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Search the Globe: Today Yesterday

CHOICE EVENTS Friday, 11/30 Saturday, 12/01 Sunday, 12/02 Monday, 12/03 Tuesday, 12/04 Wednesday, 12/05

THURSDAY, November 29

Crafts at the Castle
Whether it's a basket woven from discarded items, beads crafted from glass, or a sculptured evening bag made from polymer clay, the treasures you'll find at this juried show are all offered for a good cause. About 100 artists display work ranging from clothing to furniture in this benefit for Family Service of Greater Boston. 5:30-9 p.m. gala reception. Park Plaza Castle, Arlington St. and Columbus Ave., Boston. Also Friday 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Reception (includes admission all weekend) $125; 3-day pass $15; one-day admission $10, seniors $8, under 12 free. 617-523-6400.

"The Nutcracker"
Jose Mateo's Ballet Theatre of Boston has a whole new show this year. The sets and choreography reflect the more intimate setting of the 250-seat Sanctuary Theatre, where the company will perform while their usual venue, the Emerson Majestic, undergoes renovation. As always, the focus is on the dancing rather than theatrics. 7:30 p.m. Sanctuary Theatre, 400 Harvard St. Harvard Square, Cambridge. Through Dec. 30. $25 and $29. 617-354-7467.

Bread and Puppet Theater
Peter Schumann, the founder and artistic director of the Vermont theater company, plays his fiddle while decrying capitalism in a semi-improvisational lecture/performance titled "What the World Needs Now: A Manifesto for the Slow World (A Fiddle Sermon)." The free Ford Hall Forum program precedes the company's weekend show, "Insurrection Mass with Funeral Marches for Rotten Ideas: A Non-Religious Service with Papier-Mache Gods." As you might infer from the titles, Bread and Puppet isn't in the fairy-tale business; it raises political, social, and economic themes targeted to an adult audience. Lecture/performance 6:30 p.m. Old South Meeting House, 310 Washington St., Boston. Free. 617-373-5800. "Insurrection" performances Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 5 p.m. $10, students and seniors $7, under 5 free. 617-482-6439.

FRIDAY, November 30

"Black Nativity"
The 32nd annual production of Langston Hughes' gospel song play features 160 professional singers, actors, dancers, musicians, and children. You can spread the show's messages of joy, hope, victory, and liberation by buying an opening night ticket that benefits the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance, serving area people who are homeless. 8 p.m. Tremont Temple, 88 Tremont St., Boston. Benefit tickets $35, $70, and $100 (top two ticket prices include a pre-performance reception at the Omni Parker House. Regular price tickets $17.50-$37.50. Through Dec. 23. For benefit tickets 617-367-6447, ext. 17. General ticket line 617-824-8000.

Autumn Dance Festival
Trinidad's Carol La Chapelle Dance Company and the StillMoving Dance Company from Shenandoah University are the guests for the Harvard University dance program's weekend event. Both troupes participate in performances of contemporary and jazz dance, including "Love After Love," based on the poetry of Derek Walcott, and Elizabeth Bergmann's "Delicate Balance." The Margot Parsons Dance Company and Harvard instructor Jodi Allen will also perform. 8 p.m. Rieman Center for the Performing Arts, Agassiz House, Radcliffe Yard, 10 Garden St., Cambridge. Also Saturday at 8 p.m. $10, students and seniors $5. 617-496-2222.

"Jesus Has Two Mommies"
Faith Soloway, the author/composer of "Miss Folk America," is at it again. Her new schlock opera features a nerdy Jewish lesbian and her Irish Catholic girlfriend. The women, about to become first-time parents, undertake an unusual spiritual journey. Bluegrass musician Sean Staples plays Jesus, with folkies Catie Curtis and Jennifer Kimball as the two mommies. The Faith Soloway Crisis Band provides music, with video sequences by Ian Brownell. 8 p.m. Somerville Theater, Davis Square. Also Sat. $19-$24 advance, add $1 day of show. 617-628-3390.

"A Christmas Carol"
For a more traditional yuletime experience, the North Shore Music Theatre presents its musical adaptation of the Charles Dickens tale. For the 10th straight year, David Coffee plays insomniac Ebenezer Scrooge. Music director Janet Glazener Roma will lead the orchestra in a score of traditional English carols such as "Deck the Halls," "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." 8 p.m. North Shore Music Theatre, 62 Dunham Rd., Beverly. Through Dec. 23. $18-$56. 978-232-7200.

"City Preacher"
A character paralleling the young Adam Clayton Powell Jr. faces a spiritual crisis in the East Coast premiere of this play by Obie Award-winner Ed Bullins. Powell's social activism and leadership during the post-Harlem Renaissance era catapulted him to Congress and decades on the national stage. 8 p.m. Boston Center for the Arts Theater, 539 Tremont St., Boston. Through Dec. 16. $15. 617-426-ARTS.

