I found great picks for all ages this week. For the younger ones, check out Disney's Aladdin Jr. at Artisan Center Theater and Charlotte's Web at Casa Manana. Science fans can learn about exploring the underwater world at the Museum of Nature & Science. And teens can check out their fellow teens in a splashy production of Phantom of the Opera at J.J. Pearce High School and in a serious look at bullying in The Secret Life of Girls at Dallas Children's Theater.

Also cool, the special guest at tonight's opening night performance of The Secret Life is Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns, who has shared his experience with bullying on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and at last year's White House Conference on Bullying Prevention. You can get all the details in my Family Fun briefs here.

PHOTO: Casa Manana presents Charlotte's Web through Feb. 26, featuring a cast of local favorites along with puppets.

If I could have fit an item about Richard Michelson, picture book author, poet and art gallery owner, into a small blog item I would have. But all I can tell you is that my story about the remarkable Richard touches on Mr. Spock, how he got NPR host Carl Kasell to put his voice on his answering machine, his take on Walt Whitman's career as a sports journalist, how he turned the spooky bedtime story he told his son into his first picture book and the life of the first Jewish baseball star, who happens to be the hero of his picture book Lipman Pike America's First Home Run King.

You can meet Richard for free Thursday at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and Saturday at Allen Public LIbrary. You can get all the details along with my full story here.

PHOTO: Author, poet and art gallery owner Richard Michelson will be at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Thursday and Allen Public Library Saturday to talk about his picture books, including the award-winning Lipman Pike America's First Home Run King.

Get out your calendar and start jotting down the dates. Target is hosting Breaking Dawn parities, Norton Juster is heading to town, kids going to the new Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes Music show can play on Sesame Street Live's new Play Zone, DCT is presenting The Secret Life of Girls and Casa Manana has Charlotte's Web coming up. I've got the details in my Family Fun Looking Ahead column here.

PHOTO: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in Breaking Dawn -- Part 1

I found lots of fabulous free fun for kids this week! First off, there's always a wealth of wonderful kids activities in our local museums on the first week of the month. That means First Tuesdays at the Dallas Museum of Art, Target First Saturdays at the Nasher Sculpture Center, AdventureAsia at the Crow Collection of Asian Art and Pictures and Pages at the Kimbell Art Museum. And for kids who want to get outside and do something a little different, there's a Trick-A-Trout Kid Fish at Frisco Commons Park. I've got all the details in my Family Fun Free Fun column here.

PHOTO: Pictures and Pages, a program for preschoolers ages 4-6, will be offered at the Kimbell Art Museum on Feb. 7

I found lots of fun things for the kids this week: a tennis clinic for ages 5-18 from the pros at T Bar M Racquet Club and YP Challenger Tournament professionals, Piccadilly Circus in Deonton, Valentine's crafts at the Museum of Nature & Science, a Butterfly Discovery Tour at the Texas Discovery Gardens and a Daddy Daughter Dance (with discounts for moms on Spa Botanica services) at the Frisco Athletic Center. I've got all the details in my Family Fun briefs here.

PHOTO: Kids can get tennis tips this weekend at a clinic offered along with the YP Challenger Tournament at the T Bar M Racquet Club in Dallas.

As someone who bought into the world of Harry Potter, I don't expect to be wowed by practitioners of magic in our Muggle world. After all, there's always a trick, right? Something up the sleeve, in a hidden pocket, or an illusion in the lighting. And yet, I was absolutely awed by Trigg Watson Burrage when he came to The Dallas Morning News.
The 22-year-old SMU senior tore up a copy of the Morning News right in front of me -- then handed it over whole and untouched. He had me hold a coin in my hand, and when I opened my hand, it was a different coin.
You can catch him in person Feb. 4 and ongoing Saturdays at Spaghetti Warehouse and at the Improv in Addison and the Improv in Arlington later this month. I've got all the details in my Family Fun Kids' Corner column here.

Want more? Here's a video where Trigg shows kids how to do a couple of magic tricks -- followed by one of his super tricky ones!

Mark your calendars -- there's some cool stuff heading here for kids in February and March: The Piccadilly Circus, award-winning children's book writer Richard Michelson, the amazing Norton Juster, Charlotte's Web and The Secret Life of Girls. You can get all the details in my Family Fun Looking Ahead column here.
.

Fantastic free fun for kids this week: You can take them to watch fresh bread being prepared at Mrs Baird's, watch money being printed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, catch the antics of Kellogg the Clown, enjoy the music and stories of award-winning Jim Gill and take a new parents tour at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. I've got all the details in my Family Fun Free Fun column here.

PHOTO: Kids can learn how master plates are engraved for printing money at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's facility in Fort Worth.

I've found a great variety of fun for the kids this week. You can introduce them to opera with the kid-friendly Doctor Miracle from the Dallas Opera, show off the explosive ball handling skills of Harlem Globetrotter Fatima "TNT" Maddox, learn about the science of sports at Sci-Tech Discovery Center, watch Madeline and the Gypsies and catch the last weekend of Dinosaurs Live! at the Heard. You can get all the details in my Family Fun briefs here.

PHOTO: Dallas Opera will present the kid-friendly Doctor Miracle opera at the Rosewood Center for Family Arts Jan. 27 and Feb. 3. Photo by Karen Almond

I know Daniel Handler is coming to town to talk about his latest book, Why We Broke Up, which just won the Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award AND is already being slated to become a film.

But I couldn't resist pestering him about the new Lemony Snicket book coming out this fall, which will be the first in a series of four prequels to A Series of Unfortunate Events. I enjoyed learning, too, that his eight-year-old son, Otto, vastly prefers the picture books of his wife, Lisa Brown, and those of Mo Willems to A Series of Unfortunate Events. "He asks me every so often what they're about. I tell him terrible things happen over and over again. He is frightened of these books, and I don't wish to press them."

For those of you not frightened, Handler will be at the Dallas Museum of Art along with Why We Broke Up illustrator Maira Kalman Sunday. You can get the details in my Family Fun column here.

I found lots of great free fun for the kids this week! There's a a Year of the Dragon party at the Crow Collection of Asian Art (tonight!), Fancy Nancy parties at all Michaels stores, Critterman at Bookmarks at NorthPark Center, Princess Penelope and her dragon puppet at Half Price Books and a teen fiction fest with a Twilight twist at the Barnes & Noble at Lincoln Park in Dallas. I've got all the details in my Family Fun Free Fun column here.

