Pencil This In: Holiday Roundup

By Amy Mikel in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 1, 2008 8:00PM

Theater

• A hearty dose of vaudeville and burlesque will be served up at the Sexy Santas Spectacular! Spectacular! – Burlesque’s Naughty List series of shows at Gorilla Tango Theater. The holiday variety show will feature a different local Burlesque headliner for each performance and will include song, dance and comedy.
  Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Fridays and Saturdays through 12/20, 11:30 p.m., $16

• Meet Me in St. Louis isn’t exactly a Christmas story, but it earned its props by introducing the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" as part of the original film’s musical score. Drury Lane at Watertower is running a top-notch, tidy rendition, with a spunky cast and a Judy Garland sound-alike in the role of Esther.
  Drury Lane Theatre at Watertower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., through 12/21, showtimes vary, $50-$60

• The Neo-Futurists spin Scrooge with A Very Neo-Futurist Christmas Carol; which is simply the troupe’s approach to the standard Dickens story. Pre-show entertainment includes carolers and an interactive game show: Christmas Past or Present.
  The Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland, through 12/23, showtimes vary, $15 or $10 for students, or pay-what-you-can for preview and Thursday shows.

• Victory Gardens' rendition of The Snow Queen is back for a third season, using actors, puppets, props and song to tell Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale. The musical has had a great run since its premiere in 2006; due to its solid staging and music, and a talented cast and production team.
  Biograph Theater Mainstage, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., through 12/28, showtimes vary, $48
  

Exhibits
The Museum of Science and Industry’s Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light includes a display of over fifty Christmas trees, decorated by local ethnic groups, and varying cultural performances every day of the week. View December’s events schedule online, where you can also download a voucher to get two adult admissions for the price of one.
MSI, 57th Street and Lake Shore Dr., through 1/04/09, Free with general admission

Film
Santa vs. The Snowman 3D – a computer-animated family film about a snowman trying to take over the North Pole – has garnered fairly good reviews since its release in 2002. 3D films are always kind of fun, and at only 32 minutes, the movie won’t waste much of anyone’s time.
IMAX Theater at Navy Pier, through 12/7, 4:00 p.m., tickets $11 Adult; $9 Child

Miscellaneous

• For the third year now, Chicago chorale groups take their turn caroling at Cloud Gate [PDF] on Friday evenings. 12/5 - The Wooten Choral Ensemble; 12/12 - Chicago Chamber Choir; 12/19 - Chicago Children's Choir
  Caroling at Cloud Gate, Millennium Park, Fridays through 12/19, 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Free

• The ZooLights festival at Lincoln Park Zoo is celebrating its 14th year, this time with an entirely LED lights display. At this point, it’s only running on the weekends, but you can see the LP Zoo lights nightly after the 14th.
  LP Zoo, 2200 N. Canon Dr., ZooLights runs from 5-9 p.m. through 1/04/09, zoo closed 12/24 and 12/25, Free

• If you are in the mood for The Nutcracker, you are in the right city; there is probably a show in town that will suit your taste as well as your pocketbook.
  

Images Sexy Santas Spectacular! Spectacular! and MSI's Ukranian Tree