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Here are some of Portland’s many stage productions to help you celebrate the season. Check out our Holiday Music Guide, too.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Portland Center Stage
Nov. 13-Dec. 23
128 N.W. 11th Ave.

Strictly speaking, this isn’t a holiday show, of course, but it does have fairies and elves (Isn’t Puck a sort of elf?). Center Stage, the city’s biggest theater, will give it a good ride, and director Penny Metropulos, an Oregon Shakespeare Festival veteran, has done great work with the play there before.

“Christmas on Broadway”
Broadway Rose
Nov. 21-Dec. 23
12850 S.W. Grant Ave., Tigard

This Tigard-based company specializes in musicals, and this one, designed by Rick Lewis, is a sort of Greatest Holiday Hits from Broadway, built around the idea of a bunch of snowbound actors entertaining themselves on Christmas Eve.

 

“Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol”
Artists Repertory Theatre
Nov. 27-Dec. 30
1516 S.W. Morrison St.

In this hit from Christmas Past, the intrepid but dour detective undergoes a very Scrooge-like experience, aided by the equally intrepid but altogether more balanced Dr. Watson.

“Santaland Diaries”
Portland Center Stage
Nov. 27-Dec. 30
128 N.W. 11th Ave.

The story that launched David Sedaris’s career as a writer/humorist documented his life as a department store elf. It’s scary and hilarious, and this year Center Stage has enlisted the droll Darius Pierce to play the elf. You can’t see it, but we’re smiling as we type.

“A Very Joan Crawford Christmas”
Triangle Productions
Nov. 28-Dec. 23
The Sanctuary, 1785 N.E. Sandy Blvd.

OK, you know where this one is headed, right? Right to the broadest, campiest Christmas show possible, starring Kam Sisco as Joan.

“Mars on Life: Holiday Survival Guide”
CoHo Productions
Nov. 28-Dec. 23
2257 N.W. Raleigh St.

Susannah Mars has done her cabaret show, “Mars on Life,” for a while now, each incarnation a showcase of both her fabulous singing voice and her warm sense of humor. And some of Portland’s best musicians show up as special guests from time to time.

“It’s a Wonderful Life”
Stumptown Stages
Nov. 29-Dec. 23
1111 S.W. Broadway

Three gifted Portland songwriters (Michael Allen Harrison, Alan Berg and Julianne R. Johnson-Weiss) have collaborated on a musical version of the great Hollywood movie.

“ZooZoo: Cats for the Holiday”
Imago
Dec. 7-Jan. 1
17 S.E. Eighth Ave.

Imago is a wildly imaginative Portland theater company, known for its work for children and for its worldwide touring schedule. “ZooZoo,” as the name suggests, is an animal show, with great costumes and split-second comic timing. And yes, the cats are featured, though polar bears, hippos and frogs are never far away.

“In Good Company”

Northwest Dance Project
Dec. 7-16
833 N. Shaver St.

Inside the cozy confines of their home studio, this Portland dance company will spin some vintage vinyl and some brand new dances as well as some revivals constructed by company members with their company members in mind. These shows will sell out quickly.

“The Nutcracker”
Oregon Ballet Theatre
Dec. 8-23
Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St.

Portland’s major ballet company does a “Nutcracker” every year (of course!), and the company has made this one special with lots of guests to go along with the bright dancing. For many of us, it’s a crucial reminder of the season.

Tags: dance, drama, Holiday, Performance, performing arts, play, Theater

////// By Oregon Arts Watch / / Add Comment (1)