Lots of fun for kids this week: Junie B. Jones at the Eisemann Center in Richardson and Bass Hall in Fort Worth, a Chinese New Year festival at the Children's Museum at the Museum of Nature & Science, World Record Night at the Texas Brahmas game, an etiquette class with a great meal at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek and a chance to score free annual passes to the Children's Aquarium at Fair Park if they can come up with the best name for the facility's 70-plus-year-old, 175-pound alligator snapping turtle. I've got all the details in my Family Fun briefs here.

PHOTO: Kids have a chance to win annual passes for their families in a contest to name the Children's Aquarium's 70-plus-year-old, 175-pound alligator snapping turtle.

When it comes to reading, my son Sam used to be a lot like the MIkey kid in the cereal commercial. If he liked a book, you knew it had to be terrific. We both loved Christopher Paul Curtis' Bud, Not Buddy (and evidently the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award judges agreed). Now I'm excited to report that Mr. Curtis is coming to town with a new book spinning off one of the Bud, Not Buddy characters -- Deza Malone in The Mighty Miss Malone. Also cool, you can meet the author in Fort Worth tomorrow. I've got all the details in my Family Fun Kids Corner here.

Maybe you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but you sure can teach a mouse -- particularly if hat mouse is played by Karl Schaeffer in If You Give a Mouse of Cookie.

Karl has been working with 8th generation circus artist Fanny Kerwich on an aerial silk act that he's slipping into his mouse antics. The show runs through Feb. 26 but if you catch tonight's opening night, you'll see Fanny's Lone Star Circus performers do THEIR tricks in the lobby from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Tiff's Treats will supply free milk and cookies and each family will get a free show poster. PLUS, 12 lucky individuals will win a voucher tonight for a dozen warm, delivered sponsors AND two lucky winners will receive vouchers for a free class in the Lone Star Circus school. Want to know more about the show? I've got all the details in my Family Fun column here.

I love showing my boys all the different forms families can take. And you can get plenty of that at the Dallas World Aquarium, where they're having a baby boom of dwarf seahorses, ribbon seadragons and flamboyant cuttlefish.

Of course once we're there, you can bet we're not going to miss the clear tunnel of swimming sharks they can walk through or the 40-foot waterfall in a rainforest where monkeys leap and birds fly from branch to branch. Then there are the bats for the Twilight fans and the snake that reminds me of hte one Harry Potter let loose by making the glass enclosure disappear on his visit to the zoo (Note to self: make sure we all leave our spells at the door).

You can get the details in my Family Fun Kids' Corner here.

PHOTO: Families check out the fish at the Dallas World Aquarium. Photo by DMN Staff Photographer Brad Loper

Looking for a different way to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Monday? How about an Oli and Cotton holiday camp where kids will make an arts project? That's one of the many cool things you can do with the kids this week. Michaels stores are showing kids how to build model cars, the Texas Brahmas are offering an arts-and-crafts station at their game for Kids' Day, Adventure Landing presentsTeddy Bear Thursdays, where kids can stuff teddy bears, and the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary will give a free child's ticket with each paying adult Tuesdays through Fridays from 2:30 to 4 p.m. I've got all the details here.

PHOTO: Oil and Cotton is offering a kids holiday camp for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

I found some great free fun for the kids this week for a wide range of ages. There's a Martin Luther King Jr. multimedia exhibit at Frisco Public LIbrary, Chinese New Year activities at Plano Public Library, Spaghetti Eddie presented by Bookmarks at NorthPark Center, Slappy & Monday at Galleria Dallas and best-selling young adult authors at the Young Adult Keller Book Festival. You can get all the details in my Family Fun Free Fun column here.

PHOTO: Married clowns Tiffany 'Slappy' Riley and Dick Monday will perform at Showtime Saturdays at Galleria Dallas Jan. 14.

I was so moved by 17-year-old Molly Franco, who plays Anne in Monday's opening night performance of The Diary of Anne Frank at WaterTower Theatre in Addison. The more she brings Anne to life -- the effervescence, the mischievous humor, the joyous life force -- the more I found myself wincing because I know how the story of this young girl captured by the Nazis ends -- and you keep hoping that just this one time it could end differently.

But one thing I have learned from this play and from two other remarkable works about children of the Holocaust -- Through the Eyes of a Friend at the Aaron Family Jewish Community Center and the "Every Child Has A Name" exhibit at the Dallas Holocaust Museum -- is that we all can play a role in making sure the story of what happens to kids in the face of bigotry and hate does end differently in the future. To that end, I felt lifted up by the contribution local children made to the "Every Child Has A Name" exhibit -- a collection of 1.5 million pennies, one for each child who died in the Holocaust. The idea, says Sheryl Pidgeon of Plano, the mom of Bryce and Jaxie Plano who spearheaded the efforts to raise the last 300,000 pennies, is that "every penny represented a child's soul."

Just when I find myself consumed with sadness about what did happen, it helps me understand what Anne meant when she wrote, "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."

You can read my story about The Diary of Anne Frank, Through the Eyes of A Friend and Every Child Has A Name here.

PHOTO: Molly Franco and Travis Pope star as Anne and Peter in The Diary of Anne Frank at WaterTower Theater in Addison

I felt so inspired after talking with illustrator and caricaturist C.F. Payne -- and not just because his artwork is so intricate and exquisite. Chris shared his struggles in high school and the critical place creativity played in his life. The boy whose guidance counselor told him he would flunk out by his second semester of college went on to become an illustrious illustrator and a teacher himself.

He's a professor and chairman of illustration at Columbus College of Art & Design. And he's looking forward to coming to Dallas, which is where says he first found himself as an artist, and encourage younger kids to discover their creativity, too. Chris will be at the Daimond Club at Rangers Ballpark Jan. 12 and Allen Public Library in Allen Jan. 14. The events are free and he will sign books purchased at these events. You can get all the details in my Family Fun column here.

More cool things for kids this week: a dancing Cinderella by the young performers of Plano Metropolitan Ballet, farm activities at the Heritage Farmstead Museum in Plano, Rumple-Steal-Skin at Artie's Playhouse at Artisan Center Theater in Hurst, your last weekend to catch Bob the Builder (in person!) at the Museum of Nature & Science in Fair Park and a special screening of The Adventures of Tintin for kids with special needs at four AMC locations. You can get the details in my Family Fun column here.

I found some great free things to do with kids of all ages this week, from Pictures and Pages at the Kimbell Art Museum for preschoolers to Junior Players acting workshops at Dallas Public Library locations for the teens. And then there's juggler David Slick at NorthPark Center, Critterman at Galleria Dallas and Norman Rockwell and the Art of Scouting exhibit at the National Scouting Museum in Irving. I've got all the details here.

I was feeling a little guilty about taking so long to get up this blog post about Cirque Banquiste!. The international circus experience put together right here in Texas by Fanny Kerwich, an eighth generation circus artist and married Dallas mom of two, opened Thursday.

