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Those seeking respite from shopping, trip planning and house decorating this holiday season will find ample distraction in the plays and musicals taking place throughout Prince George's County over the next month.

Both Christmas classics and cult favorites – many featuring professional actors –will grace the area's stages this season, with ticket prices all in the affordable range.

Theater-goers looking for traditional productions can find one of the most beloved tales of the past 150 years, "Little Women," as a musical put on by the Tantallon Community Players at Harmony Hall Regional Center in Fort Washington. The production will be showing there from Nov. 22 through Dec. 21.

"You can't go wrong with it; it's a beautiful story and it'll make you feel good," director Charla Rowe said. "These [actors] are so good you can't even believe it. I'm the luckiest director in the world."

The famed story, adapted from the 1869 novel by Louisa May Alcott, tells the tale of the March family, which includes sisters Beth, Jo, Meg and Amy. The story is both funny (a favorite pastime of the March girls is putting on plays in their attic) and sad (one of the sisters, always sickly, dies of scarlet fever).

Rowe is diverging from the path of other Little Women directors in one way: by having two sets of women play the March sisters.

A group of younger girls will play the sisters when they are supposed to be children, and another group will play them when they are meant to be adults.

Ticket information can be found at tantalloncommunityplayers.org.

Best Pageant in Laurel

For a twist on classic holiday plays, locals may want to check out the Laurel Mill Playhouse's production of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," running from Nov. 28 through Dec. 21. The Burtonsville Players perform the story, based on the 1972 book by Barbara Robinson, of the rowdy Herdman children. They discover the meaning of Christmas while putting on a play about the holiday.

Ticket information about the play, which will be performed at the playhouse's location on Main Street in Laurel, can be found at laurelmillplayhouse.org.

Nutcracker in Bowie

And what would the holiday entertainment season be without that perennial favorite, "The Nutcracker"? Bowie Performing Arts Center is showing the National Ballet Company's beloved ballet about a girl, a soldier and a formidable rodent army from Dec. 3 through Dec. 7. For more information, visit nationalballet.com.

If the traditional wintertime shows don't strike your fancy, Prince George's County offers alternative plays to help you escape the stresses of the season.

Neil Simon classic

From Dec. 19 through Dec. 28, Prince George's Little Theater will be performing Neil Simon's "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" at the Bowie Playhouse. The show is about the humorous difficulties 1950s television comedian Max Prince experiences while trying to gain an audience.

Producer Roy Peterson said the show will be a breath of fresh air this time of year.

"There are so many of those [holiday] types of productions out there, so we thought, ‘Let's do something different,'" Peterson said. "People get tired of the jingling bells."

The Bowie Playhouse is also hosts this year to "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," the popular 1960s comedy of errors set in ancient Rome. The musical, long a favorite among theater crowds, will be performed by 2nd Star Productions at the Bowie Playhouse from Friday through Dec. 13.

More information can be found at www.2ndstarproductions.com.

Cult classic in Greenbelt

Anyone still pining for Halloween and its campy accompaniments will be excited to learn that "The Rocky Horror Show," the 1973 British musical predecessor to the now-famous 1975 Rocky Horror Picture Show, is already playing at the Greenbelt Arts Center.

The play – about a young couple that gets stranded at the creepy castle of a cross-dressing doctor – has been a cult favorite for more than three decades. It will run in Greenbelt through Nov. 22.

"We felt that it had a huge following due to the movie, and would bring in large crowds, many of whom are not regular attendees of live theater and might decide that they enjoy it," said director Jeffery Lesniak.

"Seeing this show live, with a cast full of actors who love the show, and love what they are doing … is something that all lovers of campy science-fiction sex musicals should experience at least once in a lifetime."

Ticket information for the show can be found at www.greenbeltartscenter.org.

Clarice Smith schedule

People looking for diversity of production all in one place won't have to travel far to find it.

The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, offers holiday-time performances ranging in type from classical music evenings to a "clown-theater-music" production featuring "adult themes," a motorcycle and purple hair dye.

Ticket and show information can be found at claricesmithcenter.umd.edu.

Holiday classics in Cheverly

Publick Playhouse has a few holiday shows specifically for children planned for December.

"Mooseltoe! A Holiday Moosical" is scheduled to be performed four times on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3.

"Babes in Toyland" is scheduled for two shows at Publick Playhouse on Dec. 5. And "‘Twas the Night Before Christmas" is scheduled for four performances on Dec. 17 and Dec. 18.

Tickets for any of the three shows are $5. The theater is located at 5445 Landover Rd., Cheverly. Call 301-277-1710.