than 300 singers and instrumentalists will pack the stage and the aisles of Boettcher Hall, leaving just enough room for Santa Claus himself.

Boettcher will also be rocking this weekend when Marin Alsop presides over the superpopular gospel version of Handel's Messiah, dubbed Too Hot To Handel, at 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The traditional version of this beloved oratorio will be performed by the CSO and CSO Chorus, led by Lawrence Loh, Dec. 21 and 22. (Information on all CSO events: 303-830-8497.)

There's nothing brighter or more thrilling than the sounds of brass at Christmastime, and there are plenty of such shows this season. Particularly this weekend.

At 7:30 tonight, the Aries Brass Quintet will perform at St. John's Cathedral (information: 303-831-7115). At 9 a.m. Saturday, the Denver Brass hosts a brassy jam session at Park Meadows mall. "Holiday Brass Fest 2000" is open to players of all ages and levels of expertise (information: 303-832-4676). Also this weekend will be another play-along, the 25th annual Tuba Christmas, to be held at 1 p.m. Sunday in Larimer Square. Rehearsals begin at 10 a.m. on the Auraria campus (information: 303-556-8123). The Colorado Wind Ensemble will offer seasonal favorites at 8 p.m. Saturday at Littleton United Methodist Church, 5894 Datura St. (information: 303-394-4552).

Need more trumpets and tubas? The Denver Brass is happy to oblige. From Thursday through Dec. 17, the group will team with the Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble and organist Kenrick Mervine for its annual Christmas show at Bethany Church, 4500 E. Hampden Ave. (information: 303-832-4676).

Finally, a wrap-up of other orchestral and choral programs around the metro area:

Tickets are scarce for the University of Colorado's Holiday Festival, offered four times at Macky Auditorium this weekend (information: 303-492-8008). The Westminster Symphony presents "The Holly and the Ivy" at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Crossroads Baptist Church, 10451 Huron St. (information: 303-467-3222). The Colorado Youth Symphony will be "Going on a Sleigh Ride" at 2 p.m. Sunday at Teikyo Loretto Heights Theatre, 3001 S. Federal Blvd. (information: 303-871-6365).

Various Metropolitan State College of Denver vocal and instrumental ensembles serve up a "Holiday Card to the City" at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the King Center (information: 303-556-4584). At 3 p.m. Sunday, the Mercury Ensemble chamber orchestra celebrates the holiday at the Mercury Cafe, 2199 California St. (information: 303-722-3854). The Longmont Chorale sings excerpts from Messiah at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 16 at Niwot High School, 8989 E. Niwot Road (information: 303-651-7664). The Young Voices of Colorado team with the Denver Concert Band at 2 p.m. Dec. 16 at Central Presbyterian Church, 1660 Sherman St. (information: 303-836-8742). And the Mostly Strauss Orchestra performs holiday favorites at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 17 in Lowry Building 693, at South Akron and South Yosemite streets (information: 303-836-4676).

Marc Shulgold can be reached at (303) 892-5296 or shulgoldm@RockyMountainNews.com.

Old theater favorites and Christmas lites

By Lisa Bornstein
News Theater Critic

The big news this holiday season is what won't be coming to town: Denver Center Theatre Company's 10-years-running production of A Christmas Carol.

Theater

Denver Center canceled this year's red-velvet and white-lace bit of Victoriana to make room for the bloody battles of Tantalus. Not to worry, though. Christmas fare abounds, including three other productions of that Dickens play.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Through Dec. 17, Conifer's StageDoor theater offers a traditional version of Tiny Tim, Scrooge and the ghosts. Closer to home, the productions get distinctly more offbeat.

For the third year running, the Aurora Fox presents its musical-comedy adaptation. An acting troupe is supposed to present the Dickens classic, but the actors playing Tiny Tim and Scrooge can't come. So the stage manager substitutes for Scrooge and a prop girl steps in as Tiny Tim. The play runs through Dec. 23.

One of Denver's newest theater companies, Paper Cat, is using both live actors and life-size puppets in its performance at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Center, through Dec. 17.

OTHER OLD FAVORITES

This year brings two productions of Miracle on 34th Street, as both Boulder's Nomad Theatre and the Denver Victorian Playhouse put Santa on trial.

Denver Civic Theatre stages A Child's Christmas in Wales, by Dylan Thomas, and Vaughn, N.M., Christmas Eve, 1956, a semiautobiographical remembrance by local playwright Terry Dodd.

And the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities brings back Charles Langley in the lead role of its best-selling production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

THE DARK SIDE OF CHRISTMAS

Several theater companies embrace their inner Grinch with decidedly adult productions that spoof the conventions of Christmas.

The Bug Theatre is reprising last year's sardonic hit The Santaland Diaries, with Gary Culig as the bitter department-store elf. The Bug adds a new opening act this year, Based Upon a True Story, also written by Sedaris.

At the Nomad, the upbeat family fare Miracle on 34th Street is followed by the adults-only The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, in which Santa Claus is accused of sexual harassment.

Meanwhile, Denver Center Theatre Company actor Erik Tieze responded to the presence of Tantalus and the absence of DCTC's A Christmas Carol by penning Santaless, 12 irreverent Christmas plays presented by TheatreMedina at the Acoma Center. (Don't worry, the whole thing runs two hours.)

At the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Nancy Cranbourne and Patti Dobrowolski follow up their "hormonal cabaret" Two Women Avoiding Involuntary Hospitalization with Christmas Peril: A Hormonal Holiday.

Contact Lisa Bornstein at (303) 892-5101 or bornsteinl@RockyMountainNews.com.

December 8, 2000