But then I found out that the Thursday AND Friday performances are sold out. So I'm feeling a little better about that. But I still want to alert you that there are only four performances left of this astonishing celebration that will feature international stars like Luciano Anastasini and his irresistible dogs and juggler extraordinaire Rejean St. Jules alongside homegrown Lone Star talent such as the remarkable Raphaele Daubois with her all-new Hula-Hoop routine. It's all happening at the Dallas Children's Theater's Rosewood Center for Family Arts (where Fanny will be coming back to coach veteran actor Karl Schaeffer in some circus moves for his Mouse in If You Give A Mouse A Cookie opening Jan. 20). I've got all the details on Cirque Banquiste here. And there'll be more Mouse tales in an upcoming Family Fun column.

PHOTO: Raphaele Daubois, 20, of Dallas, a graduate of Fanny Kerwich's Lone Star Circus school, is debuting her new Hula-Hoop routine at Cirque Banquiste! at the Rosewood Center for Family Arts through Sunday.

She may not be competition for Plano's gold medalist Nastia Liukin, but I have a feeling that McKenna, the new American Girl doll gymnast, may inspire some younger girls to do some tumbling. Of course if they just want to party, the American Girl Dallas store will do that, too, with a two-day mix of free and paid events. The free events feature an interactive gymnastic-themed demonstration; a scavenger hunt and crafts; a complimentary doll's gym bag exclusively for the McKenna launch while supplies last (for girls 8 and older). The paid event includes a meal, an advice book called Take the Challenge and additional activities.

I've got all the details here.

I've found some fabulous free fun for the kids this week that starts at the end of December and will take you through the first week of the New Year. If you haven't seen the amazing Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art, you should jump at the opportunity to take the kids to First Tuesdays where the theme is "Dress Up" and they can make paper dolls, transform ordinary art supplies into royal jewels and see a production of The Ugly Duckling. First Tuesdays is free; the Gaultier exhibit will be $10 on that day as opposed to the usual $16 on weekdays.

You can also see Nutcracker in a Nutshell puppet show at Bookmarks at NorthPark Center, catch singer, songwriter, picture book writer and recording artist Willy Welch at Galleria Dallas, learn about the inventiveness of Ben Franklin at the Irving Arts Center and celebrate Kwanzaa with a show by Soul Children's Theatre at South Dallas Cultural Center.

I've got all the details in my Family Fun column here.

PHOTO: A children's program on Jan. 5 at the Irving Arts Center will focus on Benjamin Franklin.

New Year's can be a blast for kids -- and parents -- especially when it's a Noon Year's Eve celebration like the one Radio Disney is having at the Main Event in Fort Worth or the one at the Legoland Discovery Center in Grapevine or the countdown to 9 p.m at This Side Up Family Fun Center in Plano. And then there's the lock-in like the ones at Eisenbergs Skatepark in Plano where you know they'll have fun and be safe while parents are having adult time.

Plus, on Jan. 1 Disney's Phineas and Ferb are heading to Garland in a live show with some new songs. You can get the details in my Family Fun column here.

John Hardman of Le Theatre de Marionette told me many wonderful stories when I interviewed him in 2008. But my favorite was when he aimed his zingers at a man in green plaid pants only to find out, later, that the man was Raymond Nasher. For those who get a kick out of his Scrooge's curmudgeonly ways, you may want to check out his last performance on Dec. 24 when Scrooge, after reading Dickens' A Christmas Carol, starts to have a change of heart. You can read all about it in my Kids' Corner here.

PHOTO: Scrooge at NorthPark Center will have a change of heart at the last performance on Dec. 24.

I had such a blast talking with the two precocious and very sweet young boys -- and best friends -- alternating as Tiny Tim and Young Scrooge in Dallas Theater Center's A Christmas Carol, which earned a rave from our own Lawson Taitte. You still have a couple of chances to catch them before the show's final performance Satruday at 12 noon. Read about these remarkable guys in my Family Fun column here and you just may find another reason to catch it before it closes.

PHOTO: Mark Fisher (right) with Kurt Rhoads and Abbey Siegworth in A Christmas Carol. Mark alternates with his good friend, Kuran Patel, as both Tiny Tim and Young Scrooge

Got the time? We've got the activities! Kids can do a science camp next week, catch a comedy/magic show, visit the dinosaurs, sign up for a cool New Year's Eve ice hockey party and honor the remarkable efforts of local kids who collected 1.5 million pennies in honor of the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust. Get all the details in my Family Fun briefs here.

PHOTO: Dinosaurs Live! are guarding the trails at The Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary

Maybe it's my obsession with Hansel and Gretel that draws me to the new giant 10-by-12-foot gingerbread houses in the lobby of Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine. Or it could be the heavenly aroma of eggs, flour, ginger and all that candy (as in 3,240 eggs, 1,320 pounds of sugar, 750 Christmas cookies, 600 pounds of gingerbread dough, 100 pounds of chocolate, 5,000 Christmas candies and much more). It took more than 400 hours to put it all together. You can get all the details on how to make reservations to eat inside the houses or just take pictures of the kids outside them while enjoying flurries of indoor "snow" in the lobby in my Family Fun Kids Corner here.

I've found lots of fun things for the kids this week: shark feeding at the Museum of Nature & Science in Fair Park, Scuba Santa at Legoland Discovery Center (and Mrs. Santa at Sea Life Aquarium), cold weather chemistry camp at the Lab at Lakewood, an introduction to skating at Allen Event Center and a Snowfari camp at the Dallas Zoo and the Children's Aquarium at Fair Park. I've got all the details in my Family Fun column here.

PHOTO: The Intro to Skating Holiday Camp at Allen Community Ice Rink features instruction and open skating.

Fabulous free fun for kids this week -- a Kwanzaa celebration with Junior Players, a chance to learn origami with instructors from the Crow Collection of Asian Art at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, an opportunity to learn how to stand up to bullying with the author of Miss Chit Chat at South Dallas Cultural Center, wintry-themed science from The Snow Queen at Castle Hills Village Shops Plaza and story time at the River Legacy Living Science Center. You can get all the details in my Family Fun column here.

PHOTO: Kids can learn origami with the help of instructors from the Crow Collection of Asian Art at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library.

Looking for a fabulous Hanukkah present for kids six months to six years that won't cost you a thing? Urge the parents to sign up for PJ Library, a new-to-Dallas program that will allow the kids to receive one Jewish-themed age-appropriate book a month for free. You can read my story about it here.

