sterling silver ballet shoe pendant

“The Santaland Diaries”: TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents Max Tachis performing David Sedaris’ hilarious monologue about working as a department store elf; Dec. 5-23; Lohman Theatre, Los Altos Hills; $45; 650-463-1960, www.theatreworks.org. “A Christmas Carol”: For the 36th year, Northside Theatre Company performs its version of the Dickens holiday standard, adapted by Richard T. Orlando. Dec. 5-24; Olinder Theatre, San Jose; $17-$22; www.northsidetheatre.com. “A Christmas Memory”: Members of Livermore Shakespeare Festival present a staged reading of the Truman Capote’s short story, performance includes tapas and drinks; Dec. 5-19 Swirl on the Square, Livermore; $45; livermoreshakes.org.

“She may be in a wheelchair, sterling silver ballet shoe pendant but she is totally equal to the other nuns in everything she does,” David said, A bit of a challenge came when David, music director Dean Stames and choreographer Matthew McCoy were working on the tap dancing finale “Tackle Your Temptations With a Time Step.” The trio really wanted the nun in the wheelchair to be an intricate part of the song so David built a little dance floor that fits on the arms of the wheelchair, “The actress has tap shoes on her hands and does a beautiful job, We even have her in solo lighting, which is probably the first time the show’s soloist in the tap number is in a wheelchair,” David said..

Travel tips: They traveled with cameras at the ready, capturing images of a tiger hunting — successfully — and other memorable sights. “Be prepared to take spontaneous photos to enhance your memories,” they said. Travel tip: “To visit the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, a convenient base is Teton Village. It’s a short drive from Jackson proper but is much quieter and closer to the mountains, yet still has a lot of restaurants and attractions. You can take the tram to the top of the mountain and parasail to the Village, which I did after watching them sail over our condo every morning, or take the gondola and have dinner at the top with an amazing view.”.

Details: 7 p.m, Friday and Saturday; Oakland Asian Cultural Center; $17-$26; www.brownpapertickets.com, 4 “Christmas Carols”: Dickens’ tale of a lonely man’s evolution from terrifying sterling silver ballet shoe pendant tightwad to total Teddy bear never fails to get me, There are two long-running and terrific annual productions in the Bay Area, at American Conservatory Theater (through Dec, 24; Geary Theater, San Francisco; $30-$115; 415-749-2228, www.act-sf.org) and at Center Repertory Company (today through Dec, 17; Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek; $28-$42; 925-943-7469, www.centerrep.org.)..

And the best part is, it’s free. It’s open to anyone from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can just show up, take a short class at noon to learn a few steps and then boogie down. Did I mention it’s free? And with everything sky high in the city these days, free is truly priceless. On this day, under clouds and eucalyptus, I arrived while the class was underway. People lined up in two long rows of pairs. Watanabe and dance instructor “Hep Jen” showed off some steps. “OK, the outside turn, rock, step, now triple-step, triple-step, triple-step,” Hep Jen called out over a mic, and the group rocked back and forth accordingly, en masse. Some got the steps, some stepped on others’ steps, but everyone was smiling and laughing. After the class, the music cranked up with “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” and a boppy Lou Rawls version of “Fine Brown Frame” and the swingin’ commenced.