SATURDAY, December 01

"Mary Baker Eddy: A Spiritual Journey"
A major new exhibition explores the life and work of the founder of Christian Science. With its interactive computer stations and multimedia theater presentation, the show recreates Eddy's world. Members of the curatorial staff will present gallery talks and answer questions. Open house 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Longyear Museum, 1125 Boylston St., Brookline. Also Sun. 1-4 p.m. Free. 617-278-9000.

"Messiah"
The Handel & Haydn Society has performed Handel's oratorio every year since 1818, but never before under the baton of new music director Grant Llewellyn. Presented in a traditional concert setting, with 34 voices in the chorus and 33 players in the orchestra. 3 p.m. Symphony Hall, 301 Mass. Ave., Boston. Also Sunday. Other performances through Dec. 9. $26-$70. 617-931-ARTS.

Christmas House Tour
The halls are decked inside and out at seven South Boston brownstones and Victorians for the annual tour benefiting the Catholic Charities Laboure Center. Designer Christmas trees, floral arrangements, table settings, and lights reflect the period during which each home was built. Among the highlights are the home where scenes from the Paul Newman movie "The Verdict" was filmed _ and reindeer bathing in a jacuzzi. 4 p.m. At various locations in South Boston. Post-tour reception at World Trade Center, Waterfront Room, Boston. $50 includes transportation. Reservations required. Also Sunday noon-5 p.m. $20 advance, $25 day of tour. Trolleys leave from Castle Island in South Boston or Black Falcon Terminal, Boston Industrial Marine Park, Boston. 617-268-9670.

World AIDS Day
The Museum of Fine Arts screens "Undetectable," which follows six Boston residents, including David Brudnoy, through their struggles with HIV and AIDS. Brudnoy and three others from the film take part on a panel with film director Jay Corcoran and Dr. Lisa Hirschhorn. Around the museum, performance artists present vignettes exploring aspects of the disease. Screenings noon, 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m. at Remis Auditorium, Huntington Ave., Boston. Panel discussion follows 3 p.m. screening. Free, but reservations required. 617-369-3306. Performance art 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Films alone are free; regular museum admission required to see performance artists: $14, seniors and students $12, children free. 617-267-9300.

"The Banjo"
How did a traditional African instrument evolve into the pickin' and pluckin' machine beloved by artists as diverse as Pete Seeger and Bela Fleck? A new exhibit explores the history of the banjo, with photos, books, sheet music, art, video, audio, and more than 60 instruments, including an Earl Scruggs banjo and a Gambian akonting. Virtuoso Tony Trischka presents workshops and a concert for opening day.

SUNDAY, December 02

Alloy Orchestra
This three-man ensemble combines a percussive barrage of drums, hubcaps, and truck springs with state-of-the-art electronics to create soundtracks for silent movies. In comedian Harold Lloyd's 1928 feature "Speedy," a conglomerate tries to put New York's last horse-drawn trolley out of business. Even if you've seen Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" before, you'll want to stick around for this just-restored print that features the original English subtitles. 1:30 p.m. "Speedy", 4 p.m. "Metropolis." Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville. $15 each film, under 12 $7 ("Speedy" only), $25 double feature. 617-876-4275.

"On This Island: Songs of Isolation"
The Cantata Singers Chamber Series explores how song and poetry give voice and hope to the oppressed and alienated. Pianist Kayo Iwama and nine vocalists perform works by Schubert, Britten, Barber, Brahms, and Gershwin. 3 p.m. Longy School of Music, Edward Pickman Hall, 27 Garden St., Cambridge. $15, students and seniors $10. 617-267-6502.

MONDAY, December 03

First Monday
New England Conservatory faculty and friends gather every month to make Monday night a little less dreary. Tonight's players include a wife-and husband team, violinist Lucy Stoltzman and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, cellist Paul Katz, and violist Martha Strongin Katz. The program features works of Mozart, Francaix, and Brahms. 8 p.m. Jordan Hall, 290 Huntington Ave., Boston. Free. 617-585-1122.

Holiday Hoedown
FM radio station Mix-98.5 is sponsoring tonight's star-studded concert at the FleetCenter, with a portion of the proceeds going to the New England home for Little Wanderers. Scheduled to appear are Alanis Morissette, Barenaked Ladies, Coldplay, and The Cranberries. 7 p.m. FleetCenter, North Station. $35 and up. 617/508-931-2000.

TUESDAY, December 04

"It's a Wonderful Life"
It's much bigger than life on the screen at the Wang Theatre. Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed star in the beloved holiday classic about a man rescued from despair by his guardian angel. 7 p.m. Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont St., Boston. $6. Bring canned goods and non-perishable food items for Pine Street Inn. 617-482-9393.

WEDNESDAY, December 05

Wayfaring Strangers
Fiddler Matt Glaser has assembled an all-star band that fuses jazz, bluegrass, country, folk, and klezmer. The ensemble features Andy Statman, Tony Trischka, Jennifer Kimball, Aiofe O'Donovan, Jim Whitney, John McGann, Ruth Ungar, and Jaime Hadad. Their show celebrates the release of "The Shifting Sands of Time" (on Rounder). 8:30 p.m. Johnny D's, 17 Holland St., Davis Square, Somerville. $15. 617-776-2004. By Cheryl Sinapis