Planet Weekend Picks, Dec. 16-18

Scott Shepherd in Gatz. Photo courtesy of McCarter Theatre.

Friday, December 16

Gatz at McCarter Theatre  –  F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby performed word-for-word by the 13-member cast of the Elevator Repair Service. The six-hour marathon is an enactment of the novel. See why the New York Times called Gatz a work of singular imagination and intelligence. Berlind Theatre. 2 p.m. Tickets $150. www.mccarter.org. (Also showing Saturday and Sunday, with just a handful of tickets still available both days according to the McCarter website as of 10 a.m. Friday)

Dave Brubeck Tribute Concert – The Eric Mintel Quartet performs at the Arts Council of Princeton. Mintel just performed at the White House on Wednesday!  8 p.m. Tickets $15.

A Festive Christmas with the Westminster Community Chorus and Chamber Choir – Concert features Daniel Pinkham’s Christmas Cantata and Stephen Chatman’s Christmas Joy. Westminster Choir College,  Bristol Chapel, 101 Walnut Lane. 8 p.m. Tickets $15.

A Christmas Carol – McCarter Theatre presents the holiday classic by Charles Dickens. 7:30 p.m. Tickets $20 and up. www.mccarter.org.

Big Band Dance with the Princeton High School Studio Band – Swing to tunes performed by the jazz ensemble and studio band. The high school is located at 151 Moore Street. Enter the cafeteria on Houghton. 7-10 p.m. Tickets $6.

Saturday, December 17

 

Davis

Author Lauren B. Davis visits Labyrinth Books – What happens when we view our neighbors as “The Other”? What is the power of unlikely friendship? Writer Lauren Davis will read from her new book Our Daily Bread, which has been named one of the “Very Best Books of 2011” by The Globe & Mail. Davis, a Princeton resident, is the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed novels The Radiant City (finalist for the Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize) and The Stubborn Season (chosen for the Robert Adams Lecture Series), as well as of two collections of short stories, An Unrehearsed Desire and Rat Medicine & Other Unlikely Curatives. She leads the popular monthly Sharpening the Quill writing workshops in Princeton. 3 p.m. Free.

Photo-Op with Santa on Palmer Square – Get your picture taken with the Strolling Santa on the green on Palmer Square from 1 to 3 p.m.

Festival of Trees at Morven Museum – Check out the holiday trees decorated by area business and organizations. 55 Stockton Street. Noon-4 p.m. Tickets $6.

Russian Winter Carnival at the Princeton Public Library – Music, dancing, crafts, winter entertainment, and showcase of Russian culture and language, 2 p.m. Free.

Holiday Pops with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra – Holiday favorites and annual sing-along. Princeton High School Choir, soloists include Julius Mauldin, boy soprano; and Marcy Richardson, soprano. Ryan McAdams conducts. Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University, 4 p.m.  Tickets $38.

Voices of Angels, The American Boychoir – Traditional holiday favorites performed by the world-class choir at the Princeton University Chapel, 7:30 p.m.Tickets start at $15.

The Snow Queen by DanceVision – Ballet about a young boy with music by Grieg, Bartok, and Rimsky-Korsakov. Choreographed by Risa Kaplowitz of West Windsor. Projection artwork by Dave Haneman of Plainsboro. More than 70 performers and 140 original costumes. Kendall Hall, College of New Jersey, 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, 7 p.m. Tickets start at $25. Visit www.dancevisionnj.org for more information. (also Sunday at 2 p.m.)

Sunday, December 18

Spiced Punch on Palmer Square – Christmas classics on the green on Palmer Square, noon-2 p.m. Free.

A Christmas Carol – McCarter Theatre presents the holiday classic by Charles Dickens. 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Tickets $20 and up. www.mccarter.org.

At Home for the Holidays with the American Boychoir – Traditional holiday favorites and audience sing-a-long. Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University, 4 p.m.,  Tickets start at $20.

Princeton High School Studio Band Jazz Ensemble – The band, which recently returned from Hawaii where it performed at ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Pearl Harbor, performs at the Princeton Public Library. 3 p.m. Free.

“Holiday Cheer, Charity, and Consolidation” with the Princeton Community Democratic Organization – Refreshments, program about the Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton, and discussion of the political transition to a consolidated Princeton. Bring a donation of non-perishable food items or personal care products for Yes We Can. Suzanne Patterson Center, 7 p.m.