It seemed too good to be true when I heard about this amazing program, created by Massachusetts philanthropist Harold Grinspoon in 2005, and launched locally with a commitment from Joy and Ronald Mankoff's Mankoff Family Foundation through the Center for Jewish Education in the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas (a local sponsor must pledge 50% of the program's costs to bring it to their community).

But it's happening, it's here and the first set of books I've read are fabulous. My personal favorites? The Golem's Latkes by Caldecott Honor winner Eric A. Kimmel (about a golem that can't stop making latkes) and Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles by Tami Lehman-Wilzig with Nicole Katzman (about a boy with autism who doesn't understand that you're not supposed to blow out the Hanukkah candles). Would love to hear about your favorite Hanukkah books, too!

PHOTO: Joy Mankoff reads Bagels from Benny, one of the free books sent to Jewish children through the new-to-Dallas PJ Library program, at the Aaron Family Jewish Community Center. Photo by DMN Special Contributor Nan Coulter

I still remember the first time I took my boys, who were so little at the time, to our first panto put on here by Theatre Britain in 2002. "Remember to sit still and not to say a word during the show," I told them on our way to the theater. So what was the first thing that happened? The narrator starts talking directly to the kids, urging them to boo the villain and cheer the hero. And then there was the singalong!

A panto, I soon realized, is all about letting go, having fun and sharing an experience with the actors. "Bring your lungs and check your manners at the door for a raucous and engaging production of The Sleeping Beauty that no one will be able to sleep through," I wrote back then. No wonder it's such a holiday must in England, where it brings parents and kids and the community together in common merriment. Years later, when I interviewed Daniel Radcliffe about Harry Potter, he told me that going to the pantos is what spurred his love of theater.

It's also become a holiday tradition of our own as one of my boys returns with me every year to see Theatre Britain's new panto. This year we had a blast at Dick Whittington, which continues through Dec. 28 at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano. You can read my review here.

PHOTO: Michael Speck plays Jack Of All Trades in Theatre Britain's performance of "Dick Whittington." Photo by DMN Special Contributor Matt Strasen.

J. Mark McVey, who stars as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, has had some of his biggest life moments on the stage. He fell in love with Christy Tarr, whom he married after they were cast as husband and wife in The Who's Tommy on Broadway. He knew he wanted to be a father after playing father to Little Cosette in Les Misérables on Broadway. Now he is playing the father to his actual eight-year-old daughter, Kylie McVey, who will make her debut as Little Cosette (alternating as Young Éponine) in the 25th annual tour of the blockbuster musical at the AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House Tuesday.

"I'm absolutely ecstatic," Mark told me on the phone from a tour stop in Grand Rapids, Mich. "I don't think it can get much better than this. I consider it an honor to deliver a message of redemption and grace each evening, but now from a human aspect as the father of the child I am performing with, I just can't even imagine what emotions it's going to bring forth." You can read all about it here and in the Guide on Friday.

Even Santa can't resist the aroma of fresh-baked bread. He'll be landing his sleigh at Mrs Baird's Bakery, where kids can get free photos with him, color pictures and take home one of Mrs Baird's sweet treats. I've found lots more free fun for the kids, too, this week -- Le Theatre de Marionette's The Little Drummer Boy at the Latino Cultural Center, a Curious George exhibit at the Mesquite Arts Center (paired with a Curious George craft time at the Mesquite Main Library), Nutcracker excerpts, a folklorico performance and a chance to adopt pets at NorthPark Center. Kids can also give back as they celebrate Christmas the old-fashioned way, stringing popcorn and cranberries and hanging them on real trees for the birds to enjoy at Trinity River Audubon Center. I've got all the details in my Family Fun Free Fun column here.

PHOTO: Ballet Folklorico will be performing for free, along with the Texas Ballet Theater School, Dallas and Dallas Ballet Company. The ballet companies will be doing excerpts from The Nutcracker.

Dallas became the first city to get Medieval Times' new show in November (it will be rolled out to the eight other locations by summer) and, not to worry, it's still medieval, but with fresh costumes, script, score and fighting sequences for faithful fans. As for the newbies, all you need to know is that the Andalusian stallions prance, a falcon soars, six knights joust, lances splinter and sparks fly as swords, battle-axes, bola and shields clash. A winner emerges and faces off against a dark challenger who seeks to steal the fair princess for his own lord against the wishes of the king, while romantic music swells and colored lights weave their misty magic.

It's a blast, but it can be pricey. That's why I've compiled my five tips for making the most of your Medieval Times experience. You can get them in my Guide cover story here. Would love to hear your tips, too!

PHOTO: Wes Irving, The Green Knight (left), and Crew Wyard, Assistant Head Knight, for feature on the new show at Medieval Times. Photo by DMN Staff Photographer Evans Caglage.

Lots of fun -- and a chance for kids to give back -- this week!.The Dallas Symphony Orchestra offers its annual "Deck the Hall" concert (with part of the proceeds going to support music education programs for youth) and an 11-year-old "Annie" is performing in a show that will raise money in memory of her best friend who died of cancer. Plus, kids can go Christmas caroling on a hayride and decorate elegant gingerbread houses at the Rosewood Crescent Hotel.

You can get the details in my Family Fun briefs here.

PHOTO: Deck the Hall features young performers in addition to the DSO, activities, crafts, a professional photo and, of course, Santa.

Got some Yo Gabba Gabba fans at home? Check out my Kids' Corner in today's Guide section of the Dallas Morning News for details of tomorrow's big concert at Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie. Click here for details.

The first week of the month is always a favorite because that's when museums offer their amazingly fun and educational free family programming. So we've got Target First Saturdays at the Nasher Sculpture Center (with art scavenger hunts, yoga in the garden, crafts), an AdventureAsia collaboration with the Crow Collection of Asian Art AND the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University (with yoga, face painting, Bodhi leaf cookie decorating), First Tuesdays at the Dallas Museum of Art (with a chance to make a glitter-filled winter snow globe and hear storytellers and musicians) and Kimbell Story Time at the Kimbell Art Museum for the younger ones (with a story, craft and tour).

The Allen Public Library and Storyopolis Global Entertainment also have a great time planned with children's book illustrator David Catrow, who worked on the film Horton Hears a Who!, coming to the library to talk, answer questions and show how he creates his art. You can get all the details in my Free Family Fun column here.

PHOTO: First Tuesdays, which includes visits with Arturo, are always a blast at the Dallas Museum of Art

Fabulous fun for kids this week includes a Polar Express Pajama Party, where they can see the movie, have dinner, take pictures with Santa and experience "snow" inside the building, Santa Claus: The Christmas Musical , adapted from Rankin & Bass musical specials at Studio B Performing Arts Center and a screening of The Muppets for kids with special needs at Studio Movie Grill and select AMC Theatres.

