Weekend Picks: From Santa Monica to Pasadena, seven shows for a last blast of holiday cheer
Here’s a stocking stuffed full of seasonal entertainment to take you right up through Christmas Eve, including one last crack at “The Nutcracker,” a holiday concert with Long Beach Symphony and a true tale from the trenches of the Great War retold in Santa Monica. Also: A former Beach Boy will have you feeling festive, A Noise Within revives its “Christmas Carol” in Pasadena, and you can sing, sing, sing along with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Family-friendly and free
The L.A. County Holiday Celebration is back for a 59th year. This multicultural spectacular showcases nearly two dozen local music and dance ensembles, including the Citrus Singers, Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, Jung Im Lee Korean Dance Academy, Pasadena Girls’ Choir, Paso de Oro Dance Company, Pacifico Dance Company, Le Ballet Dembaya and wheelchair ballroom dance company Infinite Flow. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. 3-6 p.m. Monday. Free. First come, first seated. www.HolidayCelebration.org
A ‘Suite’ for the sweet
If you’ve saved room for one last production of “The Nutcracker,” you might try American Contemporary Ballet’s “The Nutcracker Suite,” an intimate, immersive take on the holiday favorite performed in a new, larger venue. One California Plaza, 18th floor, 300 S. Grand Ave., L.A. 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m. Monday. $50-$98. www.acbdances.com
Long Beach pops
Long Beach Symphony is joined by Long Beach Camerata Singers as well as the Long Beach Youth Chorus for “Holiday Pops!” This festive program includes selections from Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” and the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. Long Beach Arena, Pacific Ballroom, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. 8 p.m. Saturday. $10-$175. www.longbeachsymphony.org
All quiet on the western front
Allied and German soldiers during World War I lay down their arms, come up out of their trenches and, in the spirit of “peace on earth, good will toward men,” celebrate the season together in the fact-based, song-filled stage show “All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914.” The Broad Stage, 1310 11th St., Santa Monica. 4 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $45 and up. www.thebroadstage.com
Good vibrations, holiday style
“Brian Wilson Presents the Christmas Album Live” finds the Beach Boys’ creative mastermind performing holiday favorites from the band’s classic 1964 LP, with special guests and former bandmates Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin. Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Drive, Cerritos. 8 p.m. Friday. $90-$150. www.cerritoscenter.com
The Dickens, you say!
It’s your last weekend to catch A Noise Within’s annual staging of “A Christmas Carol.” Geoff Elliot plays Scrooge in this lively adaptation of Dickens’ supernatural fable. An L.A. Times’ Critic Choice. A Noise Within, 3352 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. $25 and up; student rush, $20. www.anoisewithin.org
Follow the bouncing Bing
If you’ve been dreaming of a “White Christmas Sing-Along,” you’re in luck. Audiences members are encouraged to lift their voices with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney at a pair of screenings of the classic 1954 movie musical. On-screen lyrics are included. Disney Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. 3 and 8 p.m. Sunday. www.laphil.com
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