Get Into the Spirit

Local performing arts companies stage beloved holiday classics

Courtesy Seaside REP

The spirit of the season is alive … on stage at a theater (or alternative space) near you. Whether you favor Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,”  jazzy tunes or a holiday classic mash-up of all of your favorite stories of the season, these offerings promise to spritz your holiday season with a fresh, new twist.

Every Christmas Story Ever Told … And Then Some

It’s one thing to settle in to watch your favorite holiday tale unfold before your eyes; it’s quite another to watch nearly every holiday tale ever told. For the seventh consecutive season, the tireless company at Seaside REP, led by executive director Brooke Stetler, will set out to do just that during the month of December in the 75-seat jewel-box theater that is nestled along the town square in scenic Seaside.

Don’t skip it, even if you’ve seen it. The script of “Every Christmas Story Ever Told … And Then Some” is refreshed each year. This year, it is again stuffed with hilarious holiday-themed jokes, brisk-paced staging, dancing, singing (even rap!) and plenty of audience participation.

Spoiler alert: Dad just may be pulled up on stage to portray Cindy Lou-Who.

“We wanted to create a show for all generations to come together, laugh, have a memorable holiday experience and create a space where the stress from the holidays season melts away so they can just have a great evening for the entire family,” Stetler says.

A Dickens Christmas

EMERALD COAST THEATRE COMPANY/CHASE YAKABOSKI

In this hour-long adaptation of Charles Dickens’ beloved holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol,” versatile actors portray multiple roles as they bring to life the tale of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformational night spent with three ghosts.

This year, producing artistic director Nathanael Fisher says audiences can still expect creative costume changes and fast-paced action in intimate non-traditional performance spaces as well as a few festive additions to the cast: a fourth actor and a live violinist!

“This is the same story that ECTC audiences have come to love as a holiday tradition, but we are reframing it and adding even more, to give them a slightly different experience,” Fisher says.

Regardless of how this classic is adapted, Fisher hopes audiences will leave with something to think about.
“Ebenezer Scrooge will be chilled by the famous haunting apparitions, but our hope is that audiences will be warmed by his transformation into a man of redemption.”

A Peter White Christmas 2016

Courtesy Mattie Kelly Fine & Performing Arts Center

If you dream of a jazzy “white” Christmas, your wish has been granted. “A Peter White Christmas 2016” is a fun-filled, one-night only concert evening that plays to packed arenas coast-to-coast year after year.

A talented threesome packs a (holiday) punch: Peter White is a fluent acoustic guitarist; Euge Groove is a sensation on the saxophone, and Rick Braun is a masterful trumpet/flugelhorn player. Together they have created a dazzling performance of holiday chestnuts.

“As a child, my father taught me to play Christmas music on my first instrument, the recorder, and my love for Christmas music has endured throughout the years,” says Peter White. “I hope this tour will be an opportunity for many Smooth Jazz fans to enjoy their favorite Christmas songs in a family setting. You know, I might even bring my recorder!”

“A Dickens Christmas”
Dec. 9–24, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. & Sundays at 2 p.m.
Grand Boulevard at Sandestin
560 Grand Blvd., Miramar Beach
For a current performance schedule and to purchase tickets online, visit Emeraldcoasttheatre.org.

“Every Christmas Story Ever Told”
Dec. 1–3, 8–10, 15–18, 21–23, 26–29 at 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 4, 11, 17, 18, 22–24, 27 at 2 p.m.
Seaside REP
216 Quincy Circle, Seaside
Lovetherep.com
Visit the website for additional performances staged at venues along the Emerald Coast.

“A Peter White Christmas 2016”
Saturday, Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m.
Mattie Kelly Arts Center
100 College Blvd. E., Niceville
MattieKellyArtsCenter.org