Plus, kids can give back at the Teddy Bear Toss at the Brahmas ice hockey game (throw a stuffed animal on the ice after the first Texas Brahmas goal; the toy will go to kids for the holidays) and Camp Gingerbread at NorthPark Center (where proceeds from decorating gingerbread cookies will benefit Shared Housing, a non-proift that facilitates affordable housing for those in need).

Get the scoop in my Family Fun Guide Picks here. For details on the AMC Sensory Friendly Screenings, which I didn't get in time for the column, click <

Twelve-year-old Olivia Wilkerson of Plano had no idea what to think when her parents too her to her first panto -- a British holiday tradition presented by Theatre Britain here. "I didn't know what a panto was," she told me. "It surprised me that in one of the parts a man played a woman, a ghost pops out for some random reason and they make you sing along. I was like, 'Hey, why are they doing this?' "
But Olivia and her family loved it and now they can't wait to check out Theatre Britain's latest panto, Dick Whittington, at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano. You can read my story about how some homesick British transplants helped turn a British holiday tradition into a Texas one here.

PHOTOS: (top) Twelve-year-old Olivia Wilkerson of Plano loves to take pictures with actors at Theatre' Britain's pantos -- part of her family's annual holiday tradition. (bottom) Kate Rutledge as Queen Rat in Theatre Britain's new world premiere panto, Dick Whittington.

Tons of free fun this week! Slappy's Holiday Circus at Galleria Dallas, horse-drawn carriage rides at Watters Creek, Mrs. Claus' puppet tales at the Parks at Arlington and Jumpstart: Stories and Art at the Irving Arts Center. Check it out in my Family Fun Guide Picks; Free Fun column here.

PHOTO: Lily Monday, daughter of married clowns Tiffany 'Slappy' Riley and Dick Monday, performs alongside her big brother, juggler Chet Monday, at Slappy's Holiday Circus at Galleria Dallas through Dec. 23.

I had the best time talking to local adults who had danced in the Nutcracker as kids. I was aware that few kids who dance the Nutcracker go on to become professional dancers (although I do have Carolyn Judson, who is dancing the part of The Sugar Plum Fairy for Texas Ballet Theater in the mix!), but I was impressed by how a love of dance helped Logan Westby learn skills that helped him as a sailor, Bonnie Valant-Spaight become a scientist and Nancy Schaeffer, become a children's theater director (she is currently directing the dazzling Madeline's Christmas for the Dallas Children's Theater).

And then there are the four Su sisters, who all went into medical fields. You can read all about it in my Guide cover story here.

PHOTOS: (top) Carolyn Judson as the Sugar Plum Fairy surrounded by a new, eager crop of kids in the Texas Ballet Theater's The Nutcracker. Carolyn talked about the first time she was in The Nutcracker as Clara at age 12, and her mother curled her hair every night, as her "favorite year of Nutcracker." (bottom) Logan Westby's favorite Nutcracker role for the Collin County Ballet Theatre was as a Russian dancer. He says he's used the skills he's learned in the Navy where he currently serves as a missile technician stationed in a submarine.

The Dallas Children's Theater opened up its season with a new idea: an opening night pajama party for the audience of each of its upcoming shows, starting with Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

The show was a success (you can read my review here), and so was the party. It was cool to see a full audience of kids, many of them wearing pajamas and clutching blankets or cuddly toys. During intermission they feasted on ice cream from Sam's (ice cream is an Alexander favorite) and listened to Willy Welch, aka Mr. Willy, perform. They also received free gum (another Alexander fave) on the way out after the show; smart way to avoid having gum end up in the carpet before the next performance!

I am constantly amazed by the high level of acting talent among the teens in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I've been consistently impressed by the Junior Players annual Shakespeare production in Samuell Grand Park Amphitheater. I had the fun of reviewing their Twelfth Night here. Be sure to see it if you get a chance and tell me what you think!

There also seems to be no shortage of talent for the National High School Musical Theater Awards, which now have THREE companies selecting local winners for the national competition: Lyric Stage in Irving with the Schmidt and Jones Awards, Casa Manana in Fort Worth with the Betty Lynn Buckley Awards and starting this year, Dallas Summer Musicals with the DSM High School Musical Theatre Awards.

Last year Casa's Betty Lynn Buckley winner, Molly Franco, went to New York for playing the title role in Peter Pan at Keller High School. You can see her this weekend on stage at Casa Manana as Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden, a teen apprentice program in which all the participants earned their parts through competitive auditions. You can read about it in my KidBeat briefs here.

This was Lyric's first year to participate. Mackenzie Orr, now 18 and a recent graduate of Coppell High School, won best actor for his portrayal of the Baker in his school's production of Into the Woods in May; he ended up as one of the three male finalists for the Jimmys, as the national New York awards are called. If Mackenzie's name sounds familiar that's because Dallas Morning News' Lawson Taitte raved about Mackenzie's performance as Hugo in Lyric Stage's production of Bye Bye Birdie last year. You can read Lawson's review here.

Mackenzie, who is heading to the University of Michigan to work towards a BFA in musical theater, won a $500 scholarship and trophy at the Schmidt and Jones Awards and a $2,500 scholarship from the National High School Musical Theater Awards. After college, he says he hopes to move to New York City and begin auditioning for shows on Broadway.

"The high point in this experience was definitely performing the opening number of the Jimmy Awards on the stage of the Minskoff Theater on Broadway with 49 of the most talented kids I've ever had the privilege to know," Mackenzie emailed me. "After a week jam-packed with rehearsals, we had finally made it to a Broadway stage, performing in front of 1800 supportive friends, family members, and people from the New York theater industry. The energy on that stage was electric; we all couldn't believe what we were doing! I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world. It was phenomenal."

PHOTO (TOP): Ian Patrick Stack (from left), Claudia Hullet, Afton Welch and Matthew Eitzen in "Twelfth Night," presented by Junior Players. (BOTTOM) Mackenzie Orr as Hugo Peabody in Bye, Bye Birdie at Lyric Stage last year.

One of the three elements that struck me most deeply in The Pied Piper's Magic at Dallas Children's Theater is the power of friendship -- both on stage and off stage in form of the special relationship between Pied Piper author Steven Kellogg and the theater itself; DCT executive artistic director Robyn Flatt and her longtime staff are the only ones to whom Kellogg has entrusted the rights to adapt his warm and whimsical work. You can read my review here and my feature about it here.

