Christmas is in the air, and the local theater scene is putting the happy in Happy Holidays.
Elf off the Shelf
There’s a misfit in Toyland and his name is Buddy. He’s the elf that isn’t really an elf, but a human raised in the North Pole by one of Santa’s senior managers. Buddy goes off to America to find his real family and falls in love with a real girl. The movie is brought to stage (with added music) in “Elf – the Musical.”
Look for it at the Benedum Center, 719 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh.
Get on the nice list and take the whole family! For more information go here; www.trustarts.org
You want a Frosty with that?
Midnight Radio is back on the list. The Bricolage presents “Midnight Radio: Animated Holidaze,” a “Fractured Fairy Tale” version of your favorite animated Christmas Classics. Grinch, Frosty, Charlie Brown and friends aren’t safe from clutches of Tami Dixon and Jeffrey Carpenter and their troupe of talented radio (not on the radio) stars.
Jump on Santa’s sleigh and head down to the Bricolage, 937 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, or, you know, take the bus or something. You can learn more at www.bricolagepgh.org
Scrooged
It’s inevitable. You can’t deny it. You’re going to see at least one version of Charles Dickens’ miserly curmudgeon who undergoes a massive spiritual rebirth on Christmas Eve. You might as well see, “A Musical Christmas Carol.” Ebenezer himself might warm to this version at the Benedum Center, 719 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh.
Throw open your window and throw a schilling down to a boy in the street and get him to buy you tickets for the whole Cratchit family, or get tickets online here; www.pittsburghclo.org
Baby Jesus, Three Wise Men and a Cast of Hundreds
Every Christmas, at this time, the Carnegie Museum puts up its big crèche, the Neapolitan Presepio. The Nativity scene features more than 100 human and angelic figures, along with animals, accessories and architectural elements.
You don’t have to follow the star to find the newborn king; you can just go to the Carnegie Museum of Art, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Oakland. For more information, go to www.cmoa.org
Bah Humbug!
Not in the holiday spirit? You can do the Truffle Shuffle over at the “Live Read: The Goonies.” It’s just like the movie, but read out loud by local actors and comedians. Chris Preksta (“Pittsburgh Dad,” “Mercury Men,” and much more) directs the live reading of the action/adventure comedy screenplay. These events usually sell out, so get your tickets early!
You can find the fun at the Arcade Comedy Theater, 811 Liberty Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh.
And that’s a wrap people. Come back next week for more fun things to do in Pittsburgh.
-MB
What are the chances of getting some BV love for “Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge” out at Little Lake? Running Thur-Sat thru 12/14.