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Saturday, December 02, 2017

December Shows to Lift the Gloom

Cast of The Secret and Impossible League of the Noosphere in The Baltimore Plot (Roberta Christensen)
December brings gifts of world premieres, and options of holiday cheer and a few options that can provide some relief from holidays, if you choose.

A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration, Taproot Theatre, 12/1-30/17
It’s a bitterly cold Christmas Eve on the banks of the Potomac River where the lives of abolitionists, assassins, soldiers, enslaved and free are woven together in an American tapestry. In their darkest hour, when peace seems impossible, the promise of Christmas breaks through despair in this musical celebration of compassion and hope by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel.

A Charlie Brown Christmas, Taproot Theatre, 12/1/17-12/27/17
Charlie Brown is depressed by the never-ending commercialism surrounding the holidays. Thankfully, Linus is there to help him find the true meaning of Christmas in this musical adaptation of the cartoon classic.

The Secret and Impossible League of the NoöSphere in The Baltimore Plot, Live Girls! Theater, 12/1-16/17 (at Theatre Off Jackson) (world premiere)
This is the first in a planned series of plays introducing a secret society sailing in and out of space/time in a sentient ship. Caught out of time in the Noösphere, where reality is formed and destroyed through the power of Ideas, Nicola Tesla, Ava Lovelace, and Lord Byron discover that someone is dismantling human history. The league will swindle con artists, employ Pinkertons, and pose as secessionists in an attempt prevent the assassination of President-elect Abraham Lincoln before he can even take office.

ArtsWest Holiday Cast Party, ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery, 12/1-23/17
Music, comedy, games with the audience, and special appearances are on tap in a performance where you never know exactly what's going to happen next!

Annie, Seattle Musical Theatre, 12/1-17/17
Director Tyrone Brown brings the crowd-pleasing musical to life. Set in the 1930s and encompassing the themes of survival during the Great Depression, homelessness (the original Hoovervilles), and women's struggles in the workplace, it is striking how these same themes resonate almost 90years after the original comic strip began.

The Flight Before Xmas, Seattle Public Theater, 12/1-24/17 (world premiere)
Playwright Maggie Lee fashions a new play about spending Christmas Eve stranded in an airport with a bunch of strangers. With endless delays, kids shuttling between stepfamilies, a rogue cat on the loose, an important business deal at stake, and missing your grandson’s first Christmas morning, the holiday spirit can disappear quicker than your lost luggage. But sometimes, all you need is to be a little late in order to truly appreciate what you’re rushing toward. A heartwarming new holiday show about finding your way home and the family we discover for ourselves.

Volume 5 and The Fig Tree Waltzes, Acrobatic Conundrum, 12/1-23/17 (at 12th Avenue Arts)
This modern circus brings two pieces to December: Volume 5 (12/1-10) features new short works from the ensemble and guest works from some of the best contemporary circus artists in the business. 12/15-23 is The Fig Tree Waltzes. In this evening-length performance, Acrobatic Conundrum blends circus and dance into a poetic experience with ensemble-based aerial work, athletic modern choreography, and a touch of humor.

The View from Santa’s Lap, Café Nordo, 12/7-24/17
Small town girl Becky June Beasley-Jones is on the run from the law for a crime she did not commit and takes refuge in the sprawling Klootzak's department store on Christmas Eve. Little does she know there is a killer on the loose among the festive holiday bargains. Can Becky June put a stop to these whimsical, heart-warming murders before she herself ends up stuffed in a stocking?

Two Gentlemen of Verona, Fern Shakespeare Company, 12/8-17/17 (at Slate Theater)
Watch and laugh as close friends Valentine and Proteus both pursue the same woman (all's fair in love and war after all). See how Crab, "the sourest-natured dog that lives," provides one of the first examples of the animal stealing the show.

Christmastown: A Holiday Noir, Seattle Public Theater, 12/8-24/17
In this film noir-inspired holiday thriller by Seattle playwright Wayne Rawley, hard-boiled detective Nick Holiday investigates some un-holiday-like shenanigans taking place in Christmastown that sends him on a search for the truth about Big Red. Add a glamorous elf, a used-Christmas-tree salesman, a muckraking reporter, and a quick-thinking cab driver to the mix.

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