Eugene Weekly : Holiday Happenings : 11.15.07

Holiday Happenings :

Candles in the Window, Carols at the Spinet Plethora of Eugene options for the hols
Winter Warmers Lift a pint for (or of) holiday beer
Oh, Christmas Tree! A source of agony, a source of income
Tasting Heaven Thanksgiving weekend makes the palate merry
Holiday Events Seasonal calendar a glance

Candles in the Window, Carols at the Spinet
Plethora of Eugene options for the hols
BY SUZI STEFFEN

“Haul out the holly,” Auntie Mame sings, in her musical, at a particularly depressed time in the early winter. As the gray rain (much needed as it is) descends upon us, local arts institutions find ways to brighten our holiday time. After all, there’s a reason winter in the Northern Hemisphere offers a Festival of Lights (Hanukkah), the return of the sun at Winter Solstice, the birth of the Son at Christmas: We gotta have that light!

ACE’s 2006 A Christmas Carol

In local theaters, the season starts early with the Willamette Rep‘s production of A Christmas Carol. Artistic Director Kirk Boyd read a lot of versions of this play before picking this one for 2006, says the press release; “Some were too long, some way too short, some had too many actors and many were just too, too cute.” Exactly. This one, an adaptation by David McCann, knows we need the darkness before the light. If the audience doesn’t think Scrooge, played this year by veteran Oregon Shakespeare Festival actor Richard Elmore, might be in some deep dark trouble (the spirits of this particular version aren’t so genial and funny), the ending would be a blithe but empty satisfaction. No fear: The Rep will deliver. The show opens Nov. 21 with a preview just in time for T-Day and continues for several weeks thereafter.

Speaking of lots of actors and generally cute (though perhaps not too cute, depending on your point of view), Actors Cabaret of Eugene offers up its annual Broadway version of A Christmas Carol starting on Nov. 30. ACE reliably fills the theater with warmth and affection from its cast — made up of interlocking families and those who find family at the theater — and its hard-working designers and administrator Jim Roberts, not to mention director Joe Zingo (who alternates chivvying instructions with the aforementioned affection). And joining the ranks of holiday classics is Upstart Crow Studios’ new offering of The Grinch, starting on Nov. 29.

This year, as artistic director Craig Willis says, the Lord Leebrick gave in to the holiday theatrical madness. The Leebrick company joins the ranks with It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, opening at the Wildish Theatre in Springfield on Dec. 1 and 2 before moving back to the little home on Charnelton Dec. 6. “This nifty spin on a traditional favorite hearkens back to the golden age of radio when families gathered together for inspirational broadcasts and wholesome entertainment,” reads the press on this one. Yikes. We mean, hurray! Nothing’s better than wholesome at the wholidays.

And of course, a range of traditions and events will keep your holiday fun turned up, including the Waverly Consort‘s “The Christmas Story” at the UO Music School on Sunday, Nov. 25; Eugene Waldorf School’s craft-centered Winter Lights Faire on Saturday, Dec. 8; the Mozart Players’ Baroque for the Holidays Tuesday, Dec. 11; the Eugene Symphony’s goofily packed Yuletide Celebration Dec. 15 and 16; and the really big party, the Eugene Ballet Company’s annual Nutcracker Dec. 20-23.

Of course, gift options abound, from charitable options like helping serve holiday dinners to locally focused prezzies from artists’ annual open houses and the Holiday Market (more on that in our Gift Guide, coming up next week). Our calendar gives you quite a few more options, and our articles show you how to keep your insides warm with holiday wines and beer while you Christmas celebrators decide whether to snag a tree from the farm or forest.

But the most important thing might be to gather up your loved ones, hunker down with some local food and join the lighted festivities all over town. Because, as Mame sings, “We need a little music, need a little laughter, need a little singing ringing through the rafters.” Happy happy!

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