By JOANNE BRIANA-GARTNER
If you’ve hung around the Cape long enough, you are sure to have met some crusty Cape Codder who brags about “never going over the bridge.”
And while this crusty Cape Codder doesn’t necessarily agree with that sentiment—there’s some truth to it when it comes to holiday performances.
Sure, you could travel off Cape to catch a Holiday Pops concert at Symphony Hall, see the Boston Ballet perform “The Nutcracker” or enjoy the Midwinter Revels at Sanders Theatre—and those performances would all be fantastic, but there are plenty of performances closer to home that promise to be equally enjoyable.
Music
HANJIE CHOW
Vocal ensemble Skylark will bring their holiday program “Illuminations,” inspired by The Cloisters in New York, to Corpus Christi Parish in Sandwich on December 10.
Cape Symphony will present their seasonal concerts, “Holiday on the Cape, Friday, December 5, Saturday, December 6 and Sunday, December 7 at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center at Barnstable High School. Alyssa Wang will take the podium for the first time as Cape Symphony’s new music director for the six performances. Joining the symphony for classic carols and holiday movie music will be the Chatham Chorale and Align Dance Company, and at Saturday’s concerts, the Cape Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Vocal ensemble Skylark will present a medieval-inspired program for the holidays with “Illuminations” performed locally on Wednesday, December 10 at Corpus Christi Parish in Sandwich.
Skylark’s program draws inspiration from the remarkable diversity of artworks throughout The Cloisters—from intricate stone carvings and luminous stained glass to vibrant frescoes and soaring architectural elements. As candlelight plays across these treasures, certain harmonic moments in the music similarly illuminate the acoustic space. Listeners are surrounded by sound, just as medieval worshippers would have been in these sacred spaces. When performed in other venues, the same magical interplay between light and sound creates a similar atmosphere. The program provides a respite from winter’s darkness—both literal and figurative.
Music for the season continues on Friday, December 12 when the College Light Opera Company welcomes the Cape Cod String Quartet and Friends for “Christmas Around The World.”
The Cape Cod String Quartet: Dan Flonta, Jeff Pearson, Sofia Nikas and Nancy Torrente will be joined by local performers: Steve Ross, Emma Fahle, Matthew Hutchinson, Anna McEntee, Talyn Imhoff and Catherine Bonnett for the performance which begins at 7 PM at Lucas Hall on the grounds of CLOC’s West Falmouth campus.
PEDRO BLANCO
Ballet Vero Beach dancers Katherine Eppink and Franco Cubero will be guest performers in this year’s “Sea Captain’s Nutcracker,” performed November 29 and 30 by Turning Pointe Dance Studio.
The Cape Playhouse will present “Broadway’s Home For The Holidays,” starring Claybourne Elder and Sara Jean Ford, December 12, 13 and 14 at the Cape Cinema in Dennis.
The show will be a new version of the joyful concert of holiday favorites and heartwarming storytelling that delighted audiences last year. The show is family-friendly and includes performances of traditional and Broadway holiday songs along with humorous and heartfelt stories from Elder and Ford. Accompanying the pair will be Rodney Bush.
The Cape Cod Chorale under the direction of Danica Buckley will present “Home for the Holidays: A New England Choral Celebration,” Saturday and Sunday December 13 and 14 at the Osterville United Methodist Church. The program will include well-known Christian hymns such as “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear,” “Joy to the World,” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” along with other seasonally appropriate songs including “Chanukah in Santa Monica,” “Al HaNisim,” and secular works including “Snow,” and “Sleigh Ride.”
Falmouth Chorale celebrates the Baroque period with “A Baroque Holiday,” December 13 and 14 at John Wesley United Methodist Church.
Under the direction of artistic director Andrew Welch the, chorale will perform selections from J. S. Bach’s joyful Christmas Oratorio and Charpentier’s grand Te Deum. The program will be topped off with Handel’s triumphant Hallelujah chorus. In sharing this festive music, the chorale will be accompanied by strings, harpsichord, oboe, trumpet and flute.
Falmouth Chorale also invites music lovers, families and friends to join them for a community sing of holiday favorites, along with readings and stories on Friday, December 19, at 7 PM at First Congregational Church in Falmouth. Doors open at 6:30. All are invited to sing or listen. Songbooks will be provided.
In the same vein as the Christmas Revels, The Solstice Singers perform music in the style of the European medieval and Renaissance periods. For their holiday performances at the Woods Hole Community Hall they will be accompanied by Ensemble Passacaglia and the children’s chorus Les Enfants du Soleil. This year, on December 20 and 21, the group will present “A Solstice Hallelujah,” in anticipation of next year’s 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America. Performed in colorful period costumes, the program includes pieces that could have been sung or heard at the time of the nation’s founding, both in America and in Europe.
Theater
ERICA SIMPSON
Neil McGarry will bring his award-winning solo performance of “A Christmas Carol” to the Cotuit Center for the Arts on December 23.
Holiday theater doesn’t just mean stale performances of “A Christmas Carol.” Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Jr. Theatre will present “Annie,” opening December 5 and running through December 30.
Containing some of the most recognizable songs in musical theater including “Tomorrow” and “It’s A Hard Knock Life,” “Annie” proves it’s holiday-themed with the inclusion of the rousing, “A New Deal For Christmas.”
Capitalizing on the theme of plucky children, the Cotuit Center for the Arts will stage the high-energy musical “Newsies!” opening November 25 and running through December 21.
The Falmouth Theatre Guild brings back its 2024 sold out performance of “RENT,” for a December 12 through December 21 run at Highfield Theatre in Falmouth.
LEW STERN
Tommie Pietsch reprises his role as Angel Schunard in Falmouth Theatre Guild’s encore of “RENT” December 12 through December 21 at Highfield Theatre.
“It’s a testament to the power of love,” said director Joan Baird about Jonathan Larson’s Tony Award-winning musical, which has a storyline that opens on Christmas Eve. Along with Baird as director, the entire cast from 2024 will be returning for the revival.
In a not-stale-at-all performance, Cotuit Center for the Arts will host acclaimed performer Neil McGarry for his award-winning solo-performance of “A Christmas Carol,” on December 23. McGarry brings every character to life in this one-man Dickens adaptation under the direction of Ross MacDonald.
Dance
If you haven’t already picked up tickets to see “The Sea Captain’s Nutcracker” this weekend at Cape Cod Community College you might still have time to catch Turning Pointe Dance Studio’s Cape Cod-themed rendition of Tchaikovsky’s classic set in Chatham and featuring an salty old sea captain in place of the eccentric Herr Drosselmeyer. Performances are schedule for Saturday, November 29 and Sunday, November 30.
Other “Nutcracker” performances include two by Sandwich Dance Academy on Friday, December 5 and Saturday, December 6 at Sandwich High School. Start times are 7 PM on Friday and 3 PM on Saturday.
New England Ballet Theatre will present “The Nutcracker” in Falmouth, at the Lawrence Jr. High School on Saturday, December 6. Performances are at noon and 4 PM.
Sandwich High School will also be the venue for Harper Dance Center’s “Nutcracker Twist” on Saturday, December 13 at 2 and 6 PM.
Advance ticket purchase is advisable for the majority of these performances. See individual websites for ticket details.