People were welcomed back to East Lansing after Thanksgiving weekend with a fresh layer of snow, decorated Christmas trees and heart-warming music on the radio. And not a minute too late. Aside from today's pop-star Christmas contributions, such as Jessica Simpson's CD, the stage continues to glorify the classics.

Whether it be Christmas caroling or classic stories, that all-too-familiar, fuzzy, warm holiday feeling continues to be popular in the Lansing community. As of the past week, local theater companies have been relaying the holiday spirit through music and plays.

So if your Christmas whistle has yet to be wet, look no further than our guide to local Lansing-area theater and choral ensembles for a bit of holiday entertainment. There are enough plays, musicals and choral collaborations to put even Scrooge in a festive mood.

Community theater

Theater has completed the final touch to the Christmas frenzy with Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."

Since the world learned about Dickens' lovable characters, the grumpy Ebenezer Scrooge and the heart-breaking Tiny Tim, the story of greed and redemption are themes that have transcended since the story was written in 1867.

A Christmas staple in American history and culture, the classic story was featured in a 1951 film, a Disney cartoon, in endless high school productions and, of course, in seasonal theater.

Although many theaters contribute to the community's passion for that warm Christmasy feeling, BoarsHead Professional Theatre, 425 S. Grand Ave. in Lansing, will be one of the first to put on the show.

"We as Americans take 'A Christmas Carol' for granted," said Nancy Rominger, the play's director. "But, if you just read it for what it is and appreciate it, it's just a fabulous story."

Although BoarsHead hasn't put on a Christmas show in years, Rominger has directed a Christmas show almost every year of her career.

"It all gets down to the characters and, I think, that's one of the things that makes Dickens as famous as he is - he really understood people and created characters that weren't one dimensional and cartoony," she said. "These people are complex and just so rich."

Many other local professional theaters are producing different versions of the story or simply offering other plays with wintery themes. Riverwalk Theatre, 228 Museum Drive in Lansing, and Wharton Center are just a few that have jumped on the holiday bandwagon.

Riverwalk will have a one-night performance of "Holiday Voices" on Dec. 18, while Wharton also will perform "A Christmas Carol" on Dec. 19 and "The Glorious Sounds of the Holidays" on Saturday.

"The American culture is based on the fact that the church and state are divorced," said Geoffery Sherman, BoarsHead's artistic director. "These kinds of plays actually manage to introduce many of the more religious messages of Christmas in a secular form.

"I think that apart from going to church, 'A Christmas Carol' shows how one man slowly achieves redemption from the good grace of others."

Because the show is constantly being produced and aired through television and theater, it has become a national Christmas staple. Companies have sought to personalize and toy with the story in order to make it a different experience for audience members.

BoarsHead has decided in its version that Charles Dickens will actually take part in the story.

"Dickens used to be a magician and he used to entertain children during Christmastime with his tricks," Sherman said. "I started from that premise and I wanted to have him on stage - it offers something different that most audiences haven't seen."

Rominger said despite her extensive knowledge and experience with the play, this particular approach she and Sherman have been working with is one that is entirely fresh and new.

"I've done it in a number of different theaters and each one does a different adaptation and offers something really vibrant and new," she said.

The all-too-familiar frenzy is one that doesn't surprise too many people, including MSU Assistant Professor of production design Kirk Domer.

"Why do you buy a Christmas tree every year and put it up?" he said. "It is our American tradition and no matter how many times we do the same things we do every Christmas, it can't get old."

Domer said he thinks that the popularity Dickens' story has created is one comparable to William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night."

"These productions are done over and over again, there is always a take on it that people are interested in seeing," Domer said.

Community music

Grab a mug of eggnog and join your fellow Spartans for a night of lively Christmas carols at 8 p.m. Saturday in the Great Hall at Wharton Center as the School of Music unleashes about 400 musicians on one stage for "The Glorious Sounds of the Holidays."

The musical collaboration will feature the MSU Symphony Orchestra, University Choral Ensembles and the Choral Union, under the direction of music Professor Leon Gregorian, Director of Choral Activities David Rayl and Associate Professor of music Sandra Snow.

In the past, the annual holiday festival was known as the Handel's Messiah concert, but this year, the School of Music looked for a new format that would offer the audience an unfamiliar experience while also playing favorites from the Messiah, Rayl said.

"This year's concert will include a wide variety of musical genres and styles, from an unaccompanied Renaissance motet to "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" for chorus and orchestra," Rayl said. "It will be appealing to people with a great deal of listening experience with classical music and with those who are new to classical music."

A motet is a polyphonic choral composition on a sacred text usually without instrumental accompaniment.

Along with Bach and Mozart pieces, Rayl said there will be something for everyone - including a carol sing-along for the entire audience in the Great Hall featuring such songs as "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town."

"Students will enjoy hearing music that imparts a holiday feeling," said Trey Jacobs, a first year doctoral student of music arts in choral conducting. "I think they will also enjoy singing carols with the orchestra and choirs."

But when it comes down to the simple line, the singing festival is all about the spirit of Christmas with a few lyrics, songs and harmonies thrown in.

"It's a celebration of the holiday season," Rayl said. "I love the music."

And the music wasn't all bells and whistles for Rayl and company to set up 300 singers and 100 orchestra members on one stage.

"We've been planning since last spring," he said. "We've been rehearsing now for a couple of weeks."