What to see, do and hear: Handel’s Messiah, ‘Archer’ finale, year-end art

THEATER 

Snowgirls: The Musical concludes at Out Front Theatre this Sunday. Based on the 1995 cult film Showgirls, this North Pole adaptation stars Anna Holland as a reindeer and features costumes by Eric Griffis and music by David Cerda. ArtsATL writer Benjamin Carr interviewed director Paul Conroy and discovered how much research the cast and crew did to bring this show to the stage. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets $30.

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Jennie T. Anderson Theatre’s Overture Series closes this weekend with The Light in the Piazza, co-produced with Georgia Ensemble Theatre. The Tony award-winning production features music and lyrics by Adam Guettel and is based on the 1960 novella by Elizabeth Spencer. Director Amanda Wansa Morgan and cast member Kandice Arrington explained to ArtsATL writer Jim Farmer how this staging is a modern take on the classic musical. Tickets start at $33.

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This weekend at 7 Stages Theatre, the Little Five Points Rockstar Orchestra presents Black Metal Burlesque. Billed as “the perfect antidote to the traditional holiday show,” the production features burlesque as well as aerial acts and rock music. “This is on a scale unlike any we have attempted before, and it’s been an honor to gather and create with such an extraordinary level of local talent,” said show producer and director Justin Welborn. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. and Sunday, 7 p.m. Ages 18+ suggested. Tickets start at $25.

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MUSIC

The Trey Clegg Singers will present their annual Christmas concert — Festival Sounds of the Season — Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Church at Wieuca in Buckhead. In addition to the Clegg Singers, a 50-member semi-professional chorus, the concert will feature an ensemble from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The acclaimed chorus was formed in 2016 to focus on music within the African American tradition. The concert will present new works by Native American composer Andrew Balfour and by Douglas Hooker, one of its own members. Tickets start at $35.

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The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus returns December 14 and December 15 with its annual tradition of Handel’s Messiah at Symphony Hall at 8 p.m. The ASO will also perform the first part of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. The orchestra will be led by Norman Mackenzie, the director of choruses, and feature soloists Adelaide Boedecker, Kelley O’Connor, Miles Mykkanen and Lawson Anderson. Tickets start at $30.

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Cabaret vocalist and comedien Nancy Gaddy joins the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra and Johns Creek Chorale Saturday at 7:30 p.m. for its annual Christmas Pops concert. Gaddy and the orchestra will perform seasonal favorites in what Gaddy promises will be a concert of “humor and harmony.” The performance will be held at the Johns Creek United Methodist Church. Tickets start at $25.

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DANCE

Dancer-choreographer Sam Neas began his dance training in Atlanta but has gone on to teach and choreograph in Los Angeles and New York. His new ensemble Articulate Dance Company combines contemporary theatrical dance with evocative storytelling and will perform next Tuesday at Buckhead Art & Company. The concert comprises On the Surface, which explores relationships that delve into the depths of human experience and emotion. Several Atlanta-based dance artists will share the bill, including SOMOS Dance Company. 7:30 p.m. Tickets $30.

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This weekend, Gwinnett Ballet Theatre will present its 41st annual production of The Nutcracker, which the company claims is the largest and longest-running holiday ballet in Gwinnett County. Featuring more than 90 dancers and performed with a live orchestra, the production has two casts with professionals from Gwinnett Ballet Theatre and students from Sugarloaf Youth Ballet. Gas South Theater, Duluth. Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Friday at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets $20-$55.

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Atlanta Ballet’s The Nutcracker continues at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre this weekend. ArtsATL senior editor Gillian Anne Renault reviewed last Saturday’s performance, which featured the ballet’s first cast (There are four casts altogether throughout the run.). Renault writes that the production is a brilliant marriage of dance and state-of-the-art scenic design. Plenty of humor, too. Friday at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets start at $53.

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Film+TV

Dad’s Garage is hosting a watch party for the finale of the TV series Archer in honor of its Atlanta-based cast and crew, according to Dad’s Garage Executive Producer Jon Carr. Free, but registration is required. Sunday, 9 p.m.

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Art+Design

Whitespace gallery’s The December Show, (through December 30), is an invitational show that includes artists exhibited in any of Whitespace’s three exhibition spaces in the past year. ArtsATL’s art critic Jerry Cullum says gallery owner Susan Bridges “has curated a coherent exhibition out of the eyepopping diversity of styles and concerns that characterize the gallery’s artist roster. . . The show’s dynamic installation both reflects and reveals the gallery’s distinctive angle of vision.”

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Buckhead Art & Company is hosting an opening reception for Shades of Purple Saturday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The gallery describes the group exhibit as showcasing “visuals of royalty, the vibrancy of the color itself, as well as featured images of The Color Purple’s story adaptations.” Free. VIP admission is $15 and includes complimentary wine bar.