Center for the Arts presents The Nutcracker
     Holiday traditions find a special place in one's heart and those who consider seeing The Nutcracker a December pastime will have an opportunity to view it this weekend.
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MusicalFare Theatre presents 'Black Nativity'
     MusicalFare Theatre will present Paul Robeson Theatre's production of "Black Nativity."
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O'Connell & Company presents 'A Big Band Christmas'
     O'Connell & Company will present "A Big Band Christmas," which will feature "Swing's the Thing" this holiday season as the Colored Musicians Club and the in concert quartet celebrate with a 1940's style musical showcase.
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Theatre
Openings
     Dec. 1 & 2 Angels in America - Part One: Millennium
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The bohemian life
     Shea's Performing Arts Center presents a musical about being young, learning to survive, falling in love, finding a voice and living for today when "Rent" is on stage Dec. 5-10.
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A Ghostlight holiday tradition
     Seven weary travelers are trapped in a rural train station by a blizzard on Christmas Eve and are visited at midnight by a group that changes their lives forever in Starry Night Theatre's "All Through the Night," Nov. 30 through Dec. 17.
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Concerts
     fri. 1 . 103.3 The Edge Misfit Xmas featuring Breaking Benjamin
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Ongoing
     Diva by Diva: A Celebration of Women Presented by O'Connell & Company, 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Cabaret in the Square Theatre, 4476 Main St., Snyder; $20. 839-3949, www.cabaretinthesquare.com
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CD REVIEW
Solid rock 'n' roll from This Is Now
by KARL SCHEITHEIR Entertainment Editor
     Formed in 2001, This Is Now is a very tight modern rock band comprised of Bob Rich (lead vocals/guitar), Bob Kupczyk (guitars/vocals, and Bee Group Newspapers Special Sections Editor), Kent Weber (bass, acoustic guitar, SH101, Moog Pedals, music box, juice harp/vocals) and Kevin Kilner (drums/percus
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M OV I E REVIEW
'Babel': A hard watch
by KEN BARTOLOTTA Reporter
     "Babel," the new film by Alejandro Gonzlez Iñrritu is a good film, well written, well shot with decent performances from a number of its stars, but with that being said, it's not a particularly enjoyable film.
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Vintage Christmas set for Lewiston
     Christmas is coming, and what better way to celebrate than the old-fashioned way, with carriage rides, boutique shopping, carolers, roasted chestnuts and outdoors enter tainment.
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Holiday
     now-Dec. 31 Holiday Lights of Niagara, 5-9 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays, Oppenheim Park, Niagara Falls Boulevard, Wheatfield. On Fridays and Saturdays from 6-8 p.m. there will be free children's crafts, photos with Santa or Gingerbread people and Santa's Secret Shop. The cost per vehicle is $8. Call 2
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Performance
     Friday, Dec. 1 . Chrysanne Stathacos, 6 p.m., UB Anderson Gallery, 1 Martha Jackson Place, Buffalo. To conclude her recent exhibition, Stathacos will present a free lecture and performance. The event coincides with a "Day With(out) Art," a national day of mourning in response to the HIV/AIDS cris
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Festivals
     Dec. 2-3 . Roycroft Winter Festival, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., East Aurora Main Street School, East Aurora. Roycroft artisans display and sell their wares. Call 655-7252 or visit www.ralaweb.com for more information.
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Literature
     Dec. 4 . We're not your ordinary writers group!
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Swinging Christmas
     O'Connell & Company will be delivering a sleigh-full of holiday music from the 1940s to theatergoers when "A Big Band Christmas" is performed from Nov. 30-Dec. 17.
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