|
Greet the season
[Times photo: Amber Tenille Woolfolk]
Monica Richardson and Ferdinand Dejesus rehearse for their performances in The Chocolate Nutcracker, Dec. 12 at Ruth Eckerd Hall. |
By JOHN FLEMING
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 23, 2000
With productions of The Nutcracker, Messiah and A Christmas Carol scheduled, tradition rules, but there are plenty of twists and turns.
|
 |
Let us count the ways to celebrate the holidays on stage. From The Nutcracker to Messiah to A Christmas Carol, there is no shortage of seasonal staples.
But holiday traditions are ever changing. Mannheim Steamroller plays new age carols, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra gives them a heavy metal beat. A Christmas Carol gets turned into a cabaret show, and a multicultural version of The Nutcracker features a tap dancer from Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk.
Here are selected holiday offerings on bay area stages this season.
'The Nutcracker'
Tchaikovsky's ballet comes in many guises. On Friday and Saturday, the St. Petersburg Festival Ballet performs (to taped music) in St. Petersburg's North Straub Park at 6 p.m. Free blanket seating.
On Saturday and Sunday, about 200 people, ages 2 to 60, appear in the West Florida Youth Ballet version (to tape) in Ferguson Hall at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Tickets: $15-$23.95.
For the professional treatment, there's Miami City Ballet in the Balanchine choreography, with the Florida Orchestra in the pit, performing four shows Dec. 8-10 at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Tickets: $19.75-$37.75.
Then there are the fresh-faced young dancers of Pinellas County Center for the Arts, performing (to tape) their 11th annual Nutcracker at Mahaffey Theater in three shows Dec. 8 to 9. Tickets: $10-$20.
For a variation on the theme, The Chocolate Nutcracker is set in Harlem in the 1950s and has a jazz score (on tape). The cast of 120, most drawn from local schools, is headed by tap star Baakari Wilder from Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk at Ruth Eckerd Hall on Dec. 12. Tickets: $17.75.
Expressions, the Dance Company, will have a cast of more than 100 in its fourth annual presentation (to taped music) of The Nutcracker Dec. 15 at Center for the Arts at River Ridge, New Port Richey; and Dec. 16 to 17 at Stage West Community Playhouse, Spring Hill. Tickets: $12.
How about figure skates instead of toe shoes? The Florida Orchestra plays for The Nutcracker on Ice in three performances with the Russian State Ice Ballet Dec. 15 to 16 at the Ice Palace. Tickets: $18.50-$35.50.
[Publicity photo]
The Miami City Ballet will perform The Nutcracker Dec. 8-10 at Ruth Eckerd Hall.
|
Holiday choirs
|
Holidays sparkle, steam on stage
Mannheim Steamroller's holiday show aims to "take a place like the Ice Palace and turn it into a complete Christmas environment," complete with music, snowmen and Christmas village. |
The Master Chorale and the Empire Brass present their annual holiday program with a wide range of music, from O Magnum Mysterium to Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. Their new CD will be on sale at concerts Saturday at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and Sunday at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Tickets: $14-$26.
The 30-voice Moscow Boys Choir sings Christmas music from around the world Nov. 30 at Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center. Tickets: $14 and $16.
Dec. 8, the Tampa Bay Children's Chorus performs a seasonal concert in Ferguson Hall of Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Tickets: $8.50.
Handel's Messiah and other holiday pieces are on the agenda Dec. 10 for the Tampa Oratorio Singers at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Tickets: $15.
Messiah is also presented by the Summit Orchestra and Chorale Dec. 15-17 at the Largo Cultural Center. Tickets: $6-$14.
Under new music director John-Phillip Mullinax, the Tampa Bay Gay Men's Chorus holiday concerts are Dec. 16 in Ferguson Hall of Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and Dec. 17 at the Palladium Theater. Tickets: $20.
More holiday music
Thomas Wilkins conducts the Florida Orchestra in a pair of seasonal programs: Dec. 14 in a Coffee Concert at Mahaffey theater (tickets: $17-$26); Dec. 20 in a Blue Jeans Classics concert at the Coliseum (tickets: $16).
Opera star Denyce Graves, with pianist Warren Jones, gives a holiday recital Dec. 17 in Ferguson Hall of Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Tickets: $34.50-$44.50.
'It's a Wonderful Life'
[Publicity photo]
The Mahaffey Theater has three shows of It’s a Wonderful Life Tuesday and Wednesday.
|
George Bailey's heartwarming story is not just seen between commercials on TV. A pair of stage adaptations of the Frank Capra film classic are in the area this season.
At Mahaffey Theater, Montana Repertory Theatre's national tour of It's a Wonderful Life has three shows Tuesday and Wednesday. Tickets: $27-$33.
A Wonderful Life, the Musical by Sheldon Harnick (book) and Joe Raposo (music) plays Dec. 1 through Dec. 28 at the Show Palace Dinner Theatre in Hudson. Tickets: $14.95-$39.95.
'A Christmas Carol'
The oft-told tale of Bob Cratchit, Ebenezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim is adapted by Barbara Redmond and Eberle Thomas for the Asolo Theatre from Saturday through Christmas Eve. Tickets: $10-$41.
A Christmas Carol Cabaret is Claude McNeal's song-and-dance version of the Dickens perennial. It opens Friday and continues through Dec. 30 in the Jaeb Theater of Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Tickets: $21.50-$27.50.
More holiday theater
A tour of the latest spinoff about the Little Sisters of Hoboken, Nuncrackers, the Nunsense Christmas Musical, is at the Center for the Arts at River Ridge on Dec. 10. Tickets: $18 and $20.
At American Stage, Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales is adapted by Chris Weikel, with music by Bob McDowell. It opens Dec. 15 and runs through Dec. 30. Tickets: $7 and $15.
Holiday pops
The Colors of Christmas has Roberta Flack, Bill Medley, Peabo Bryson and Marilyn McCoo on Friday at Ruth Eckerd Hall (tickets: $40 and $50) and Tuesday at Van Wezel Hall (tickets: $40-$60).
Mannheim Steamroller's multimedia show features Chip Davis' new age arrangements of Christmas carols appears Dec. 12 at the Ice Palace. Tickets: $25-$75.
Spawned from the heavy metal band Savatage, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra plays numbers from its concept album Christmas Eve Dec. 22 at Mahaffey Theater. Tickets: $27 and $37.
- Times staff writer Barbara L. Fredricksen contributed to this story.
Back to Weekend
© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111
|
