"Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Christmas" by Theatre Elision at the Lakeville Arts Center

Theatre Elision brought back their holiday* concert Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Christmas, performing at various locations last weekend. I happened to catch it at the Lakeville Arts Center, which is in the church I attended as a child. When a new church was built, the city bought the building and turned it into a performing and visual arts center, which is a pretty fantastic example of recycling. It's a great space to watch a show or listen to music, and this one was a delight. Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Christmas is like putting on your favorite Christmas albums from the '40s and '50s and curling up under a blanket in front of the fire with a cup of hot cocoa. In other words, very comforting and nostalgic for those who grew up with these songs. The show is over for this year, but make a mental note about next year, and check out what else Elision has on the calendar for this season fulfilling their niche of small cast, original or rarely done musicals.

"The Awakening" by Savage Umbrella at the Southern Theater

The 1899 novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin was ahead of its time. It depicts a woman who feels constrained and unsatisfied within the strict confines of the gender roles of the time, namely as wife and mother (like a precursor to Betty Draper). Only after Kate Chopin's death was The Awakening appreciated for the feminist work that it is, and it's appropriate that Savage Umbrella is bringing us their version of the story during Women's History Month, adapted by director Laura Leffler-McCabe and created with the ensemble. With a large cast utilizing physical theater techniques, live music performed by an onstage three-person band, and beautiful production design, The Awakening is a truly lovely and moving story of a woman's struggles to find her place in a world that doesn't accept her.