Tchaikovsky rules local stages this Christmas season. There are at least four "Nutcrackers" coming to area audiences, led by the annual Anchorage Concert Association's production of the ballet at the Atwood Concert Hall. This year, dancers from Alaska Dance Theatre are working with pros in the production from Eugene (Oregon) Ballet.
The ACA's "Nutcracker," which includes music from a live orchestra, is the longest continually running performance event in Anchorage, having been presented every year since 1989. It will be Friday to Sunday, Nov. 27-29, and is a holiday tradition for many families.
Three performances of a home-grown "Nutcracker" will be staged in the Discovery Theatre by Anchorage Ballet, Dec. 11-12. And Duke Ellington's reimagining of the "Nutcracker Suite" will be performed by a big band of 22 swing musicians on Dec. 6 at the Tap Root Public House. The Ellington "Nutcracker," with arrangements by Billy Strayhorn, became an instant jazz classic when it was released in 1960, and a group of Anchorage all-stars led by Ray Booker and Cameron Cartland will recreate it in a benefit for the Alaska Jazz Workshop. The program will include "holiday jazz songs."
But the most intriguing offering may be the "Alaskan Nutcracker," presented at the brand new Glenn Massay Theater at Mat-Su College Dec. 11-12. This version uses Tchaikovsky's music but sets the action in a frontier cabin. Uncle Drosselmeyer is replaced by "Uncle Moose Jaw," portrayed by A.J. Seims, whom many readers will recognize as the wild "Mountain Pirate" in "Moose: The Movie." The Cavalier (Nutcracker Prince) transports Clara to his magical home by dog sled. The Arabian Dance becomes an evocation of the northern lights. And the "Waltz of the Flowers" becomes "The Waltz of the Fireweed."
Jonathan Matthews, a professional dancer from New York, will have the part of the Cavalier, the only out-of-towner in the show. The rest of the 40-some dancers, ages 6-17, are being rehearsed by Sonja's School of Dance in Wasilla.
Owner Sonja Babcock said the studio has presented various takes on "The Nutcracker" in the Valley for several years with notable success. (The studio's other holiday event, the "Candy Cane Lane" winter dance recital, has already sold out, as it does every year.) But the opening of the Massay Theater earlier this year made it possible to do more with sets and lights, so Babcock decided to up the ante with a decidedly Alaska twist.
"Having the facility in Massay makes all the difference," she said. "We're going to have snow. We're going to have haze. The lighting for the aurora borealis will blow everyone away."
Members of the troupe will spend the week before the public performances bringing the performance to local schools.
The theater scene is also a-simmer with holiday-themed shows, ranging from the wacky to the somber. On the far side of wacky is the latest installment of Mr. Whitekey's "Christmas in Spenard," which is the nearest competitor Tchaikovsky has to the title of King of Christmas Kitsch. The satirical music and skit revue started at the old Fly By Night Club in 1986 and continued through 2005, renewing its run in 2011 at the same location, now called the Tap Root Public House.
"We have more new material in this show than we've had in many years," said Whitekeys. "We couldn't help it."
"Christmas in Spenard" will be performed from Dec. 1-23. Over its history, all shows have usually sold out before the run even begins.
Continuing in the zany category, Cyrano's is staging "Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some)," a comedy with music that conflates everything from "It's a Wonderful Life" to "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" in a riot of parody. Think "Reduced Shakespeare" with gift wrap. It opens on Nov. 27 and continues through Dec. 23.
Returning to the Mat-Su, Valley Performing Arts has another comedy, "Fruitcakes," which also opens Nov. 27 in the Machetanz Theatre in Wasilla. It looks like the local debut of the play, which has become something of a holiday staple since its premiere at Charleston (South Carolina) Stage in 1995. Playwright Julian Wiles has the odd but sympathetic inhabitants of a small southern town preparing for their annual revels with dozens of trees, thousands of lights, a mismanaged pageant and the eponymous dessert when the comfortable rituals are ruffled by the appearance of a runaway from the big city. The scenario is nutty, but the message is heartwarming. "Fruitcakes" will run through Dec. 22.
Anchorage Community Theatre's seasonal offering has already opened, and it's not part of the usual yuletide fare. "The Secret Garden" is adapted from the enduringly popular 1911 novel about an orphan girl sent to live with a grumpy uncle. The discovery of a hidden and untended garden leads to healing, hope and friendship in story that, while not specific to Christmas, beautifully embraces the spirit of the season. It runs through Dec. 20.
Finally, Perseverance Theatre is bringing back its "Christmas Carol" with a script tweaked by Alaska playwright Arlitia Jones. Kevin T. Bennett reprises the role of Scrooge in Dickens' classic. The show runs Dec. 18-26 with no show on Christmas Day.
All tickets are available at centertix.net except as noted.
THE NUTCRACKER by Eugene Ballet: 2 and 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 27-28, and at 1 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29, in the Atwood Concert Hall.
DUKE ELLINGTON'S "NUTCRACKER SUITE": 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6, at Tap Root, 3300 Spenard Rd. Tickets at taprootalaska.com.
THE NUTCRACKER by Anchorage Ballet: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, in the Discovery Theatre.
THE ALASKAN NUTCRACKER: 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, and 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, at the Glenn Massay Theater on the campus of Mat-Su College. Tickets at www.glennmassaytheater.com.
THE SECRET GARDEN: 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 20 at Anchorage Community Theatre. Tickets at www.actalaska.org. (Free admission for high school students on Thursdays, two for the price of one tickets on Dec. 10.)
EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD (AND THEN SOME): 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 22 at Cyrano's.
FRUITCAKES: 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 20 at Machetanz Theatre in Wasilla. Tickets at www.valleyperformingarts.org.
CHRISTMAS IN SPENARD: 6:45 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays, Dec. 1-23 at Tap Root.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18-26. (No show on Dec. 25.)
Music Events
In addition to Duke Ellington's "Nutcracker," listed in the main article, there are several other concerts scheduled for the holidays, including:
MESSIAH: 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6, in West High School Auditorium. Tickets at the door.
CHRISTMAS WITH THE ALASKA CHAMBER SINGERS: 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, St. Patrick's Church, and 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, St. Andrew Church in Eagle River.
ALASKA CHILDREN'S CHOIR: 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12 at St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer, and 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19 at Central Lutheran Church in Anchorage.
BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA "GOSPEL INFUSED HOLIDAY CELEBRATION": 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, in the Atwood Concert Hall.
MAT-SU CONCERT BAND "MUSICAL TRADITIONS": 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18 in Glenn Massay Theater on the campus of Mat-Su College. Tickets at www.glennmassaytheater.com.
ANCHORAGE COMMUNITY CONCERT BAND SEASONAL SPECTACULAR: 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19 in Sydney Laurence Theatre.
ANCHORAGE CONCERT CHORUS HOLIDAY FAMILY POPS: 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20, in the Atwood Concert Hall.