Another element is the power of words -- this piper's magic is that he can pipe words that come to life and he can reverse the letters of those words to create new images (a welcome message about the importance of looking at things from another perspective). And finally, it is very cool to see that in the wake of Harry Potter mania, nobody blinks at a character being a witch as Elbavol is here. To put it in perspective, some audience members gave the theater a hard time for the witch in Kellogg's A Christmas Witch in 1995. That's two years before Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published in England and three before the retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was published in America. So you could say A Christmas Witch was just ahead of its time.

PHOTO: Ruby Long (far left) and Maurice V. Johnson (second from left) and Maurice V. Johnson (far right) are villagers charmed by Brian Hathaway's Pied Piper.

Here's some no-bummer news about Jackson Odell, who plays Zeke in Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (you can read my feature on the film here and my review here). Jackson will be emceeing a fashion show for Choco-coco, a new kiddie couture boutique, at Galleria Dallas Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by a live musical performance and a tea party for everyone in attendance. It's free and a percentage of proceeds from store sales will go to Starlight Texas to help the organization support seriously ill children and their families.

Jackson, a StarPower ambassador, already performed for more than 20 children at Children's Medical Center this morning. Not a bummer thing to do.

Have you got what it takes to be the next Selena Gomez or Mitchel Musso? Disney Channel and Disney XD are having an open casting call Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Omni Hotel, 700 San Jacinto at 8th St in downtown Austin. Casting directors will be looking for ages 10 to 18 with the comedic acting and/or singing and dancing chops for upcoming Disney series and movies. An application and a monologue will be provided upon arrival. There is no fee to audition. Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The Omni Hotel offers self parking for $10.00 plus tax. For more information, visit www.disneychannel.com/opencall.

PHOTO: Grand Prairie's Selena Gomez shot to fame with Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place. Here she stars with Joey King in Ramona & Beezus

I loved this story by Scott K. Parks about how the coins thrown in the fountain at the Dallas Summer Musicals has made such a difference in the life of young ushers there. Parks focuses on the extraordinarily talented Richmond Punch, now 30, whose education at Juilliard and Yale University got a boost from the change that Michael Jenkins, president and managing director, has had drained and salvaged since 1994. Jenkins estimates the fountain produces $8,000 to $12,000 a year. You can read about it here.

It's another reason it's so cool to see Jenkins honored by the Broadway League recently for excellence and achievement for touring Broadway. The award is for Outstanding Achievement in Presenter Management and acknowledges Jenkins not only for producing and investing in 123 Broadway productions and presenting 438 national tours, but for bring Broadway and the arts Jenkins to special needs and at-risk youth.

PHOTO: Coins in the Dallas Summer Musicals fountain helped send Richmond Punch, former usher at the DSM, to Juilliard and Yale. Punch is now artistic director for the Dallas Uptown Youth Orchestra, a philanthropic enterprise started by his family's The Punch Family Foundation.

Budget cuts may be looming as a sword over the heads of high school arts programs, but theater companies are stepping up to reward those schools that pump resources into their musical theater programs.

The shining prize for the best actress and actor in a high school musical will be a chance to go to New York City to compete for the Jimmy Awards (named for theater impresario James Nederlander). There will soon be three local companies offering Tony Awards-style programs, with local scholarships in multiple categories along with winners being sent to the New York contest.

Dallas Summer Musicals announced the debut of the DSM High School Musical Theatre Awards at a press conference today at the Music Hall at Fair Park. We had the story Sunday, which you can read here. It promises to be a big, splashy event, with as many as 30 to 40 schools competing starting this fall, with local scholarships for winners in 15 categories.
Lyric Stage in Irving is hosting the Schmidt & Jones Awards, named after Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, with its first awards being given out Friday at 7:30 at the Irving Arts Center in 14 categories. You can purchase tickets for $20 here. Lyric has eight schools competing and does not plan to increase past 16, says Managing Director Valerie Galloway Chapa.

And then there are the Betty Lynn Buckley Awards, that will be given out May 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Casa Manana in 16 categories. Tickets will be available May 19 at Ticketmaster. You can find out more about the Betty Lynn Buckley awards here.

One catch -- because you can only be nominated by one organization for the national program, the best actress and actor in one program will not get the national nod from a subsequent awards program. But overall, having three companies doing this looks a win-win-win -- it all adds up to more opportunities to cheer on hard-working, talented kids, see great work and maybe even catch some future stars on the rise.

PHOTO: Michael Jenkins, president and managing director of Dallas Summer Musicals, announced the launch of the DSM High School Musical Theatre Awards today at the Music Hall at Fair Park

The Dallas Children's Theater's The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs (which they're billing as the "best piggy show since Ham-let,"), has been extended through March 6. Which just extends a question for me. Will the kids in the audience, who get to vote on Mr. Wolf's guilt or innocence, ever turn in a guilty verdict? Evidently the cast which has to be ready to perform one of the two endings on a moment's notice has had to brush up on the rehearsal for the guilty song because they haven't done it once since the show opened.

So, what does that say about kids and how they're willing to give even big bad wolves the benefit of the doubt? In any case, if you go and hear a guilty verdict, let us know how it goes. You can read my review of the show here.

PHOTO: L to R: BJ Cleveland, Lee Jamison, Bob Hess, Catherine Carpenter Cox and Deborah Brown in The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, photo by Mark Oristano

As nimbly as the rabbits in the rabbit petting zoo planned for their Chinese New Year celebration, the Crow Collection of Asian Art is moving its free family festival from this Saturday to Saturday, Feb. 12. The popular event will still include family-fun art activities, face painting, storytelling, complimentary candy, tea sampling, yoga inspired by the animals of the Chinese Zodiac and a lion dance all honoring the Year of the Rabbit.

Look for it Saturday, Feb. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Crow Collection of Asian Art, 2010 Flora St., Dallas. 214-979-6430 or click here for more information.

PHOTO: A lion dance at a previous edition of a Chinese new year's celebration at Crow Collection of Asian Art.

Never mind the Big Bad Wolf. It's the Big Bad Weather, or rather a Big Bad Burst Pipe, that's causing the cancellation of Friday's and Saturday's performances of The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! at Dallas Children's Theater. The theater is also canceling Friday's Launch Party for its Teen Scene Festival and its Friday performance of hard 2 spel dad. However, for those looking forward to meeting Texas Rangers star second baseman Ian Kinsler Saturday, THAT show will go on.

Remember to arrive early at 12:45 p.m. prior to the 1:30 p.m. show to see Kinsler speak about learning differences in advance of Linda Daugherty's play on this subject. While Kinsler is in the building, the American League Trophy that the Rangers won will be in the lobby. And tickets for Rangers games will be on sale as well.

Call 214-740-0051 for tickets and more information. Click here for my KidBeat story on Kinsler and his appearance at DCT Saturday.

