Atlanta Announces its Winter Show Season Full of Classic Christmas Stories

Atlanta's 2011 Christmas season includes many family-friendly classics.

Horizon Theatre’s MADELINE’S CHRISTMAS
December 10, 2011 – January 1, 2012

Horizon Theatre Company spreads holiday cheer this year with the return of its Family Series production of the delightful musical adaptation of Ludwig Bemelmans’ book Madeline’s Christmas.

Based on one of the most popular children’s book characters of all time, the production features twenty-four young girls acting alongside professional actors in two irresistibly adorable casts. Madeline and her friends will be sure to enchant audiences of all ages with their holiday adventure filled with laughter, magic and newfound friends.

MADELINE’S CHRISTMAS opens December 10, 2011 and runs through January 1, 2012. Performances are weekends at 1:00 PM and 3:30 PM with additional holiday week show times. Horizon Theatre Company is located in Little Five Points at the corner of Euclid and Austin Avenues (1083 Austin Avenue). Tickets are $12 for children and $15 for adults.

Synchronicity Theatre’s THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER
December 10, 2011 – January 1, 2012
Balzer Theater at Herren’s

Synchronicity Theatre continues its 14th season with the return of Gladys Herdman and the rest of the multicultural, multi-generational BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER cast. The show proved so popular in its 2010 run that we’re bringing it back with many of the same actors.

This funny, heartfelt play had its first professional performance at the Seattle Children’s Theatre in November 1982. The book – also by Barbara Robinson -- was first published in 1972 by HarperCollins. A TV movie was made in 1982 with Loretta Swit playing Mother (Grace Bradley). The 75-minute show will run through Jan. 1, 2012, at the Balzer Theater at Herren’s in repertory with the one-woman tour de force Feet First in the Water With a Baby in My Teeth, written and performed by Megan Gogerty.
Tickets are $20 adults, $15 age 12 and under. Group discounts available. Visit www.synchrotheatre.com or call 404.484.8636.

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Kid’s Christmas – THE POLAR EXPRESS
December 4 and 11, 2011
Atlanta Symphony Hall, Memorial Arts Building, Woodruff Arts Center

On December 4 and 11, 2011, at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., Staff Conductor Jere Flint will lead the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, joined by Baritone Steven Ozcomert, Lee Harper and Dancers, and the Atlanta Young Singers of Callanwolde, in Robert Kapilow’s “Chris van Allsburg’s Polar Express.”

Established in 1974, the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra provides Atlanta’s most talented and dedicated students an outlet to perform masterworks. Each year, more than 300 instrumentalists ages 13-18 audition for one of 120 seats in the orchestra. The Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra presents three concerts each year, in addition to the Atlanta Symphony Kid’s Christmas concerts, and members have exclusive invitations to participate in readings and master classes with the top artists in the instrumental music industry.
Tickets are $18-$24. All single tickets for the 2011–2012 season are on sale now, and available online at atlantasymphony.org, or by calling (404) 733-5000. Tickets may also be purchased at the Woodruff Arts Center Box Office, located in the Woodruff Arts Center at 15th and Peachtree Streets. Box office hours are Monday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Horizon Theatre’s THE SANTALAND DIARIES
November 25, 2011 – January 1, 2012

Ring in the holiday season with laughter as Horizon Theatre Company brings back its popular annual holiday production of THE SANTALAND DIARIES written by David Sedaris and directed by Co-Artistic Director Jeff Adler. Sardonic, satirical and sarcastic, our merry misanthrope, played for the 13th year by Harold M. Leaver, recounts the tale of his stint as a Macy’s Department Store elf. Adapted from David Sedaris’ best-selling book Holidays on Ice, this holiday tale is a modern classic made famous when it aired on National Public Radio.

THE SANTALAND DIARIES opens November 25, 2011 and runs through January 1, 2012. Performances will be Tuesday through Friday at 8:00 PM, Saturday at 8:30 PM, and Sunday at 6:00 PM. This show is recommended for ages 16 and up. There will be performances on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.
Tickets are $25-$45, with VIP tickets for $40-$60 and Platinum VIP tickets for $100.

Center for Puppetry Arts’s RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER
November 3 – December 31, 2011

After a sensational and fully sold-out first run at the Center for Puppetry Arts, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER™ is soaring back into town to once again charm Atlanta audiences this holiday season. Adapted and directed by the Center’s Artistic Director, Jon Ludwig, the production is based on the beloved 1964 stop-motion animated special and provides the audience with the opportunity to experience the timeless tale of Rudolph and his misfit friends live on stage. Opening on November 3, Ludwig’s adaptation for the puppet stage faithfully embraces the original and includes all of the beloved characters such as Hermey, the elf who is an aspiring dentist, Yukon Cornelius, and the Abominable Snow Monster. The Center is honored to again work with Character Arts LLC to bring back the licensed puppet stage production of this yuletide classic.

Tickets for patrons two and older are $16.50 and include admission to the performance, Create-A-Puppet Workshop (or Create-A-Puppet To-Go Kit), and all museum exhibits. Membership and group rates are available. Order tickets online at www.puppet.org or call the ticket sales office at: 404-873-3391.