BEGINNING TODAY "A Christmas Carol": Missouri Repertory Theatre's staging of the Charles Dickens classic is a Kansas City holiday tradition, every bit as much as the Plaza lighting ceremony or the Kansas City Ballet's "Nutcracker." The show continues at 8 tonight and closes Dec. 29. Tickets cost $18 to $45 and are available at the Central Ticket Office. Call (816) 235-2700. - Robert Trussell FRIDAY-SATURDAY "The Wise Women": The Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City's presentation of Conrad Susa's mini-opera is now in its seventh season. At 8 p.m. Friday and at 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday, at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, 13th and Broadway. Tickets cost $18 ($15 for seniors and students, $9 for children 12 and younger). (816) 235-6222. - Paul Horsley SATURDAY Tradition soothes at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art's 18th Annual Tree Lighting and Holiday Concert from 3 to 4 p.m. Saturday in Kirkwood Hall. The afternoon includes a performance of holiday music by the Kansas City Chorale and family caroling. Admission is free. (816) 751-1310. - Alice Thorson "25 Days of Christmas" (Dec. 1-25, ABC Family): The channel formerly known as Fox Family airs classic holiday programs every night leading up to Dec. 25, including a romantic drama, "Three Days" (Dec. 9), starring the improbable threesome of Kristin Davis from "Sex and the City," Reed Diamond of "Homicide" and Tim Meadows of "Saturday Night Live." A new animated special, "Donner," kicks off the event Saturday. - Aaron Barnhart Empire Brass: The Harriman Arts Program presents a program of holiday and non-holiday music, by one of the better brass quintets of our time. At 8 p.m. Dec. 1 in Music Hall. Tickets cost from $20 to $40, with discounts. (816) 415-5025. -P.H. SUNDAY Make snowflakes, cards and ornaments, listen to holiday music by the Academie Lafayette Choir, eat treats and hear stories at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art's annual "Snowflake Festival" from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the museum, 4420 Warwick Blvd. Suitable for all ages. Admission is free. (816) 753-5784. -A.T. One of TV's all-time heartwarming movies-of-the-week, "Brian's Song," airs in an all-new version (6 p.m., ABC). Sean Maher, Mekhi Phifer and Ben Gazzara star in this retelling of the story of professional football player Brian Piccolo, whose life was cut short by cancer suddenly in 1970. -A.B. "Call Me Claus" (7 p.m., TNT): In this teleflick that resembles the classic "Miracle on 34th Street," Whoopi Goldberg works for a home-shopping channel and Nigel Hawthorne is the actor (or so she thinks) whom she hires to play St. Nick on TV. Original songs by producer Garth Brooks, who by the way is still retired. - A.B. DEC. 4 & 6 "Saint Nicolas": The Kansas City Chamber Orchestra and the Fine Arts Chorale collaborate in Benjamin Britten's holiday cantata on the fourth-century saint on whom we've based our character of you-know-who. At 8 p.m. Dec. 4 at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral and at 8 p.m. Dec. 6 at Old Mission United Methodist Church. Tickets cost $17 to $23 (discounts for seniors and students). (816) 235-6222. - P.H. DEC. 6 Maryland author Nancy Baggett's cookie-recipe cookbook, The All-American Cookie Book, was named best dessert cookbook this year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Talk about a tasty Christmas title. Baggett will discuss and sign the book at 7:30 p.m. at the Village Church, 6641 Mission Road in Prairie Village. There'll be cookies for tasting, some treat bags and ... it's all free. Complimentary tickets are available from Rainy Day Books, (913) 384-3126. - John Mark Eberhart DEC. 7-9 The Kansas City Art Institute's much awaited and always popular "End of Semester Student Exhibition and Sales" will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Dec. 7, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 8 and noon to 5 p.m. Dec. 9 in the studio departments on the school's campus, 4415 Warwick Blvd. It's a great place to buy unique gifts, including ceramics, paintings, prints, photographs and other art forms. Note: The