The Nutcracker, Impresario… News Roundup, Nov. 26, 2020
Following a long tradition, Ballet San Antonio will once again present everyone’s favorite holiday ballet, The Nutcracker, at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, starting the day after Thanksgiving. It will be a modified Nutcracker with fewer dancers on stage to avoid crowding and close contact, but co-choreographer Easton Smith says there will be plenty of magic as great dancers interact with computer-generated effects to transport the audience into the world of Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy. The entire company has worked exceptionally hard on this production. Rigorous safety protocols are in place, and the usual Nutcracker Market has moved online this year. (To learn more about the innovative production, see feature story from Nov. 24, on this site) Performances: Fridays at 7 :30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 & 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m. through Dec. 13; Tobin Center, 100 Auditorium Circle, 78205; tickets are $40-$114 at Tobin box office 210-223-8624 or in-person; also online at www.balletsanantonio.org
Opera San Antonio has also worked hard to bring a special operatic treat to you on this Thanksgiving weekend: a virtual double bill of two short operas – The Impresario and Bon Appetit! A collaboration with Houston Grand Opera and Austin Opera, The Impresario is Mozart’s funny, fluffy tale of competing divas during an audition, which has been and adapted by playwright Jim Luigs and will be sung in English. What’s more, the drama-queens are auditioning via Zoom. We assume the music was left intact.
Bon Apetit! by Lee Hoiby, is a one-woman opera based on an episode of Julia Child’s TV program The French Chef. Directed by Ryan McKinny, it stars Jamie Barton as the chef who bakes a chocolate cake for the occasion.
Both operas are scheduled to premiere Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. You can watch for free on two platforms but you’ll need to create an account in each case. The options are: online on Houston Grand Opera’s website, www.houstongrandopera.org or on your TV by using Marquee TV ( go to www.marquee.tv to create account.)
In addition, the organizers have planned a pre-show Facebook watch Party with HGO Managing director Perryn Leech, General and artistic director of OSA E. Loren Meeker, HGO Dramaturg Jeremy Johnson and guest lecturer Annie Labatt. After the performance, OSA donors and patrons are invited to join a virtual Q&A with the cast and creative team.
Fairy tales are always part of the holiday season but the Snow White currently playing at the Magik Theater is a new version of the tale, with 21st century flair, performed by two “whip-smart, super-fast actors” playing all the roles, including the seven dwarfs. The show is directed by the Magik’s artistic director Anthony Runfola. (See feature story on this site) For tickets and full listing of dates and times go to www.magiktheatre.org This is a live, in-person show, fun for the entire family.
The Public Theatre is also going right ahead with its season of one-person plays. The holiday offering is Fully Committed, described as the “perfect show to usher in the holiday season.” A single performer portrays 40 different characters. She is Sam, an out-of-work actress who is taking reservations at a posh Manhattan restaurant, juggling socialites, wannabes, celebrities and egomaniacal bosses. Sound like fun, right? Maybe not for Sam, but certainly for the audience. Don’t we all like to laugh at those pompous types? (Dec. 3-13; Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. for tickets go to https://bit.ly/34XHPE4.) This is a virtual show.
The Classic Theater of San Antonio has partnered with TBD Pictures in New York to bring to you a filmed version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Nov. 28- Jan. 3. Directed by two-time Tony Award nominee, Michael Arden, this adaptation is “a towering achievement” according to the Hollywood Reporter. The streaming video event will benefit the Classic as well as other smaller theaters across the U.S. which have been devastated by the pandemic. To purchase tickets go to The Classic Theatre of San Antonio Presents: A Christmas Carol (onthestage.com)
If you want to shop for unique gifts, you may find them at the 6th Annual Holiday Fair and Potters Guild of San Antonio Clay and Arts Festival to be held Nov. 30 at the San Antonio Museum of Art. It’s a free, outdoor event in the West Courtyard.
Another holiday market, organized by the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, is going virtual this year and will be open through Dec. 23. To shop go to www.esperanzacenter.org.
A while ago, we told you about an animated light holiday drive-through show in the far west Bexar County. Here’s another one, Elf Acres, which is similar though the lights are not engaged in computer-controlled “dancing.” It still looks like fun. This one is located at 1475 Grosenbacher Rd., 78245; 210-643-8662, and it’s in operation until Dec. 30; daily 6:30 – 10 p.m.; $30 per vehicle.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OUR READERS