There’s nothing more beautiful than Ballet Arizona’s exquisite annual “The Nutcracker” production. The stunning story ballet is definitely a big-city staging. It compares favorably with the country’s two other most acclaimed productions, The San Francisco Ballet and New York City Ballet. Ballet Arizona artistic director Ib Andersen mounted this new $1.8 million version three seasons ago and it’s visually stunning but the thing that has continued to improve each season is the magnificent dancing of the Ballet Arizona corps and the many ballet students who augment the cast.

The other wonderful asset is the playing of the Phoenix Symphony under guest conductor Timothy Russell. Having this wonderful live orchestra turns this production into the endearing gem it has become for our community.

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There’s nothing better at this time of year than Actors Theatre’s glorious “A Christmas Carol” production. After 17 seasons, it gets better, more endearing, and more joyously festive each year. Watching wealthy Ebenezer Scrooge’s magical transformation into a caring and believing man seems to have special relevance during this economically challenging period. It’s this community’s most fabulous holiday show.

In addition to this traditional chestnut, this season also brought Nearly Naked Theatre’s non-traditional “Times Square Angel.” It’s a silly and irreverent hoot of a drag show that spoofs old Hollywood movies and pushy, money-grubbing stars. While at opposite extremes, both shows stress the critical holiday message that giving is better than receiving.

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“Spring Awakening” is a bold new American musical that tells an old story in a creative new way. The fine touring production at ASU Gammage gives the show the same theatrical flourish and panache that distinguishes the Broadway production that won eight Tony Awards.

Based on an 1891 play, the original “Spring Awakening” was a trend setter. It was years before it was ever performed. It looks at how repressed German teenagers come to terms with their sexuality and their maturing bodies in the late 19th century when such things weren’t discussed. The first act is a joyous celebration of youth and the promise each sees as maturity begins. The more dramatic second act brings genuine sadness as their discoveries cause severe consequences. The show’s finale, the haunting “The Song of Purple Summer” suggests that some learn from others trauma.

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Stray Cat Theatre delivers an unusual holiday show ever so cleverly. “A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant” looks at the Church of Scientology and its wealthy founder, L. Ron Hubbard, as a funny and very satiric parody of the Nativity. Author Kyle Jarrow presents his comic slams and thoughtful questioning where Hubbard’s birth and his search for religious truth are compared to Christ’s.

The entire show is presented by a talented ensemble of 8- to 12-year olds as a school pageant. Huge praise goes to director Gary Minyard who crafts miracles with these young but amazingly polished troupers.

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With Thanksgiving over, holiday theater begins. During the next few weeks, I will be reviewing both traditional and several new holiday shows. “Holly Jolly Christmas,” the first holiday show to debut, is the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre’s warmly entertaining, festive, and family-oriented tribute. The traditional parts of “Holly Jolly Christmas” are the best. The one non-traditional number, among the seven vignettes that comprise the show, is the only segment that disappoints.

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Two local theaters are presenting very different but very interesting shows. Phoenix Theatre’s wonderfully comic slashing of familiar musicals, “Forbidden Broadway,” is a joy to watch. Nearly Naked Theatre’s long promised staging of David Henry Hwang’s fascinating comedy/drama about spying and subterfuge, “M. Butterfly,” is an outstanding play but this one sputters because of weak casting and laggardly pacing.

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If you loved “Happy Days” on television, you will no doubt adore the new musical version at ASU Gammage through Sunday. It brings back all the old characters and uses a silly, nonsensical plot to remind us of the carefree days of 1959 in Milwaukee when everything was uncomplicated and straightforward. On the other hand, if you are looking for a well staged, expensively produced Broadway musical, the new show cheats you with the cheap way it has been created.

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Ann Landers well read lovelorn column made her an institution from 1955 to her 2002 death. But can her straight-forward, no nonsense guidance on how to do everything from hanging toilet paper to the kinkiest sex practices sustain an entire theater performance? Arizona Theatre Company answers this question with a resounding “yes” in “The Lady with All the Answers,” a wonderful inside look at the advice woman.

Playwright David Rambo creates a winning concept to share Landers. We are in her Chicago apartment in 1975 as she struggles with the “hardest column she ever wrote.” After years of condemning divorce, she’s confronting her own dissolving marriage after 36 years.

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Many musical revues are problematic. Witness the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company’s current, “The World Goes ‘Round,” a collection of John Kander and Fred Ebb tunes from their myriad of Broadway and movie musical hits.

The show does nothing with its collection of 32 tunes. It doesn’t present them in the context of the shows they came from and it doesn’t tell us anything about the team that created them. Its just song after song. Unless you are a musical theater aficionado, you won’t even recognize the shows these songs came from.

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Political satire can be funny. Witness the “Saturday Night Live” jabs at both of this year’s presidential candidates. Obscure political and social satire must have the right audience though, a group that understands, appreciates, and adores the punches.

iTheatre Collaborative often tackles rarely produced plays. Currently, they offer “Eat the Taste.” While some of this satirical comedy by “Urinetown the Musical” author Greg Kotis, takes aim at Vice President Richard Cheney and George W. Bush’s one-time Attorney General, John Ashcroft, the brunt of “Eat the Taste’s” humor hits theater insiders and the shenanigans surrounding Broadway productions, something few local audiences will recognize or find amusing.

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