Calgary stages jammed as holiday performing arts scene set to take flight

Free Falling is contemporary circus work from the Screaming Goat Collective (Leda Davies) and Femme de Feau Creations (Miriam Benedetti).. It's at C Space Nov. 28-30

Calgary stages are about to become very busy.

The city is jammed with shows this December, whether you prefer Scrooge, a runt piglet named Wilbur, Agatha Christie whodunits, the Nutcracker Suite, or alternative theatre.

Not only do holiday shows spread a little Christmas cheer, they also help Calgary arts organizations pay the bills.

Here’s a list of shows in town over the coming weeks.

A Christmas Carol at Theatre Calgary through Dec. 29. Doug McKeag is back for the second year as Ebeneezer Scrooge in a show that has become a holiday ritual for thousands of Calgarians.

 

 

 

 

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Charlotte’s Web at Alberta Theatre Projects tells the story of Wilbur the runt piglet’s friendship with a spider. Directed by Blind Date creator Rebecca Northan. Through Dec.. 29.

Alberta Theatre Projects is presenting Charlotte's Web through Dec. 29. (Photo: Alberta Theatre Projects)

Vertigo Theatre’s holiday mystery is Murder on the Links, an Agatha Christie story set on a golf course in France. It’s on through Dec. 21 at Vertigo under the Calgary Tower.

Trevor Rueger and Javelin Laurence in Vertigo Theatre's holiday show Murder on the Links (Photo by Fifth Wall Media)

Workshop Theatre is presenting another Agatha Christie drama, And Then There Were None,  which its director, Louis Hobson -- Calgary Herald and Sun theatre critic and former CTV News movie critic -- describes as one of the darkest Christies. It’s set on an remote island with 10 strangers who have secrets. Through Dec. 7 at Pumphouse Theatre.

Workshop Theatre are presenting Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None at the Pumphouse Theatre. Nov. 29- Dec. 7.

The Orange Dot by Sean Dixon presents us with Natalie and Joe, who find themselves in the precarious space between myth and modern world, neither of them expecting or anticipating what is to come. From Sage Theatre, at Lantern Church in Inglewood. Opens Nov. 29 and runs through Dec. 7.

The Orange Dot tells the story of Natalie and Joe, who find themselves in the precarious space between myth and modern world, At Lantern Church in Calgary from Nov. 29 through Dec. 7. (Photo: Sage Theatre)

A Sundance Carol tells the story of the time The Sundance Kid (yes, that Sundance Kid!) came to Alberta to serve as best man at wedding. The Erratic Players bring Sundance and the wedding to life at Longview’s Twin Cities Saloon, where your ticket to the show includes steak, chicken or a vegetarian dinner. Through Jan. 4. Tickets available  here.

Longview’s Erratic Players bring Sundance and the wedding to life in A Sundance Carol, at Longview’s Twin Cities Saloon, where your ticket to the show includes steak, chicken or a vegetarian dinner.

Free Falling is a contemporary circus double bill featuring work from the Screaming Goat Collective (Leda Davies) and Femme de Feau Creations (Miriam Benedetti). "Grief touches everyone at some point, and at the Screaming Goats Collective, we use circus arts to create social change. Our double bill explores relationships, grief, and healing through storytelling, using unique circus apparatuses rarely seen in Western Canadian performances,” said Davies, The Screaming Goat Collective’s Artistic Director and performer of Fish at the Bottom of the Sea. At C Space in Marda Loop from Nov. 28 through Nov. 30.

Free Falling is a contemporary circus performance featuring work from the Screaming Goat Collective (Leda Davies) and Femme de Feau Creations (Miriam Benedetti). It's at C Space in Marda Loop from Nov. 28 to Nov. 30.

The Nutcracker is to the Alberta Ballet as A Christmas Carol is to Theatre Calgary: a holiday ritual for thousands of Calgary families. “Join Klara and her Nutcracker in their valiant battle against the cunning Rat King and travel with them to the Sugar Plum Fairy's palace, where sweet delights inspire everyone,” it says on Alberta Ballet’s website. From Dec. 13 to Dec. 24.

 

 

 

 

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Beauty and the Beast, Storybook Theatre. It's a tale as old as time: step into the enchanted world of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, presented by Calgary's StoryBook Theatre. Recommended for ages six and up. Opened this weekend and runs through Dec. 29.

Storybook is also presenting a limited engagement of One Christmas Carol, featuring Natascha Girgis playing all 35 parts of the Dickens classic. Dec. 8-23.

 

 

 

 

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Jubilations Dinner Theatre pays tribute to the Rolling Stones and their revolutionary music with a production of All Those Rolling Stones, which takes audiences into the band's tumultuous world. Through Jan. 11.

 

 

 

 

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Girls Just Wanna Have Fun: Evolution of the Greatest Girl Bands,  "From the stylish, swingin' sounds of the Andrews Sisters in the 1940s to the pop perfection of the Spice Girls in the 1990s, female vocal groups have brought harmony, hip-shaking, and hit after hit." At Stage West Dinner Theatre through Feb. 2.

 

 

 

 

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Twelve Days from Forte Musical Guild’s marvellous Joe Slabe, is a heartwarming holiday musical that tells the story of Anton and Donna and Robert and the pursuit of the perfect holiday gift. Dec.3-21 at Lunchbox Theatre.

Lunchbox Theatre's Twelve Days is described as a "heartwarming holiday musical." (Photo: Facebook/LunchboxTheatre)