In what must rank as one of opera's most heroic performances, mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves continued to sing Saturday night even after experiencing an early-pregnancy miscarriage.
Singing the role of Jane Seymour in the Dallas Opera's "Anna Bolena," the 46-year-old Graves remained on the Winspear Opera House stage for her character's great duet with Anne Boleyn, portrayed by soprano Hasmik Papian. Profoundly shaken, Graves then left the stage for what Dallas Opera artistic director Jonathan Pell announced as "a medical emergency." The performance continued, but minus Jane Seymour's confrontation with Henry VIII.
After taking a break at her home outside Washington, D.C., Graves expects to return to sing the opera's final two performances at the Winspear, at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
For information, call 214-443-1000 or go to www.dallasopera.org.

With the hypnotic Phantom of the Opera playing Dallas Summer Musicals at the Music Hall at Fair Park (through Sunday) and the score refusing to stop swirling around my brain, I was a bit startled and more than intrigued to catch an NPR story about a Phantom sequel in the works for 2011. Composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and directed by the Tony Award winning director Jack O'Brien, Love Never Dies (and neither evidently does the Phantom) picks up the story 10 years later in CONEY ISLAND (that is not a typo) and yes, the triangle of Christine, the Phantom and Raoul is still very much in play. You can read about it here.

I can't wait. Maybe -- for better or for worse -- it will at long last dislodge "The Music of the Night" from my brain.

I am still smiling at the magical A Midsummer Night's Dream at the new Wyly Theatre. I caught the Dallas Theater Center show last night with my husband and two of my teens and I was moved on so many levels. I was struck by all the teens and kids in the seats, sitting there with their families just like mine, and enjoying themselves.

I reveled in the joy of the production with young actors from SMU and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts performing spiritedly alongside seasoned company professionals like the marvelous Chamblee Ferguson as the clowning Bottom. I loved all those wacky moments when the fairies fought each other with Nerf guns, water pistols and inflatable weapons. I was stirred by the way the cast physically engaged the audience -- not just running through the seats, but addressing them directly, putting arms around them, encouraging them to draw with chalk on the set during intermission, pulling them up on stage to hold a prop moon aloft as if to say this is OUR theater -- come join the fun!

But what got to me the most is the depth of feeling artistic director Kevin Moriarty brought to the production not just in the way he guided his actors, but in the very casting.

PHOTO: Robyn Flatt, who performed in the show, with her father, Paul Baker. Read on to find out why this production was so special to both of them.

The Dallas Children's Theater, ending its fiscal season in August with no cash reserve, is cancelling Dracula, The Vampire Play, one of the 11 shows announced for its upcoming 26th season.

There will be no substitution for the show which was scheduled to run Oct. 9 through Nov. 1. Subscribers who have bought tickets will be offered VIP tickets that can be used for any of the 10 shows that will remain in the season.

John Sichter, DCT chief administrative director, says the company is trying to compensate for a reduction in the company's net income level in the previous season and the possibility of continued reductions in the next fiscal year.

"While this year we had the benefit of starting the year with a cash reserve, we will be starting next season with no reserve," he notes. "Consequently, we decided to take a stronger and more conservative approach to our budget for next year. We have introduced numerous cost avoidance and cost reduction measures of which one was to reduce the number of productions to start the year.

I caught the last of the four performances of Les Miserables School Edition presented by Imagination Players and KD Studio and I was impressed. As I wrote in my KidBeat column here, I went in wondering how teens and, indeed, kids as young as eight could pull of such an emotionally, spiritually and technically challenging show. And while no one is going to mistake a school edition production for a professional one, I was touched to tears with the feeling and talent spilling over the modest KD Studio stage -- all much applauded by the packed house.

Rebecca Spigel made a remarkable debut as Fantine, singing "I Dreamed A Dream" (now also know as the Susan Boyle song) with a passion beyond her years. Note: not only is this Rebecca's first show, she's an incoming freshman at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Definitely someone to watch. Hector Felix also brought emotional depth and quite a bit of power to Marius. Hector, a graduate of Richardson High School is heading to the American Musical Dramatic Academy in New York to pursue a professional career.

This is very much an ensemble piece and blogs are too short to list every deserving performer. But I was also impressed with Sean Fowler's Jean Valjean (a tough role for a teen, but this young man could explode with the right part), Mallory McDonald Ayliffe's sweet soprano as Cosette, Ruby Westfall's poignant Eponine and the impossibly precocious Christian Wikoff as Gavroche. (I really enjoyed Darrell Morris Jr.'s singing as Javert, too, just couldn't get past his inherent likableness -- these kids were all so likable! -- in the harsh, bad guy role).

While it's too late to catch this show, Garland Civic Theatre's Children on Stage is also presenting Les Miserables School Edition starting Thursday with what looks like another talented cast of young people. I'm just so glad I caught this one (and would love to hear from others who were there!). It was a reminder for me that attending junior theater is a great way not only of supporting kids as they grow as artists (and at affordable prices) but seeing some exceptional talent on the rise.

PHOTO: Cassidy Cocke as young Cosette in the upcoming Garland Civic Theatre's Children on Stage production opening Thursday

The kids can do art for free and anything you buy (books for dad, hint, hint?) will benefit the Arlington Museum of Art at the 3rd Annual Kids Art Celebration at Barnes and Noble at Arlington at the Parks Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m.

Just let a cashier know that you want your purchase to benefit the Arlington Museum of Art and Barnes and Noble will make it happen.

Kids activities include:
An edible art station presented by the Children's Art Cafe where kids can create art with messy and yummy supplies

Learning how to draw caricatures from caricature artist Ty Walls

Face painting techniques from Rebecca Williams

Projects to complete and take home from UpStairs Gallery of Arlington along with information on instructional classes for kids to adults.

I took my two younger boys to The Wizard of Oz yesterday at the Music Hall at Fair Park and we were enthralled as much by the kid-packed audience in the full house as we were by the show on stage. We spotted at least five incredibly cute little girls dressed up as Dorothy in blue gingham and "ruby" slippers and tons more clutching their little Toto dolls (some well worn from home-hugging, others brand new and bought from the Dallas Summer Musicals gift shop for $25).

We went early enough to catch the free Kids Club before the show where the 12 local kids playing Munchkins and Winkies were in their star element, happily signing autographs for kids who had just decorated red toy slippers with red sequins and glue. You can read about them here.

Most of the kids told us it was their first time in the theater and that they loved seeing their favorite characters come to life. And we could hear them during the show, laughing and clapping and going "aww" every time "Toto" scampered across the stage.

