Published November 19, 2009, 4:39 PM EST

by LAURA KNOWLES

LANCASTER - The signs are everywhere. Festive decorations at the mall. Evergreen trees strapped to the roofs of SUVs. Houses lit up with icicle lights. And "The Nutcracker." Few things herald the holiday season like this popular ballet. When Clara dances on stage with the Mouse King and the to......

Published November 15, 2009, 12:06 AM EST

by MARTY CRISP

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - So, I'm waiting for the show to start at Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre, and I overhear a waiter talking to the people at his table. "Do you play Santa?" a patron asked. (The theater's actors can be wait-staffers, too.) "I wish," the waiter said. "It's a......

Published November 15, 2009, 12:04 AM EST

by MARTY CRISP

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Being a mother-in-law has all the cachet of being a wicked stepmother in a fairy tale. No respect. Lots of jokes. So why not turn the experience into comedy? That's exactly what happened when Rainbow Dinner Theatre held a contest to find a new holiday play. Winners Concetta and Marie Ger......

Published November 13, 2009, 5:10 PM EST

by JANE HOLAHAN

LANCASTER - From a silly farce involving old ladies who kill lonely old men and bury to them in their basement, to the tension involved in sorting out a murder case in a room full of jurors, to William Shakespeare's wry look at love, the high school play season is in high gear this weekend and next....

Published November 12, 2009, 4:50 PM EST

by JANE HOLAHAN

LANCASTER - So, it's time to ask the Christmas Spirit question. You know: It's only the second week in November, are you there yet or are you still bah-humbugging? Over at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre, the holidays have definitely arrived with "Holly Jolly Christmas," a musical ......

Published November 10, 2009, 4:52 PM EST

by CINDY HUMMEL

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Theatergoers attending the Lampeter-Strasburg School District's play "12 Angry Men" — which is being staged Wednesday through Saturday at 7 each night — should not come expecting the classic film starring Henry Fonda.First, both male and female actors play the &qu......

Published November 9, 2009, 12:00 AM EST

by LARRY ALEXANDER

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - If you thought previous Christmas shows at the American Music Theatre were great, you ain't seen nuthin' yet.I'd call the AMT 2009 Christmas Show spectacular, but I hate to understate, so let's just call it the best holiday show that's filled that spacious stage in the ......

Published November 8, 2009, 12:04 AM EST

by MARTY CRISP

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - It's the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year," or so says the 13-member cast of American Music Theatre's "2009 Christmas Show." Yes, it's that time again. Across from the AMT parking lot on Lincoln Highway East, big signs at Rockvale Outlets proclaim "Seasons G......

Published November 6, 2009, 10:28 PM EST

by LAURA KNOWLES

LANCASTER, Pa. - Ask anyone who is married and most will agree that marriage isn't always easy.Fortunately, there is a bright side — perhaps even a funny side — to marriage, as shown in this season's Promise Players performance of "How To Make the Mrs. Happy.""Ever......

Published November 6, 2009, 9:18 PM EST

by JANE HOLAHAN

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - From a dramatic point of view, the Christmas Story is a doozy.There is drama, suspense, great joy, humility and celebration.It's a story that features riches and kings right alongside the animals in a humble stable.And though we hear the story again and again at this time......