By Lynelle Ward
UHCLIDIAN STAFF

'Twas the weeks before Christmas and all through the school, a sugar plum fairy danced to a little Christmas night music. Well, not exactly.

Right: Allison Henning and Chad-Alan Carr perform in "The Nutcracker."
photo courtesy of JPamela

In celebration of the holiday season, UH-Clear Lake will host the Clear Lake Metropolitan Ballet and Repertory Theatre's production of "The Nutcracker" and the Galveston Summer Musical's production of "A Little Christmas Night Music" in the Bayou Theater.

The Christmas classic, "The Nutcracker," tells the story of a child's journey with a toy Nutcracker that comes to life in her dreams. The Nutcracker, who is really a prince under a spell, battles the Mouse King as the two journey through the enchanted lands of the Snow Queen, the Snowflakes and Candyland. In Candyland, they meet the Sugar Plum Fairy. At the end of the tale, the child awakens from the dream under her Christmas tree.

"The Nutcracker" features prima ballerina, Ekaterina Shelkanova, as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Shelkanova received dance training at the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, and was a featured company member of the Kirov Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre. Shelkanova currently stars in the new Miramax film, "Chicago," which premiers in December.

"The Nutcracker" runs Dec. 6-15 with performances on Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Ticket prices are $16-$25 and can be purchased by calling the CLMB&RT box office at (281) 480-1617 or any Ticketmaster location. Reservations are strongly recommended.

The Galveston Summer Musicals will present a holiday show similar to TV variety shows like the Andy Williams Christmas Special. The show will feature dance numbers from the Texas Tappers.

"The show was enhanced with more musical numbers and cast members, making it more conducive to the larger stage," said Mike Skiles, the show's executive producer.

Skiles said the first act of the production will contain fun Christmas antics and musical numbers while the second act will present a more inspirational look at the holiday season. The show's ending features a musical re-enactment of the temporary Christmas peace treaty during World War II, where soldiers from the American and German forces met briefly on Christmas night and sang Silent Night in their own language.

The show runs Dec. 16-21 with performances Tuesday through Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $20 - $30 and can be purchased by calling (409) 737-1744 ext. 1 or, if out of area, call (800) 54-SHOWS ext. 1.

All UH-Clear Lake students, faculty and staff can purchase advance sale tickets through Dec. 10 at half price, limit four tickets per person.

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