Magic of 'Nutcracker' returns to Boston's Wang TheatreBy The Associated Press
Boston Ballet celebrates the holiday season with the magic of "The Nutcracker" at the Wang Theatre in Boston, through Jan. 4.
Featuring Boston Ballet's world-class dancers, "The Nutcracker" spins a magical tale around a young girl named Clara and her amazing dream adventure. The production brings the dream to life with breathtaking costumes, scenery and special effects.
Featuring the familiar Tchaikovsky score, the company will stage 51 performances of "The Nutcracker," including three matinees exclusively for school children.
Children are a vital part of the production. This year, there are more than 400 young people performing as toy soldiers, dolls, baby mice, reindeer, angels and baby lambs.
Tickets range from $12-$59, and are available at The Wang Theatre Box Office, 270 Tremont St., Boston, or by calling TicketMaster at (508) 931-ARTS. Discounted group sales tickets are available by calling (617) 695-6950, ext. 342.
No lights, no tinsel, no trees, no wreaths. No Santa. No reindeer. Sounds like the Grinch won, after all.
But long before the skinny guy with the bad attitude and the tiny dog invaded Who-ville, New Englanders celebrated Christmas without the trappings of today.
Visitors to Old Sturbridge Village, the re-created 19th century village museum, are often surprised to find no wreaths upon the doors of the steepled meetinghouse, no candlelit trees or colorfully wrapped gifts. "Sometimes I feel like the Grinch," said Jack Larkin, the director of research for Old Sturbridge Village.
Larkin said most early New Englanders were Puritans, who held profound religious convictions and were determined to "prune away" everything not directly commanded or described in the Bible. The Bible never dates the birth of Christ, and most considered Christmas a pagan festival. But there were those who quietly yearned for a celebration.
So on three Sundays in December, Old Sturbridge Village offers the quiet beauty of a winter village when Christmas was still a faraway custom. During "The Beginnings of a New England Christmas," from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 7, 14, and 21, visitors can learn more about the holiday's origins, enjoy 19th-century parlor games, hearthside tales, music and dance, and stroll the candlelit Center Village at dusk.
For more information, call 1-800-SEE-1830.
Help spread holiday cheer at the USS Constitution Museum on Dec. 6, from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Sing along with the Gloucester Hornpipe and Clog Society, indulge in refreshments and do some shopping.
Museum Kids Club members can take a tour of the ship conducted by 1797 Marine Detachment re-enacters. Children ages 5-16 can become a Kids Club member on the spot and join the boarding party. Annual membership for kids is $18.12.
Located in Boston's historic Charlestown Navy Yard, the USS Constitution Museum is a non-profit, educational institution dedicated to preserving the heritage of the USS Constitution, widely known as "Old Ironsides," and to teaching about the American spirit and ideals the ship embodies.
Contact: Marilyn Weiss Cruickshank at (617) 426-1812, ext. 113.
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