ceramics department will not be open until Dec. 8. Campus maps will be available at the Vanderslice Building. (816) 802-3458. - A.T. DEC. 7-23 "The Nutcracker": The Kansas City Ballet's production of Tchaikovsky's classic is the No. 1 holiday favorite for kids and for good reason: great music, choreography by Todd Bolender, top dancers, dazzling costumes and cute kids. At various times at the Midland Theatre. Tickets cost $18 to $63. (816) 931-2232. - P.H. DEC. 9 Connie Sellecca stars in a new movie, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," at 7 p.m. on Pax. Corbin Bernsen plays her husband (what, John Tesh wasn't available?) and identical twins Cole and Dylan Sprouse take turns playing the child who catches Santa smooching under the mistletoe. -A.B. DEC. 11 Nickelodeon presents holiday-themed episodes of your kids' favorite cartoons all month, including "A Rugrats Kwanzaa" at 7:30 p.m. on this date. - A.B. DEC. 13 With the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor falling on the 7th of this month, interest in all things World War II remains high. Author Edward Matheny will discuss and sign his WWII book, The Pursuit of a Ruptured Duck: When Kansas Citians Went to War, at 7:30 p.m. at Unity Temple on the Plaza, 707 W. 47th St. For complimentary tickets, call Rainy Day Books at (913) 384-3126. - J.M.E. DEC. 14 Charpentier Christmas music: Les Arts Florissants, one of the world's leading Baroque chamber-vocal ensembles, presents the Christmas Mass and Christmas Oratorio by the great 17th-century French master. This music is ravishing, and the best part is - it's unfamiliar. Presented by the Friends of Chamber Music and the Carlsen Center. At 8 p.m. Dec. 14 at Redemptorist Church, 3333 Broadway. Tickets cost $35, with discounts for seniors, students and educators. (816) 561-9999 or (913) 469-4445. - P.H. DEC. 18 When it starts getting wintry, poetry warms the soul. Three poets - Victor Contoski, Antonia Quintana Pigno and Carl Rhoden - will read from their works at 7 p.m. at Johnson County Central Library, 9875 W. 87th St., Overland Park. And the event, co-sponsored by The Writers Place and the library, is free. Information: (816) 753-1090 or (913) 495 2472. - J.M.E. DEC. 19 With "Harry Potter" out of the way, only one earth-shaking film version of a cult novel remains to be seen this year. "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings" opens on this date with an international cast (Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett) and, one hopes, all of J.R.R. Tolkien's sword and sorcery intact. -Robert W. Butler DEC. 21 There's more of "The Truman Show" than of "Ace Ventura" in Jim Carrey's "The Majestic." It's the tale of a blacklisted writer in the '50s who gets amnesia and is mistaken by the residents of a small town for the local boy who went off to World War II and never came home. Mixing equal parts Frank Capra and Preston Sturges, it could be one of the best Christmas presents we get from Hollywood this year. - R.W.B. DEC. 22 Take a break from shopping, cooking and all the holiday madness at a free concert of holiday and winter-inspired music by the Panapolli Trio from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, 4420 Warwick Blvd. Relax to the sounds of Dana Woolard on cello, Townes Osborn Miller on flute and Elizabeth Carillo on violin. Call (816) 753-5784. - A.T. DEC. 25 The last time director Michael Mann got behind the camera the result was "The Insider," one of the best (if underappreciated) American films of recent years. His latest effort "Ali," starring Will Smith as the heavyweight champ, opens. Everything about it sounds just right. - R.W.B. @ART CAPTION:The Kansas City Ballet's "The Nutcracker" opens Dec. 7. @ART CREDIT:KEN COIT @ART CAPTION:The ABC Family channel airs 25 days of holiday programming in December, including the animated show "Angela Anaconda."' @ART CREDIT:ABC @ART CAPTION:Empire Brass performs on the Harriman Arts Program series Dec. 1 @ART CREDIT:DANIEL KARP/Harriman Arts Program @ART CAPTION:Eagerly awaited by Tolkien fans, "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings" opens in area theaters Dec. 19. @ART:Photos (5, color and b/w, 1 uncaptioned)
