Every holiday season, ordinary life becomes a full-scale production: holiday attire, extra leaves in the dining table, chairs sourced from the den and an endless playlist of wintry favorites blaring over Bluetooth. Are these not the costumes, sets and soundtracks of a holiday show? If so, why not take a break and turn the performance over to the professionals for a bit? We have some suggestions that follow.
Santa Rosa
Meet Me for Christmas
Romance, ragtime and a looming family relocation drive 6th Street Playhouse’s Meet Me in St. Louis, featuring “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Runs Nov. 20–Dec. 20 at the GK Hardt Theater, 52 W. 6th St., Santa Rosa. Performances vary; tickets from $33. 6thstreetplayhouse.com.
Christmas at LBC
Calidanza Dance Company’s 20th Posada Navideña brings regional Mexican folk dance, live music and a community procession to Luther Burbank Center. Free lobby crafts start at 5:30pm; performance at 6:30pm, Friday, Dec. 11, at 50 Mark West Springs Rd., Santa Rosa. Tickets and details at lutherburbankcenter.org.
Illuminating Ideas
Northern Lights turns Luther Burbank Center’s Sculpture Garden into a free, illuminated winter art walk, with whimsical installations and photo-friendly tunnels. Dusk–9:30pm daily, Nov. 19–Jan. 18, at 50 Mark West Springs Rd., Santa Rosa. Free. lutherburbankcenter.org/northernlights.
Rohnert Park
Silent Night
In All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, soldiers briefly lay down their weapons on the Western Front. Firsthand accounts and a cappella song recount the remarkable pause in World War I. Dec. 11–13 at Nellie W. Codding Theatre, Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Ln., Rohnert Park. Times and tickets at spreckelsonline.com.
Plum Perfect
Petaluma School of Ballet marks 40 years of The Nutcracker, Dec. 11–13 at Evert B. Person Theater, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park. Tickets $30.40–$40.90; petalumaschoolofballet.com.
Hallelujah, Indeed
Santa Rosa Symphony inaugurates Winterlude with Handel’s Messiah, led by Francesco Lecce-Chong with the Symphony Chorus and four vocal soloists. 7:30pm, Saturday, Dec. 12, and 3pm, Sunday, Dec. 13, at Weill Hall, Green Music Center, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park. Tickets from $34. srsymphony.org. The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus brings its Holiday Spectacular to the same hall at 5pm, Sunday, Dec. 20. sfgmc.org.
Sonoma
Cracking Up
The Nutcracker gets a jazz makeover when Music in Place presents Duke Ellington’s Harlem Nutcracker, featuring the 15-piece Marcus Shelby Big Band with dancers. 7pm, Sunday, Dec. 6, at Sebastiani Theatre, 476 First St. E., Sonoma. $25 students, $45 general admission, $75 VIP. musicinplace.org.
Petaluma
Art of Giving
Petaluma Arts Center’s Annual Members’ Show features local art and a holiday auction benefiting future programming. The exhibition runs Nov. 12–Dec. 12, Thursdays–Sundays, noon–4pm, at 230 Lakeville St. Closing reception 5:30–7:30pm, Saturday, Dec. 12. Reception free; $5 suggested gallery donation. petalumaartscenter.org.
Healdsburg
Winter Illuminations
Healdsburg Chorus and Chamber Singers move from Vivaldi and Lauridsen to familiar carols in Winter Illuminations, conducted by Don Scott Carpenter. 3pm, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 12–13, at Raven Performing Arts Theater, 115 North St. Tickets and information at healdsburgchorus.org.
Napa
A Different Holiday Tune
Napa Music Hall’s Glial Cell Christmas offers original seasonal songs from a homegrown collective. 8pm, Saturday, Dec. 19, at The Club, 1030 Main St., Napa; napamusichall.com. The Jenner Fox Band revisits a wry songwriter’s seasonal catalog in A John Prine Christmas. 8pm, Sunday, Dec. 20, at Uptown Theatre, 1350 Third St., Napa; uptowntheatrenapa.com.
Wonderful Airwaves
George Bailey makes his case for a second chance in Lucky Penny Productions’ It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, performed in the style of a 1940s broadcast. Dec. 4–20 at Lucky Penny Community Arts Center, 1758 Industrial Way, Napa. Evenings 7:30pm, matinees 2pm. Tickets at luckypennynapa.com.
