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La Pastorela – a tradition since the 16th century, the annual yuletide play that's been performed all over Mexico and Latinoamerica – is adapted and directed by Teatro Vivo founder Rupert Reyes. This year, Clemencia Zapata returns as music director of the story of shepherds on a pilgrimage that pits them against angels and demons who test their strength and faith along the way.

Experience the glory of Baroque Venice right here in Austin – in the soaring acoustics of the Chapel of St. Louis Catholic Church – as the sound of voices, organ, cornetto, sackbuts, dulcian, and theorbo resound in splendor.

An award-winning, off-Broadway laugh-fest that'll take you back to 1956 and the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein's annual holiday quiche breakfast. Delicious discoveries and cheeky innuendoes ensue, as presented by City Theatre Company.

This show from the Penfold Theatre gang up in Round Rock draws audience members back in time to 1946, as members of the KPNF radio station are assembling for a live radio performance of, well, you know: George Bailey, that angel Clarence, Bedford Falls, and where the band Zuzu's Petals got its name from? Yes.

Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s Pulitzer-winning musical explores how one suburban household copes with crisis and mental illness, taking audiences "into the minds and hearts of each character, presenting their family's story with love, sympathy, and heart." Directed by Lisa Scheps and Brian Cheslik for Ground Floor Theatre and Deaf Austin Theatre. Note: This production will be fully deaf-inclusive, with each character played by two cast members – one deaf, one hearing. And, look, here's what Trey Gutierrez thought of the show.

Tapestry Dance Company's Acia Gray starts it all off as Ms. Bon Marche, a dance diva who introduces little Clara to a world of dance by giving her a pair of tap shoes – and the journey begins with the Mouse King and his powerful style of contemporary rhythm tap leading an army of tapping mice in their battle against the Nutcracker. Performed to a jazzed-up version of the original Tchaikovsky score and beloved jazz classics, all played live by a group that includes Masumi Jones on drums, Eddy Hobizal on piano, and Michael Stevens on bass.

Valerie is the town butcher with an axe to grind; her daughter is a pharmacist whose clientele extends beyond the drug store. Over one cold February week, the town cop – who just happens to be Valerie’s sister-in-law – will try to sniff out this family’s secrets and lies in the Wisconsin city where the ground is white with snow and the air is black with comedy. Carlo Lorenzo Garcia directs Marisa Wegrzyn's play for Street Corner Arts. But – did the Chron's Elizabeth Cobbe find the show to be as funny as it's supposed to be? And what does she think of that Amber Quick? See here for the full review.

Darren Peterson's Circus Chickendog returns to The Vortex for the ninth year, his company of five talented rescue dogs and a talking scarlet macaw unleashing a fun show for all ages to enjoy. Also featuring humans Patricia Wappner, Monica Kurtz, and Sandie Donzica, this year's live-music-enhanced spectacle of juggling and unicycling madness includes a special performance by the Famiglia Gentile.

Queer, sex pos comedy that's doing a look back on the 2000s, with Colton Dowling, Carina Magyar, Robyn Reynolds, Stephanie Vasquez Fonseca, Molly Moore, Dylan Garsee, Irielle Wesley, Y2K, KD Kinetic, and Suzuki Honda Cervix-Plastik. Market and sexy tunes from Natalia Rocafuerte.

"Inspired by datamoshing, quantum mechanics, and the hyper saturation of imagery found in daily life, Gilmer creates oil paintings that explore the psychological effects of the figure through physical mutations that distort and merge various realities. Benton's figurative ceramics also portray a dialogue of the human condition, using symbolism as well as physical mutations to explore the depths of the subconscious. Less than reality and more than a dream, Benton and Gilmer’s work strives to give the viewer an alternative connection to the self." Note: This stuff will burrow into your optic nerves and make you feel a little weird, maybe, about the odd beauty it contains. So, yes: recommended.