The Weekender: Start the Holidays with 'The Nutcracker'

The Secret Garden - Theatre Performance

When: Friday, Nov. 30

Where: City of San Rafael Community Services Department, 618 B St

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Cost: $15

The San Rafael Young Performers Theatre presents The Secret Garden, directed by Sharon Boucher. The musical is based on the novel, where a young girl helps rebuild a disintegrating family after she discovers a locked garden on her uncle's manor.

A Christmas Carol

When: Nov. 24 through Dec. 15

Where: 1 Saint Vincents Dr

Time: 8 p.m., Sunday matinees begin at 3 p.m.

Cost: $20 general admission; $18 seniors; $12 children

Based closely on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, this musical version hews closely to the original story. Miserly Ebenezer Scrooge cares for money over human relationships and believes Christmas is nothing but an excuse to pick a man’s pocket once a year. On Christmas Eve, he is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley warns Scrooge that unless he changes his ways, Scrooge will be bound by chains of his own making, doomed to walk the world thus throughout eternity. 

Marin Symphony: Holiday Concerts by Candlelight

When: Saturday, Dec. 1 and Sunday, Dec. 2

Where: Church of Saint Raphael, 1104 5th Ave.

Time: 7:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Cost: $25

Start your holiday season off with a favorite tradition when the community gathers in the Church of Saint Raphael in San Rafael. Add your voice to the celebration and sing along with our Marin Symphony Chamber Chorus directed by Stephen McKersie.

Stapleton Ballet Nutcracker

When: Saturday, Dec. 1 and Sunday, Dec. 2

Where: Marin Center, 10 Avenue of the Flags

Time: 1 p.m and 5 p.m.

Cost: $32 adults; $20 senior and youth

The always-magical Stapleton Ballet Nutcracker is a wonderful way to begin the holiday season. Join Clara on her wondrous adventure, beginning with the lavish Victorian Party scene. Children will be on the edge of their seats as Clara's nutcracker transforms into a prince to battle the evil Mouse Queen in a heart-stopping battle scene, which features a firing cannon and a magical  tree that grows to over 40 feet. Young imaginations soar as Clara and the prince jouney to the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy, where highlights include a colorful Chinese Lion, a mysterious Arabian marketplace, a breathtaking  explosion of colors in the Waltz of the Flowers and more new surprises in the 24th annual production.

Looking for more to do this weekend? Check out all the events listed for the weekend on our calendar.

Do you have an event going that is not in our calendar? Well, our calendar is open for everyone to post your own events and have them go live on the site right away.

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