The No Strings Marionette Company serves up a scrumptious rendition of the fairy tale classic at the Greenwich Historical Society. A cast of 15 handcrafted marionettes will lead families on a journey where the familiar meets the unexpected.

 

By Sarah Martin

 

Rudolph and the Other Reindeer

Don’t miss the chance to visit with Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Blitzen at The Greenwich Reindeer Festival, at McCardle’s Florist & Design Center through Christmas Eve. Feeding times are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. Visit greenwichreindeerfestival.com.The Roar of the Mouse King
The Purchase Dance Company lights up the Purchase Performing Arts Center with the region’s best-loved production of the classic “Nutcracker”. Performances are December 8 & 9 at 7:30 p.m., December 10 at 1 & 7:30 p.m., & December 11 at 1 & 5 p.m. Call 251-6200. Tickets start at $27.50.

 

The 19th Century by Candlelight

The Bush-Holley House will be decked out in its holiday best as docents in period costumes conduct special tours that weave a spell of Christmas past. Visitors can enjoy apple cider and holiday goodies in the Storehouse Gallery shop.

Tours run every quarter hour December 9 & 11 from 4-7 p.m. Free to members and children under 6. Cost is $10 for non-members, $8 seniors and students.

 

Songs of the Season

 

Be romanced by The Village Singers of Westchester, with an evening of classic Schubert and movie themes December 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Crawford Park Mansion in Rye Brook. Be serenaded with selected movements from Schubert’s Mass in E minor and revive memories of some familiar movie themes.

 

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 students and seniors. Refreshments will be served following the concert. Visit villagesingers.com or call 937-5251.

 

Christmas on the Farm

 

At Muscoot Farm in Somers, tour the first floor of the main house, which is beautifully and traditionally decorated for Christmas December 10 and 11 from 5-7 p.m. Enjoy music and freshly baked cookies. Guests can also visit the animals on a special night tour of the farm.

 

For more information, go to muscootfarm.org or call 864-7282.

 

“Handsome and Gretel”

The No Strings Marionette Company serves up a scrumptious rendition of the fairy tale classic at the Greenwich Historical Society. A cast of 15 handcrafted marionettes will lead families on a journey where the familiar meets the unexpected. Originally a tale of helpless, abandoned children, this version sparkles with a contemporary twist where the protagonists learn to speak up for themselves. Find out if hero Handsome discovers his true potential in time to rescue sister Gretel.

 

Performances are December 10 at 2, 4, and 6 p.m. Tickets are $10 for members, $15 non-members. Call 203-869-6899, ext. 10.

 

“A Christmas Carol”

 

Nestle in to the cozy confines of Philipsburg Manor’s Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow and let master storyteller Jonathan Kruk, complete with musical accompaniment, regale you with his adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale. Enjoy complimentary hot chocolate, cider, and cookies.

Performances are December 10 & 17 at 4, 5, 6, and 7 p.m. Tickets are $16 for adults, $12 children. Purchase tickets at hudsonvalley.org. Historic

 

Hudson Valley Celebrations

 

Take evening candlelight tours at Washington Irving’s Sunnyside and Van Cortlandt Manor December 10 & 17 from 4-8 p.m. The festivities begin at Van Cortland Manor, where decorations made of holiday greens and fruit adorn windowsills and mantles, musicians perform live music in the parlor, and the tables are set with Van Cortlandt family china. A stroll through the orchard, lit by candle-lanterns, takes visitors to the Ferry House for a first-person account of “Twelfth Night”. Once inside, guests are encouraged to dance to fiddle music. Afterwards, it’s time to toast the season with cider and cookies near the warmth of a bonfire.

 

At Sunnyside, see the cozy and romantic homestead of Washington Irving decorated with holly, evergreens, and candles. Excerpts from Irving’s Christmas tales and family letters are the theme of the evening. Join in song while a costumed guide accompanies on the piano. The tour concludes in the kitchen yard, where hot cider awaits.

 

Cost is $14 for adults, $6 children. Advanced tickets are required; visit hudsonvalley.org.

 

Christmas Cinema Classic

 

Take the whole family to Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” at the Jacob Burns Film Center. Never before has George Bailey’s plight seemed so painful, and the intercessions of his guardian angel Clarence, who shows George the good he has done in the world, been so sweet. Showtimes are December 17 & 18 at 12 p.m.

 

Seasonal Theatrics

 

The Westchester Sandbox Theatre in Mamaroneck presents two plays for the holidays. First up is “Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge”. This hilarious adult play will change the way you see Dickens’ classic tale. Tickets are $20. Performances are December 17, 18, 23, 29, and 30 at 8 p.m.

 

At “Goldilocks and the Christmas Bears”, the golden girl wants to spread Christmas cheer, but she doesn’t want to wake the hibernating bears. This one-hour family musical is a real discovery. Tickets are $10. Performances are December 14 at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m., December 17 at 2:30 & 4:30 p.m., and December 18 at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.

 

For tickets, call 630-0804.

 

Kelli O’Hara Stars

 

The Westchester Philharmonic presents “Winter Pops: Broadway’s Classic Hits”, with Kelli O’Hara and baritone Ben Davis, at the Purchase College Performing Arts Center December 18 at 3 p.m. Listen to ballads, duets, and orchestral suites from Rodgers’ “Carousel”, Bernstein’s “West Side Story”, Weill’s “Street Scene”, and Porter’s “Kiss Me Kate”. For tickets, call 682-3707 or visit westchesterphil.org.No Place Like Home
The Westchester Broadway Theater presents “Home For the Holidays”, a Christmas musical by Tony Javed and David Edwards. The play follows the journey of an American family whose soldier son is hoping to be home from Afghanistan for Christmas, a daughter who is at a West Coast college, and younger children preparing for their school pageant. The family faces the challenges of modern life and ultimately rediscovers the true meaning of the season.

 

Enjoy favorites like “White Christmas”, “The Christmas Song”, and “Jingle Bells”, and discover some new classics to add to your holiday playlist. The show runs through December 23. For showtimes, visit broadwaytheatre.com or call 592-2222.