HOLIDAY SHOWS AND MORE ABOUND THIS SEASON

LENNY WOLPE AS SCROOGE IN "A CONNECTICUT CHRISTMAS CAROL"
AT THE TERRIS THEATRE IN CHESTER   PHOTO BY DIANE SOBOLEWSKI

What would the holidays be like, without an abundance of merriment and joy.  Look all around you at the offerings that local theaters have wrapped up in red, green and gold finery for your viewing pleasure.

At the Hartford Stage, it's another visit with that mean and greedy Scrooge who shouts "Bah humbug" to the holidays and needs the visits of a trio of ghosts to open his eyes to the wonders of Christmas, of love and of generosity. After seventeen years as the miserly mean man, Bill Raymond has turned over his gold coins and stocking cap to Michael Preston who regaled the audiences with a bit of juggling magic in his new role.  This is Michael Wilson's original creation, two decades ago, of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol A Ghost Story of Christmas" and it is a wonderful family classic.  For tickets, call the Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street, Hartford at 860-527-5151 or online at www.hartfordstage.org/christmas-carol/. The show runs through Saturday, December 30.

For adults in need of a little Christmas cheer, there's a bar stool waiting just around the corner at Hartford TheaterWorks, 233 Pearl Street, where their original offering of "Christmas on the Rocks" is returning for another round of intoxicating joy.  Up until Saturday, December 23, a string of your favorite characters of the holiday will stumble and straggle into a bar for a bit of liquid fortitude and festive fun.  Come meet and greet Clara of Nutcracker fame and Tiny Tim and Frosty the Snowman's creator Karen and Charlie Brown, among others.  Jenn Harris and Matthew Wilkas, with Tom Bloom as the genial bartender, do a super job as the long ago stars on your holiday tree.  Call HTW at 860-527-7838 or online at www.theaterworkshartford.org to see this literary baby created by Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero by Saturday, December 23.

Mosey on over to the illuminated village of Ivoryton, 500,000 Christmas lights bright,  to the Playhouse, 103 Main Street, for a unique radio show by their community players of  Joe Landry’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” A Live Radio Play, set in the 1940’s, in Bedford Falls,  complete with intriguing sound effects. Call Ivoryton at 860-767-7318 or online at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org.  Be a part of the studio audience until Sunday, December 17.

Want a new twist on an old theme, look no further than Goodspeed's Terris Theatre in Chester for a show with  a decidedly local flavor, a nutmeg spicy "A Connecticut Christmas Carol" created by LJ Fecko and Michael O'Flaherty now extended until Saturday, December 30.  Come see Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, P. T. Barnum and J. P. Morgan sing and dance their way into your heart and the heart of that curmudgeon Scrooge (he's everywhere this time of year).  This is sure to become a family favorite.  For tickets, call the Goodspeed at 860- 873-8664, ext. 324   or go online to www.goodspeed.org.  The fine tradition of storytelling continues.

Interested in something without mistletoe and holly, the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, 166 Capitol Avenue, has a few more showings of the musical special "The Color Purple" for your entertainment until Sunday, December 10.  Call 860-987-5900 or online at www.bushnell.org.  This classic Alice Walker novel highlights the story of two sisters, Celie and Nettie who are separated from each other in the South, only to be reunited decades later.  Let the music of jazz, gospel, ragtime and blues carry and lift your heart.

What would the spirit of the holidays be like without  a musical shout out from the Connecticut Gay Men's Chorus?

Happily they are tuning up for concerts in two locations, first at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, on Main Street, in Old Saybrook, on Sunday, December 10 at 4 p.m.  Go to www.katharinehepburntheater.secure.force.com for tickets.  If you miss the 10th, you can still catch these colorful and talented guys at the Co-Op Theater, on 177 College Street in New Haven on Saturday, December 16 at 8 p.m. and Sunday,December 17 at 4 p.m.  Go online to www.ctgmc.org.  You can be sure these gentlemen will  be decked out in their holiday finery ready to entertain you in regal style with all the best tunes of the season.

Surely there are no excuses for not getting into the holiday spirit with all these delightful possibilities right at your doorstep.