Three Theatrical Performances To Get You In The Holiday Spirit

The shows must go on. With COVID-19 shutting down many theaters and venues, there’s less to see this holiday season. But thanks to virtual adaptations, truncated performances and safe staging, here are three shows to see this month on screen and in person.

A Christmas Peril
This Beck Center for the Arts live Zoom youth theater performance Dec. 10-13 is made for the small screen. As a parody of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the play within a play centers on all the mishaps that happen when cast members try to put on a holiday classic. “Everything goes wrong in a very funny way,” says director and playwright Rachel Spence. Rehearsing on Zoom and collaborating through Google Classroom, the cast has had to adapt as scenic designers, thinking outside the box for costumes and props. “In theater, if something goes wrong on stage, you have to keep going with what you have,” says Spence. “This is a good lesson in general for these young actors.” 216-521-2540, beckcenter.org

Clara's Dream
North Pointe Ballet has reimagined their annual performance of The Nutcracker. The virtual adaptation, dubbed Clara’s Dream, will be available for ticket holders on North Pointe Ballet’s YouTube channel Dec. 4-6. “Our narration will be a grandfather telling the story of The Nutcracker to his grandson via Zoom,” says executive artistic director Janet Dziak. “It’s going to be really timely and heartwarming because a lot of families are experiencing that.” The program change has allowed North Pointe Ballet students ages 8-18 to become the foundation of the story over supporting roles. “Watching their passion for ballet grow in such a short amount of time has probably been my favorite part of this experience,” says Dziak. 440-723-8598, northpointeballet.org

A Very Electric Christmas
This show from Lightwire Theater is bound to brighten your day. The Akron Civic Theatre will be hosting the world-renowned company for a third year in a row Dec. 11 & 13, with dancers using neon filaments sewn into their otherwise black suits to transform into larger-than-life characters. “It’s very unique and innovative, because they’re incorporating all this electric and programming into the performance,” says executive director Howard Parr. The Akron Civic Theatre has worked to ensure appropriate COVID-19 measures are taken such as temperature checks, social distancing and mask requirements in the building. 182 S. Main St., Akron, 330-253-2488, akroncivic.com