‘Twas the nights before Christmas and all through the house(s)… a big opening night in Edmonton

By Liz Nicholls, .ca

’Twas the nights before Christmas, and all through the house….

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Shows. Yes, it’s a big opening night tonight, gift-wrapped, on Edmonton stages:

•Kris Kringle is the guest of honour through Tuesday at the vintage Capitol Theatre in Fort Edmonton Park. In Miracle on 34th Street The Musical, a version of the classic 1947 Christmas movie by Meredith Willson of Music Man fame, Kris gets a gig as a Macy’s department store Santa. He has his work cut out for him overcoming skeptics, who have their doubts about his credentials, especially a Macy’s employee and her daughter, who have inured themselves to disappoint. Benjamin Smith directs the NUOVA Vocal Arts production, two dozen actors strong and starring Hal Kerbes, that runs tonight through Tuesday as part of the Fort’s Christmas Market. Tickets aren’t easy to come by (unless you’ve made special arrangements with a department store Santa near you). But check: they’re available at eventbrite.ca.

•Crystle Lightning and Henry Cloud Andrade, the ingenious creators of Bear Grease, their hit Indigenous take on that musical engraved in our collective DNA, have a devised a holiday sequel. Bear Grease: Shack Up For The Winter has a quick run (six performances) on the Citadel’s Shoctor stage tonight through Sunday. The production directed by Lightning stars Bryce Morin as Danny, Shannon Rodriguez Sweeney as Sandy, Tammy Rae Lamouche as Rezzo, Tickets: citadeltheatre.com, 780-425-1820.

•Tonight through Saturday at the Varscona, in Nutcracker Burlesque you can have the fun of seeing a chestnut cracked by a new nutcracker. House of Hush reimagines The Nutcracker through the plume-framed lens of burlesque, in a script devised by Nikki Hulowski, who co-hosts the extravaganza with Rusty Strutz. Scarlett von Bomb choreographs the nine-member cast. Tickets: eventbrite.ca.

•The creatures of the Boreal Forest get festive in Enchanted Antlers: Furget Me Not, a new holiday show from Theatre Prospero, at the Varscona Saturday and Sunday. It invites audiences “to discover their inner ungulate” in an interactive story created by Jennifer Spencer, with music by Julie Golosky. It’s BYOA (bring your own antlers). Tickets: pay-what-you-can, varsconatheatre.com.

•And continuing: A Christmas Carol at the Citadel (tickets: citadeltheatre.com) through Dec. 24; Die Harsh The Christmas Musical at the Orange Hub through Dec. 28 (tickets: grindstonetheatre.ca); Girl Brain, Actually at the Roxy through Sunday(tickets: theatrenetwork.ca); Canada’s Ukrainian Nutcracker by Shumka, at the Jube Saturday and Sunday (tickets: ticketmaster.ca). And Rapid Fire Theatre’s inspired The Blank Who Stole Christmas  through Sunday at the Exchange Theatre. Tickets: rapidfiretheatre.com.