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Best bets: Last chance for 'The Nutcracker'

Nutcrackers aplenty

The season is winding down for area presentations of Tchaikovsky's classic ballet “The Nutcracker.” Here are a few key remaining productions:

Ÿ Illinois Youth Dance Theatre's “The Nutcracker” features more than 70 performers at Lake Zurich High School, 300 Church St., Lake Zurich. $10-$25. ballroomanddance.com/iydt-productions.html. 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21; 1 and 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22; and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 23

Ÿ If you want to go big, then head to the Joffrey Ballet's “The Nutcracker.” It finishes this weekend at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago. (800) 982-2787 or joffrey.org. 2 and 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22

Ÿ The Berkshire Ballet Theatre brings its take on “The Nutcracker” to the Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. $22. (815) 356-9212 or rauecenter.org. 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 23

Solstice stroll

Mark the shortest day of the year today with a Winter Solstice Walk, which features a King and Queen of the Solstice, storytelling and a procession around Meadow Lake at theMorton Arboretum, 4100 Route 53, Lisle. $12; $11 seniors; $9 kids ages 2-17. (630) 968-0074 or mortonarb.org. 6 to 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21

Big drums

The drummers of Tsukasa Taiko team up again with jazz musicians for the Japanese music-fusion performance of “Taiko Legacy 9” this weekend at Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago. $15; free for kids ages 12 and younger. (312) 280-2660 or mcachicago.org. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21, and 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22

End of days?

Want to nervously laugh at the end of the Mayan calendar? Then catch the Geneva Underground Playhouse comedy revue “Scenes From the End” at The Geneva Underground Playhouse, 524 W. State St., Geneva. $10. (630) 492-0380 or guptheatre.org. 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21

Cheer up!

Illinois high school cheerleading and dance athletes compete at the IHSA Winter Meltdown 2012 this weekend at the Sears Centre Arena, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates. $10; kids 3 and younger admitted free. (888) 732-7784 or searscentre.com or recreationalcheer.com. 8 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 22

Some more?

Stage adaptations of Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol” are rife this time of year, but Light Opera Works bucks the trend by presenting “Oliver,” Lionel Bart's hit 1960s musical adaptation of the Dickens novel “Oliver Twist.” Catch it starting this weekend at Northwestern University's Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson St., Evanston. $32-$92 regular run; $34-$94 New Year's Eve. (847) 920-5360 or lightoperaworks.com. 8 p.m. Dec. 22, 28, 29, 31; 2 p.m. Dec. 23, 26, 27, 29, 30

Boxing Day bouts

Commemorate the British holiday of Boxing Day with the WWE Smackdown Holiday Tour. See wrestlers like Randy Orton, Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio and more at the Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont. $20-$95; $20 parking. (800) 745-3000 or allstatearena.com. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 26

Puppet master

Comedian Jeff Dunham and his artful array of puppets come to town as part of his “Disorderly Conduct” Tour at the Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont. $46.50. (800) 745-3000 or allstatearena.com. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 27

April Daly stars as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Dylan Guitierrez as her Cavalier in the Joffrey Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University in Chicago. COURTESY OF HERBERT MIGDOLL/JOFFREY BALLET
Jeff Dunham and his comic puppets perform at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont. Courtesy of Comedy Central
Light Opera Works presents Lionel Bart’s beloved “Oliver!,” a 1960s musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel “Oliver Twist,” at Northwestern University’s Cahn Auditorium in Evanston. Courtesy of Light Opera Works
Members of Tsukas Taiko perform “Taiko Legacy 9” at the MCA Stage in Chicago. Courtesy of Ken Carl
The WWE Smackdown returns to the Allstate Arena in Rosemont.
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