Culture worthy of your calendar

Two times the holiday music in Central Park

This glorious time of year offers us two free events in Winter Park’s beautiful Central Park — each of which is created to ‘literally’ ring in the Holiday Season with family and friends. The first invitation comes from the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra as they bring the Thanksgiving weekend to a joyful close with their annual Holiday Pops concert at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 28. Bring a blanket, a picnic and your loved ones for a program of holiday favorites including selections from the “Nutcracker”. Soprano Susana Diaz will join the Orchestra to perform “Silent Night”, “Ave Maria”, and more. For information, call 407-770-0071.

Then at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, the Morse Museum will honor a 32-year tradition by illuminating nine of their priceless Tiffany windows while the 150-voice Bach Festival Choir performs a free outdoor concert of seasonal favorites. The magnificent glow of the Tiffany windows — lit while the choir sings — is as close to a heavenly invitation as we are likely to receive this holiday season. These free events offer special memories for a lifetime. Visit www.morsemuseum.org

Give thanks … it’s Frankenstein!

The big guy with the bolts in his neck seems to have gotten his holidays mixed up, because he’s going to sing and dance for us beginning right after Thanksgiving. “Young Frankenstein” is the hilarious Broadway musical from the comic genius Mel Brooks set to play the Bob Carr from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5. Based on one of the funniest movies of all time, the 1974 “Young Frankenstein” starring Gene Wilder, the movie (and the musical) follow Frederick Frankenstein, as he inherits a castle and laboratory in Transylvania from his grandfather (the ‘maddest scientist’ of all time — Victor Von Frankenstein). His family’s tortured past causes him to carry on his grandfather’s experiments of playing with lightening and reanimating the dead. I know — it doesn’t sound funny, but in the hands of Mel Brooks, it’s hysterical. From the foggy moors around Castle Frankenstein, we hear songs including “Transylvania Mania”, “He Vas My Boyfriend”, and the unforgettable “Puttin’ On the Ritz”. For an evening of twisted, slapstick humor and tuneful Broadway fun, this is the perfect musical. To charge-by-phone call 800-982-2787 or 407-423-9999.

Singing cowboys with holiday spirit

The Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s offering of Holiday Cheer is called “Chaps! A Jingle Jangle Christmas”. This rowdy, family-friendly musical comedy takes us back to 1944, World War II, and the heyday of singing cowboys. America’s favorite singing cowboy is late for a much-anticipated Christmas broadcast at the BBC in London. In desperation, Mabel (the tour manager) and Miles (the frantic young producer), grab anyone, hand them scripts and shove them in front of the studio audience. The resulting performance is one that England will never forget! “Chaps! A Jingle Jangle Christmas” features famous cowboy tunes including, “Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds”, “Cool Water”, “Gunslinger”, and “Ride, Cowboy, Ride”. “Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were both enormously popular western stars of yesteryear,” says Patrick Flick, director of “Chaps!” “They sang us songs, made us laugh and taught an entire generation about justice, courage and honor — virtues that also embodied the Allied forces fighting for our freedom.” “Chaps! A Jingle Jangle Christmas” runs from Dec. 1-26 at the Shakespeare Center at 812 E. Rollins St. in Loch Haven Park. Call 407-447-1700 or visit www.orlandoshakes.org