Freebie of the week: Despite the occasional blockbuster and annual attention lavished on Hollywood as awards season takes hold, the movie business remains troubled, the result of audiences’ changing tastes and the ever-ballooning costs of making movies. (Dwayne Johnson earned a reported $50 million to play Santa Clause’s bodyguard in “Red One”; let that slide down your chimney for a minute!) The real challenge, however, is in keeping movie theaters open. The U.S. lost 2,000 movie houses during the pandemic, the Hollywood Reporter says. In the Bay Area, some two dozen chain and independent theaters reportedly have shuttered in the last five years or so. These closures affect more than the movie business and real estate values, they’re a gut punch to downtowns desperate for foot traffic and a loss to those who still relish watching a movie on a big screen in a room full of people. So when a spirited indie theater like the one in Orinda unveils a clever and appealing film series, we should pay attention. From Thursday through Dec. 26, the Orinda Theater is screening 11 holiday films for free. On Thursday, it’s “The Polar Express” (6:30 p.m., with special guest Eddie Deezen); Friday brings “Meet Me in St. Louis” (4 p.m.), Saturday has “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (1:30 p.m.), “It’s a Wonderful Life” (aka the finest Christmas movie ever made, at 4 p.m.) and “A Christmas Story” (7 p.m.); Sunday brings the 1938 version “A Christmas Carol” (2 p.m.) “Scrooged” (4 p.m.), and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (6:45 p.m.); Dec. 25 offers “Fiddler on the Roof” (1 p.m.); and Dec. 26 features “An American Tail” (4:15 p.m.) and “Joyeux Noel” (6:15 p.m.) While the films are free, the financially challenged theater is seeking an infusion of cash through a GoFundMe page. More information is at orindamovies.com.
A glass-slipper holiday treat: The centuries-old Cinderella tale of an overlooked and demeaned girl getting the last laugh (and the handsome prince) when she is given the chance to shine has countless versions with numerous different origins found around the globe. Those commonly seen in American popular culture reflect the tale’s European 17th-century beginnings, and more often than not, a largely white cast. And there is rarely a holiday connection, except, of course, for the 2019 teen rom-com “Cinderella Story: A Christmas Wish (now boasting a 40 percent audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes). But San Francisco’s African-American Shakespeare Company counters these trends with its adaptation of “Cinderella.” The production, directed by Tavia Percia and starring Anese Jade in the titular role, has become A-A Shakes’ popular holiday staple, which often sells out. Though the story line follows the traditional tale to a point, it also celebrates African American culture and serves up a female-empowerment narrative. The show returns this weekend, with performances at 7 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave. Tickets are $45, $18 for those 21 and under. Go to african-americanshakes.org.
East Bay ‘Nutcracker’: The “Nutcracker” holiday ballet has a pretty incredible history in the Bay Area. There’s the San Francisco Ballet, of course, which presented the first full-length U.S. production of the classic in 1944. The San Jose Dance Theatre’s annual version is some 60 years old. And a grand East Bay “Nutcracker” tradition returns this weekend to the Oakland venue where it has been performed for some 15 years. Oakland Ballet’s “Nutcracker” was created by company artistic director Graham Lustig, whose version, set in Edwardian era Vienna, follows the original version of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story and incorporates elements of an oft-discarded act that features a fantastical dance in the lands of sweets. Oakland Ballet’s production also features a lovely art nouveau set and brilliant worn by a cast of some 40 dancers. Lustig’s “Nutcracker” premiered in New Jersey in 1999, but it is the pride of Oakland now. Accompanied by the Oakland Symphony and Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, Lustig’s “Nutcracker” will be performed 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Paramount Theatre, 2525 Broadway, Oakland. A post-performance “Sweet Dreams” reception lets visitors meet with performers. Tickets are $34-$154; go to oaklandballet.org.
A tradition observed: World-renowned and San Francisco-based Chanticleer, the 12-member a cappella men’s vocal ensemble, has mounted its “A Chanticleer Christmas” program in various venues around the Bay since 1978. The traditional opening is a slow, candlelit procession into the church, cathedral or mission while the singers perform some Gregorian chant. This year’s version will include the motet “Ave Maris Stella” (Hail, Star of the Sea), which will have verses set by several different composers, and the group will continue to perform early music that’s its trademark for the first part of the program. More contemporary, rousing and joyous selections follow in the second half, including excerpts from Benjamin Britten’s famed “A Ceremony of Carols” and a relatively new piece from Canadian choral composer Sarah Quartel. Chanticleer is already midway through the run of the December concerts, but remaining performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Mount Tamalpais United Methodist Church in Mill Valley, at 4 and 6:30 p.m. Friday at Mission Santa Clara, 7:30 p.m. Saturday at First Congregational Church in Berkeley, 8 p.m. Sunday at St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco and 6 and 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Carmel Mission. Find tickets, $45-$91, at (415) 392-4400 or chanticleer.org.
Santa’s not-so-little helper at the Symphony: For those who’d get a kick out of watching that green-garbed elf named Buddy getting up to all sorts of shenanigans on a giant screen while a live orchestra provides accompaniment, Davies Hall is the place to be this weekend for one of three screenings of director Jon Favreau’s hilarious 2003 Christmas classic “Elf,” starring a wide-eyed Will Ferrell in the title role. The laughs come at a steady pace as the clueless orphan character, a human who has outgrown his place in Santa’s workshop, heads to the Big Apple in search of his real birth father. John Debney conducts the San Francisco Symphony playing the score he composed for the movie, which also stars Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen and Zooey Deschanel. The concerts take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday; find tickets, $43-$213, at sfsymphony.org or (415) 864-6000.
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