THEATER 

Hairspray
Paper Mill Playhouse
22 Brookside Drive
Millburn, NJ
973-376-4343
Info@Papermill.Org

By Lily Drucker

This singing dancing hit was at Paper Mill. It’s a musical comedy, perfect for people of all ages. The well-known story of a big girl with a big dream was touching and inspiring and had all of us on our feet dancing. It was a dream come true for Tracy Turnblad when she was picked to dance on The Corny Collins Show. But the road to fame was not all easy. In fact, Tracy goes through a lot more than dancing lessons to get to the top. Can she get Seaweed and his family and friends on the show? And what will she have to give up to do it? With Amber and her Mom in the way, it looks like Tracy's dreams may never come true. But maybe with Penny (her best friend) by her side, and hairspray in her hand, Tracy's dreams and her hair may rise above it all! I give this show no less than five bows! It was outstanding! It would have been a mistake not to go, and a mistake not to tell all my friends to go too!

The New Victory Theater
209 W. 42 St.
646-223-3010

Egg and Spoon
Studio 3A/B at the New 42nd St. Studios
229 W. 42 St.
Lyngo Theater Company
London, England/Venice, Italy
Through November 21
Young children join Percy and April to celebrate the delights of nature in a soft, interactive adventure. Peek-a-boo puddles, fluffy snowflakes and other surprises bring the seasons to life with feathers becoming chirping birds, napkins becoming princesses and a few small leaves becoming a windswept autumn day. Ages 2-5.

Squirm Burpee Circus:
A Vaudevillian Melodrama
The Handsome Little Devils
Denver, Colorado
Nov. 13 –28
You can count on New Victory for one to two extraordinary circusses a season, with this early entry a pastiche of circus skills, dance and comedy. Mike the Handsome, Dashing Dave and the Lovely Little Lolo make up the circus trio who must outwit the dastardly Baron Vegan Von Hamburger - a mustachioed villain committed to their demise. Ages 4+

Momentum
Holiday Show
Mayumana
Tel Aviv, Israel
Dec. 4 – Jan. 2
Mayumana, established in 1996 in Tel Aviv, is a multicultural troupe with 100 members from over 32 different countries. Momentum is a joyous amalgam of physicality and contagious rhythms and downbeats with no two shows being alike. It’s an ideal showcase for grandparent and child during Christmas and Chanukah. Ages 4+

CIRCUS

Mark Gindick (USA) the talented, and irrepressible comic (in center) takes a witty turn under the Big Top as “The Man Who Dances” in Dance On.

Regina Dobrovitskaya (Russia) embarks on a romantic trip to the heavens on her cloud swing.

Acrobats Internationale (Africa) pump up the fun with a high-energy dance and pole act with feats of enormous strength and agility.

(China) The Hebei Wuqiao Acrobatic Troupe performs a powerful lasso act on unicycles.

From America, Barry Lubin, a.k.a. Grandma, contributes a paragon of love and laughter to the performance for another memorable season! Photos: Bertrand Guay/Big Apple Circus

Big Apple Circus
Dance On!
Under the Big Top
Damrosch Park @ Lincoln Center
62nd St. betw. Columbus & Amsterdam Aves.
bigapplecircus.org
Through Jan 9, 2011
1-888-541-3750

Reported by Claire Dippel.

Charlotte (7), Maggie (4), Husband Chris and I had a wonderful time at the Big Apple Circus’s Dance On! Maggie was spellbound. When asked what she liked best she reported, “Everything.” Upon further reflection she liked the animal act best (presented by Jenny Vidbell – to whom she also gave highest praise for costuming). The best moment of the act was the notion that goats could actually ride horses with aplomb! Charlotte, who enjoys climbing things at the park, favored the Kenyan Boys’s gymnastic skills as well as the Wuqiao Acrobatic Troupe’s ability to jump rope while riding seat-less unicycles. When asked which was her very favorite, she came down on the side of Regina Dobrovitskaya on the rope trapeze flying high above us while holding on by only her ankles. Lest you think the circus was just for kids – Chris was awed by Girma Tshehai’s innovative juggling act and I thought Rob Torres’s clown act was completely charming, as was Ringmaster Kevin Venardos, The seats we had were almost too good, as they made my diffident 7-year old concerned she would be called into action (as indeed some kids were, to “fly” with “Grandma”). We were riveted start to finish and it was a perfect afternoon for the whole family.

