Bellingham Symphony Orchestra Seeks Executive Director

It’s the holiday season, Dear Readers, and you know what that means. Myriad productions of “A Christmas Carol” in the area. Just to name a few, there’s the old, trusty standby production out at ACT. And last week I saw an amazing one man “Christmas Carol” performed by the incredible Allen Fitzpatrick. But today we’re going to talk about “Fellow Passengers” from Strawberry Theatre Workshop currently performing at 12th Avenue Arts. Yes, it’s “A Christmas Carol”, but this adaptation by Greg Carter is so much more, and absolutely blew me away.

Dear Readers, you know I love a good rousing tap number as much as the rest of you. So those old musicals on stage such as “Singing in the Rain”, or “Holiday Inn” are right up my alley. And also up there on that list would be “Irving Berlin's White Christmas”. The 5th Avenue did this one 14 years ago in 2009, which I must note was the same year I started sharing my thoughts with you all. So that production, as good as it was, holds a special place in my heart. Now, the 5th Avenue has brought back this wonderful icon and either I’m more jaded in my old age or something went wrong as this production just didn’t have that same spark of magic. And without that, this show falls flat.

Get ready for a double dose of Charles Dickens at Key City Public Theatre in Port Townsend. Don't miss the hilarious shenanigans of 'What the Dickens?!' and the captivating one-man performance of 'Great Expectations.' Experience the humor, drama, and timeless storytelling of Dickens' works with these two premieres.

Two contemporary compositions provided the framework for the haunting, ebullient Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82 by iconic Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in a recent program, performed live in Benaroya Hall on Nov. 16, 2023, and streamed on the innovative Seattle Symphony+ service. Helmed by Finnish conductor Dalia Stasevska, who debuted with the orchestra in 2022, the program was intriguing and captivating.