wElkend ii
Preview
The following list is a briefguide
to weekend events. Please call
venues for more information.
CONCERTS:
Knickerbockers, 901 OSt
Friday: Swerve, Resin 8
Saturday: World Record Players,
No Nutritional Value
Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th St
Friday: Kim Lenz and her Jaguars
Saturday: 9 Live Cats
Duggan’s Pub, 440 S. 11th St
Friday: The Rockin’ Fossils
Kimball Recital Hall, 11th and R
streets
Saturday: University Symphony ..A
Orchestra Sr
THEATER:
Lied Center for Performing Arts,
12th and R streets
All weekend: “A Christmas Carol”
Star City Dinner Theatre, Eighth
and Q streets
All weekend: “Annie”
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| ““ e‘-1 i
Mary ltiejpMd Kdss FUm Theater,
12th and R streets
All weekend: “Views of Merchant
Ivory”
• GALLERIES:
Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Dodge
St., Omaha
Re^^M|^^aJepairitmgs and.
Cuban artist Jose Bedia, “Allure of
the Exotic”
Burkholder Project, 719 P St
All weekend: The annual holiday
art show “Color Me Christmas”
Haydon Gallery, 335 N. Eighth
St
“Small Treasures” featuring works
by gallery members.
♦
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery,
12th and R streets
All weekend: “One Hour Smile”
and “Pablo Picasso and Peers”
Director adds
new twist, effects
to holiday classic
By Liza Holtmeier
Tfie’c'rotcHefy, old crank stfil hates the holi
days, but this year he receives a lighter treatment
in the production of “A Christmas Carol.”
Presented by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, the bien
nial production opens tonight at the Lied Center
for Performing Arts.
Every two years, a different director takes the
helm of the show, providing a new interpretation
of this classic tale. This year, director William
Grange, an associate professor of tneater, has
ing on tie merrinfent.
“Whereas the last production looked at the
darker side, this production is lighter and takes a
more comic approach,” said Becky Key, who
plays the Ghost of Christmas Present.
To achieve this end, Grange has made various
casting and technical changes.
Professional actor William McCauley will
perform the role of Scrooge. McCauley per
formed with the Nebraska Repertory Theatre this
summer in “The Woman in Black.”
Castitisnlbers saitLMcCauley has brqught g
new eniiarg^4 vitojityio the shcjfv.
“I think this show can be in a re#i rut if you
don’t have a Scrooge who’s willing to try things,”
Key said.
But McCauley has been open to experimenta
tion, encouraging the cast to by new things.
Nebraska state Sen. David Landis will play
the role of Dickens, who serves as the play’s nar
rator. *- ;
Grange has capitalized on Landis’ comic abil
ity by allowing the character of Dickens to inter
act more with the rest of the cast. This interaction
has helped to speed up the play’s tempo.
“If (Landis) ever decides to get out of politics,
he should go into theater,” Grange said.
Grange made a couple of additional casting
changes by casting a woman in the traditionally
male role of the Ghost of Christmas Present and
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■ WWM ■ , MattHaney/DN • ■ • W
casting twins as the Ghost of Christmas Past
Grange has also tried to incorporate elements
of 19th century theater by emphasizing special
effects such as smoke and explosions.
Through these minor changes, Grange hopes
to heighten the spirit that has made “A Christmas
Carol” a seasonal favorite. ;
“What is it in this play that appeals to every
human being? The idea of the brotherhood of man
under the Fatherhood ofGod,” Grange said. -
Grange said this theme provides “A Christmas
Carol with a feeling of universality.
“It transcends these very minor things like
culture,” Grange said. “This proves that all those
things are really unimportant. The theater, histor
ically, has always made a living on universals.”
“A Christmas Carol” runs tonight and
Saturday at 7 p.m. with matinees at 2 p.m. on
Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $ 16 and $20.
Half-price tickets are available for students. For
reservations, call the Lied Center box office at
(402)472-4747.
' . - - - , jr»2*Tif-»?.Q5> niOC'rDeC ^ ------
Variety of event
■ Lincoln and Omaha
will feature plays, art
exhibits and choirs.
By Sarah Baker
Senior staff writer
With finals looming just around the
comer, a good dose of holiday cheer
couldn’t be more appropriate for any
one who feels less than in the spirit of
things.
And there are plenty of events going
on around the Lincoln and Omaha areas
that are sure to get anyone ready for the
season.
“A Christmas Carol” - one of the
holiday mainstays in the world of the
ater - is showing at locations in both
Lincoln and Omaha at numerous
venues.
The play will be performed on cam
pus at the Lied Center for Performing
Arts, 301 N. 12th St., which will show
its presentation of die Charles Dickens
classic all weekend in both matinee and
nighttime showings. The show contin
ues its run through Dec. 20.
The Omaha Community
Playhouse, 6915 Cass St. in Omaha, is
showing its own version of the play, fea
turing the citywide favorite Dick Boyd
as Ebenezer Scrooge. The Playhouse
also runs its show through Dec. 20.
But. “A Christmas Carol” isn’t the
only festive program celebrating the
holidays.
The Lincoln Community
Playhouse, 2500 S. 56th St., presents
“Babes in Toyland” for a holiday alters
native. The show tells the story of how
courageous ballerinas and toy soldiers
fight to save Christmas. The show
opens Dec. 10 and runs through Dec.
20.
There is plenty to look at in the visu
al art world as well.Oalleries in Omaha
and Lincoln frequently coordinate holi
day collections for the seasons, and this
is a banner year for taking in the colors
ofChristmas.
The Burkholder Project, 719 P St,,
begins its annual seasonal art show,
“Color Me Christmas” just in time for
the holidays. All of the artists in die co
op participate in the two-month-long
show.
For those interested in the sounds of
the holiday season, the Joslyn Art
Museum, 2200 Dodge. St. in Omaha,
begins its annual holiday concert series
“Holiday Under Glass.” The series con
sists of a number of local high school
and university performances by then
respective choirs and singing groins.
The concerts begin at noon in the
museum’s atrium and are accompanied
by lunch and a.guided tour.
St. Mark’s United Methodist
Church, 8550 Pioneers Blvd., brings
everyone’s favorite holiday carols to life
this Sunday with “A Nebraska Brass
Christmas.” The (Jay is set to include
“WeThree Kings,” “Away in aMangei'’
and “Sleigh Ridei”just to name a few.
“Christmas afUnion Station” in
Omaha at the Durham Western
Heritage Museum, 801 S. 10* St, is the
place to be for numerous holiday festiv
ities -throughout the. month of
December: Western Heritage also
boasts the city’s largest decorated
Christmas pee in its main lobby.
Featuring a parade of Dickens char
acters, horse-drawn carriages and a host
of musicians, “Dickens in the Market”
has become one of the more popular
holiday events in Omaha.
Located in the Old Market in down
town Omaha, the parade and music will
take place throughout the weekend.
For more information on any of the
above events, please call venues for
dates, times and prices.
The holidays rottiaround^pnly once
a year, so be sure toiake advantage of
these activities before 'the Ghost of
Christmas Past comes to haunt you.