STAGE REVIEWS HOLIDAY SHOWS : Heartache of AIDS Keeps Holiday Vigil

The Times’ Drama Department recently visited a smattering of holiday shows open for business. Here’s a sampling of what’s in and around town .

AIDS does not go away at Christmas. It resonates.

Philip Littell, Noreen Hennessy and guitarist Eric Cunningham will tell you so in their ardent, very simple show in two parts at the Celebration Theater in Hollywood. The first half, called “No Miracle: A Consolation,” consists of unsentimental songs about the anguish of AIDS set to Cunningham’s music. The second, “An Illuminated Calendar,” is a journey through the advent calendars of Littell’s childhood and a retelling of the Christmas story with a side trip or two.

One is tempted to use the word prayerful for this intense and chastening diary, followed by that hushed account of the birth of Christ. The show, flooded with heartache but never self-important, is exquisitely done, although a couple of set pieces--a tiered platform and later six poles--are intrusive, and the lighting at the particular performance seen was off its mark.

A plain, unadorned stage would best suit Littell’s unadorned lyrics (reprinted in the program--a true gift). They stand alone as poetry--spare, powerful statements that even Cunningham’s subdued music tends to obfuscate. Hennessy for her part has never been better.

This is an inspired holiday vigil that radicalizes the meaning of joy.

* “No Miracle: A Consolation” and “The Illuminated Calendar,” Celebration Theatre, 7051-B Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays, 8:30 p.m.; Fridays-Saturdays, 10:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Ends Dec. 22. $10; (213) 957-1884). Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.