MUSEUMS

The Wizard of Oz
Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM)
212 W. 83rd St.
Through Jan. 9, 2011
212- 721-1223
www.cmom.org

Follow, follow, follow, follow L. Frank Baum’s Yellow Brick Road! The Wizard of Oz is a stunning adventure of self-discovery for the whole family, based largely on Mervyn Le Roy’s beloved movie classic. Message to Grandkids: Create your own tornado in Dorothy’s bedroom. Explore Munchkin houses and shake hands with Dorothy’s friends: the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man. Enter The Emerald City, but “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” Climb the mountain to the Wicked Witch’s Castle to capture her magic broom from Winged Monkeys. Finally, click your heels three times while reciting “There’s no place like home,” to depart the Land of Oz

The Wizard of Oz encomprises six areas that enable visitors to relive their favorite scenes from the movie: 

• Marquee Entrance – Learn about the movie The Wizard of Oz and see Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers.
• Gale Farm – Get a glimpse of life on a farm by visiting Professor Marvel’s wagon, the Gale farmyard, and Dorothy’s bedroom. Learn about different animals on the farm, how a tornado works, and peer at optical illusions.
• Munchkinland – Experience the color and creativity of Munchkinland. Visit the rainbow-colored Munchkin houses, play with music tubes, create your own Munchkin person and build a rainbow with soft sculpture blocks.
• Crossroads – Meet Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion and overcome different challenges to determine your personal strengths.
• Wicked Witch’s Castle – Prove your courage and skill by climbing the mountain to the Wicked Witch’s Castle and capturing the Wicked Witch’s broom from Winged Monkeys.
• Emerald City – Explore Emerald City, experiment with the different properties of light and create special effects.

OPERA

Opera Breve’s
Hansel & Gretel
St. Michael’s Parish House
225 West 99th Street (betw. B’way & Amsterdam).
November 11 & 13 – 7 pm
646-200-5101

Here’s a family holiday classic of the genre of The Nutcracker.

Opera Breve presents a bold new in-English production of Hansel & Gretel, the opera classic by Engelbert Humperdinck based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. In this re-invisioned interpretation of the 19th century opera, the evil Witch is being played by a counter-tenor, Tyler Wayne Smith. Under the direction of Rich Affannato, the company also features Anna Petrie (Hansel), Kat Ross (Gretel), Ted Dougherty (Father), Jennifer Grodi (Sandman), Pavithra Rajagopalan (Dew Fairy), and Caroline Tye (Mother). The musical directors for are Gary Norden and Lenora Eve. Costume design is by Kristine Koury. Ages 5+.

George Balanchine’s
The Nutcracker
NYC Ballet - 47 performances The David H. Koch Theater Lincoln Center Plaza
Columbus Ave. at 63rd St.
212-870-5570
www.nycballet.com/ticketing/2010nuts.html
Nov, 26 – Jan. 2, 2011

It is fair to state, that my wife and I – City Ballet subscribers for more than four decades - have surpassed our quotient of Nutcrackers on our children’s and grandchildren’s behalf. Yet that doesn’t in the least diminish our admiration for the beloved Balanchine-choreographed production. Based on the glorious Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky score, it boasts a Christmas tree that grows from 12 to 40 feet, a snowstorm, and hundreds of elaborate costumes, including one for Mother Ginger that measures nine feet wide and weighs 85 pounds. The production includes the Company’s entire roster of more than 150 dancers and musicians, as well as two alternating casts of 50 children from the School of American Ballet, official school of New York City Ballet.

“Buked” is one of Revelations’ most unforgettably spine-tingling dance sequences. Photo: Paul Kolnick

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Revelations
New York City Center
131 West 55th Street, btw. 6th & 7th Aves.
(212) 581-1212
Dec. 1 – Jan. 2, 2011

Performances of Revelations:
Dec. 1, 3, 4, 5 , 5 (mat), 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 11 (mat), 12, 12 (mat), 18, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31 (New Year’s Eve), Jan 1, 2

Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham! When I hear that triumphant refrain, it can mean only one thing. I am blissfully in the bosom of my favorite of all dance creations, Revelations – now 50 - from one of the world’s great dance companies. The company, founded by Alvin Ailey who died much too young, thrived under the nurturing leadership of the statuesque former Ailey dancer Judith Jamison. Taking my children and/or grandchildren each season in which the AADT visits City Center (this now being its 53nd year) is as axiomatic as taking them to the Nutcracker at the City Ballet or to Peter Luger’s for steak. When readers and friends ask me for advice on where to take their kids or grandkids each holiday season, I simply say, “Revelations,” no matter their age. For you readers, there is no better time than New Year’s for revelry at Revelations.