Paperboys play the theater

Riffing off its popular free summer concerts in the park series, the Vashon Park District will launch a winter version called “Concerts in the Dark,” with a performance by rock band The Paperboys at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, at Vashon Theatre. The Canadian band plays a freewheeling, danceable blend of Celtic, bluegrass, Mexican, and other world music. All tickets are free. Seating is first-come, first-serve. Vashon Events is curating the series.

Queer film series continues

The film “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” will show tomorrow at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13 at the Vashon Senior Center on Bank Road. “Midnight” is a 1997 American crime drama directed and produced by Clint Eastwood and starring Kevin Spacey and John Cusack. The film examines the hidden-in-plain-sight life of a high-society gay man in the south. Interwoven with a bit of voodoo, a good murder-mystery, and colorful characters, the movie gives a peek into the weirdness of society in an old southern town. Catherine Swearingen, daughter of the south and executive director of the Senior Center, will lead the discussion following the film.

Relive the magic of “A Christmas Carol”

Islanders are invited to experience the magic of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” first-hand this Saturday, Dec 14, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 15, at 4 p.m., at Open Space for Arts and Community. In this staged reading adapted from the original novel, the audience will be transported into the world of the beloved classic as the ensemble presents the story that has inspired countless adaptations in theater, television, and film. The talented Vashon cast includes Russell Baker, Chris Boscia, Alex Drissell, Mick Etchoe, Steve Jones, Mik Kuhlman, Bonny Moss, Orion Moss, Cate O’Cane, Juniper Rogneby and Jon Whalen. Tickets are $16 for advance purchase online at openspacevashon.com or $20 at the door. Youth 18 and under are free. Youth tickets are limited in number and must be reserved online in advance. Beverages and concessions will be available.

Anything goes at holiday puppet show

Jawbone Puppet Theater will bring to life two shows featuring loads of funny, campy, irreverent humor, great music and thought-provoking performances, as well as the troupe’s signature beautiful artistry, puppets and masks, at 10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at Black Cat Cabaret at Snapdragon. Tickets, available at the door, are $8. Don’t miss the talented cast including Linda Comer, back with her special brand of off-key singing, quirky humor, Steven Lipke, who always delivers with his esoteric clowning and mystical ramblings. And soft-spoken Manuel Alvarez, back with performances which will warm the coldest heart. Plus a real magician, mariachis, fun with piñatas, and more.

Vashon Readers Theatre continues

Megan Hastings directs Adam Cone and Mik Kuhlman in a special holiday edition of Vashon Readers Theatre, performing Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16, at Black Cat Cabaret at Snapdragon. In his story, Capote recalls a Christmas past, when he was seven years old and living with an assortment of relatives. One, a 60-something, childlike cousin, is his best, and only, friend, as he is hers. Each year they save up money to buy the ingredients they can’t gather for free to make 30 fruitcakes, which they send mostly to strangers they admire. Capote relates in some detail their four-day extravaganza of gathering, preparing, and baking, and the homely way they spend the holidays together. After the performance, the audience will be invited to tell a five-minute handwritten story of their own to share. A holiday party will follow. Admission is free but seating is limited.

Holiday mayhem unfolds on stage and the airwaves

Drama Dock, Vashon’s venerable community theater group, will present “1940’s Radio Christmas Carol,” on Dec. 20, 21, 22, 28 and 29 at Vashon Center for the Arts. The show takes place on Christmas Eve, 1943, and follows a radio theater presentation of the Feddington Players as they broadcast their contemporary take on Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” An excursion in the mayhem and madness of a live radio show, the show includes four-period songs and swing arrangements of many Christmas standards. The cast, a who’s who of local island theater talent, is directed by Marita and Elise Ericksen. Visit vashoncenterforthearts.org for showtimes and ticket information.

Chamber orchestra will sound off

Northwest Sinfonietta, the region’s premier professional chamber orchestra, will perform at Vashon Center for the Art’s Kay White Hall at 7:30 p.m Sunday, December 22. The Sinfonietta is in its 29th season, and this will be the ensemble’s first concert on the island. The group brings a Baroque-inspired program perfect for the season, including works by Baroque masters Handel, Purcell and Torelli as well as Respighi’s beloved Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 3 and Holst’s St. Paul’s Suite. Guest Artist Judson Scott, an active performer and educator around the Puget Sound area, joins the group on piccolo trumpet. Island violinist Karin Choo has been performing with Northwest Sinfonietta since 2012 and became Executive Director of the group this past summer. “I cannot wait to introduce Northwest Sinfonietta to the Vashon community, and to perform this beautiful program at the beautiful Kay White Hall,” she said. For tickets, visit vashoncenterforthearts.org/kay-hall-events/ or call the VCA Box Office at 206-259-3007.