HOLIDAY THEATER : Productions range from traditional and nostalgic to heartwarming contemporary.

The weeks before Christmas traditionally see some of the most enduring stories of the holiday season offered on stage. The Palos Verdes Players, for example, are putting on the Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol,” while the Torrance Youth Theatre tackles “A Night Before Christmas.”

But with an abundance of theater groups in the area, the seasonal productions this year go beyond the traditional. Consider, for starters, the South Bay Repertory Theatre’s presentation of a work by Truman Capote, and another staging by the Palos Verdes Players of a heartwarming piece about growing up in Los Angeles by Leo Buscaglia.

Whatever your taste, there is certain to be something for almost everyone this month.

For the non-traditional, start with Buscaglia’s “Two Festivals of Light,” the story of two immigrant families--one Italian-Catholic and the other Polish-Jewish--whose friendship sees them through the joy of the holidays and the challenges of building a new life in Los Angeles during the 1940s.

Adapted for the stage by South Bay writer Steven Korbar, director David DiAngelo calls the story a “charming and poignant evocation of another era that clearly demonstrates how little Los Angeles has changed in the past half-century . . . how the city is still a melting pot and how we are still just trying to find a way to get along with each other.

“This story of the 1940s offers not only nostalgia, but also contemporary relevance in a time when any call for tolerance, no matter how simply stated, is so desperately needed.”

The story is among seven short stories that Buscaglia included in a collection he wrote about growing up in Los Angeles.

In addition to this Sunday at 2:30 p.m., the play also will be staged at 7 p.m. the two following Sundays, Dec. 20 and 27, on Dec. 19 at 2:30 p.m., and Dec. 26 at 8 p.m.

Capote’s childhood is the inspiration for “A Christmas Memory,” which is being presented Saturday and Sunday by the South Bay Repertory Theatre. The story is a retelling of Capote’s childhood memories of his Christmas celebrations in the rural South during the late 1920s.

For more traditional fare, there is “Clara’s Christmas Dream,” a complete version of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker,” presented by Dance Peninsula today through the weekend at the Norris Theater for the Performing Arts in Rolling Hills Estates.

And, there is always “A Christmas Carol” staged by the Palos Verdes Players today and Saturday and “A Night Before Christmas” put on by the Torrance Youth Theatre.

Here are some of the weekend’s offerings:

“A Christmas Memory”: South Bay Repertory Theatre presents a staged reading of this piece by Capote at the James R. Armstrong Theatre at 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for children 12 and younger. The theater is at 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance. (310) 781-7171.

“A Night Before Christmas”: Presented by the Torrance Youth Theatre at noon and 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 4 p.m. Sunday also at the James R. Armstrong Theatre. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 and younger.

“A Christmas Carol”: Presented by the Palos Verdes Players, this holiday favorite by Charles Dickens will be featured at 8 p.m. today and Saturday. Tickets are $8 for adults and $3 for children. The theater is at the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Amsler Street, across from the new Torrance Crossroads Shopping Center and behind the Palos Verdes Bowling Alley. (310) 326-2287

“Two Festivals of Light”: This story of two immigrant families, one Italian-Catholic and the other Polish-Jewish, focuses on the friendship that sees them through the holidays in Los Angeles during the 1940s. Presented by the Palos Verdes Players at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the same location as above.

“Clara’s Christmas Dream”: Dance Peninsula will present this version of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” today and Saturday at the Norris Theater for the Performing Arts, 27570 Crossfield Drive, Rolling Hills Estates. Tickets are $9.50 for adults and $5.50 for children 12 and younger and senior citizens.