Click below to read what three of them told us afterwards:

Emily Alicia Rivera, 5, of Richardson, dressed up as Dorothy

Because of swine flu cancellations, Kids Who Care is postponing its musical theater audition workshop, previously scheduled for Wednesday, to next Wednesday, May 13 at 4:45 p.m. at The Scott Theatre in Fort Worth.

If you haven't seen Dallas Children's Theater's terrific Honus & Me yet, you're in for a treat. And if you go on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. for the last performance of Steven Dietz's adaptation of Dan Gutman's book about a young baseball fan who travels back in time to play with Hall of Famer Honus Wagner, you can meet Dietz himself. The University of Texas at Austin professor will be introduced to the audience and be available for autographs with the cast. Check out KidBeat for more on the show.

The Museum of Nature & Science is hosting a birthday party for Dr. Seuss (who would have been 105 on March 2) along with the first birthday of its remodeled Children's Museum Monday from 10 a.m. to noon. And since admission is free, we blogged about all the fun details here in Dollar Wise.

We're happy to report that Slappy's Puppet Playhouse, the only puppet theater we know with real-life clowns behind the scenes, will stay put at Galleria Dallas at least until the end of the year.

Slappy's had to move from its five-year home on the third floor, near the Play Place, to make room for a clothing store earlier this year. But now that their temporary spot on the second floor has been assured through December, they're back to planning kids birthday parties and shows again.

Their marionette show, Sleeping Beauty, continues through March 29, followed by Charlotte's Web April 4-June 21 and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz June 27 - Sept. 7. Their Funhouse Follies variety show continues through Sept. 6. And they'll be offering a circus camp June 15-19 and July 6-10.

We know it's still winter, but you've got to plan ahead for summer. And the free second annual summer showcase presented by Dallas Afterschool Network should help both for and non-profit caregivers do just that by offering live entertainment that showcase out-of-school options.

It all takes place Friday, March 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with live performances from 10 a.m. to noon at the Embarcadero Building in Fair Park, 1229 Admiral Nimitz Circle in Dallas. Enter Fair Park at Gate 3 along Washington Ave.

After five years of delighting kids and parents with clowning and puppetry, birthday parties and unique gifts, Slappy's Puppet Playhouse is moving on down from the third flower of Galleria Dallas to the second floor after its Sunday shows.

It seems its current space is being taken over by Forever 21, the chain clothing retailer. Slappy's, owned and managed by real-life husband and wife clowns Tiffany 'Slappy' Riley and Dick Monday (Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey vets, creators of the New York Goofs and therapeutic clowns at Children's Medical Center Dallas), will start carting puppets and props to Suite 2230, next to Tony & Guy's on the second level, where they want everyone to know the closest parking is the Blue Parking.

The new space, which is temporary for three months while a permanent space is in negotiation, will open Feb. 14 with Slappy's Funhouse Follies variety show, Sleeping Beauty and the Snoring Prince marionette show, birthday parties and store, plus a free Showtime Saturdays Valentine variety show back up on the third floor near the old space at 11:30 a.m. So for Valentine's Day, young fans may want to stop by and show them a little love...

For all of you out there thinking the cows were writing their own "moos" in Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type at the Dallas Children's Theater, James E. Grote, who managed to spin a three-minute picture book into an 80 minute musical, will be attending the Sunday show at 1:30 at the Rosewood Center for Family Arts.

Grote, a member of the artistic ensemble of Lifeline Theater in Chicago, has also adapted Doreen Cronin's Giggle, Giggle, Quack and Duck for President, which the DCT has under consideration -- if enough barnyard fans demand it.

Also, for fans who can't make it out to a Friday night performance for the rest of the Feb. 22 run, not to worry. There aren't any more. Figuring that the show plays to an audience that doesn't stay up that late, DCT has replaced its usual Friday shows with Saturday matinees at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m.

Word of Mouth productions is offering a free child's ticket for each adult ticket purchased to its production of The Pied Piper Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. at The McKinney Performing Arts Center. Adult tickets are $8 and $7 for seniors. Kids tickets go back to $6 each Saturday and Sunday.The show about how the Pied Piper rids a town of rats, continues through Sunday. The McKinney Performing Arts Center, 111 N. Tennesee, McKinney. 214-544-4630. www.womproductions.com.

Singer-songwriter Duncan Sheik won multiple Tony Awards for his Broadway musical Spring Awakening two years ago. But now he not only has a new album out but he's touring as well. He comes to the McKinney Performing Arts Center on Valentine's Day.

There's no official work, but I'm speculating that Spring Awakening will turn up in the new touring series at the soon-to-open Dallas Center for the Performing Arts during its inaugural season. Other good bets -- the Lincoln Center version of South Pacific and Pulitzer Prize drama August: Osage County.

I don't usually see shows twice -- it's hard enough to find time to see them once. But my son, David, just can't get enough of Theatre Britain's annual panto (a proper British sillyfest where a man dresses up as a woman, a woman dresses up as a man, a ghost pops in, awful puns percolate and very tasty British treats are sold during intermission).

So there I was Sunday afternoon at Little Red Riding Hood again, but some of the jokes were new. It seems that Kevin Scott Keating, who sashays about as Mother Hood, has been updating his audience chats with Cowboy talk (including his disappointment that the Pittsburgh Pirates line-up did not include Brad Pitt and concerns that the New York Giants might be related to that large fellow who had given Jack in the Beanstalk so much trouble).

But he gives onstage credit for his new Bush joke to one of the trees, played by Sheila Payson (who did actually suggest Kevin comment on the Bushes moving to Dallas). And here's how it goes:

"Why is this part of the forest better than the forest down by the hollow? Because this part of the forest is still filled with big beautiful trees...and the Hollow is being overrun by Bushes."

We warned you that panto jokes can be punderful.

And while we don't know what jokes will make it in upcoming performances, we do know that the Saturday and Sunday shows are sold out with only Wednesday, Thursday and Friday tickets available.

If anyone is planning a Broadway trip over the holidays, this is truly a chance to catch 'em before they close. According to a story that ran in the The Daily Telegraph today, 15 Broadway shows are about to be shuttered, including Grease, Young Frankenstein, Hairspray, 13 and Boeing-Boeing on January 4.

The pain hits close to home, too. Boeing-Boeing, produced in part by Dallas Summer Musicals and Michael Jenkins, has been a great source of pride here after winning two Tony Awards, one for Best Revival of a Play and one for Best Performance of a Leading Actor in a Play for Mark Rylance.

Up on the following week's chopping block: Spring Awakening and Monty Python's Spamalot.

Even Daniel Radcliffe is stripping for half-empty houses in Equus (which is scheduled to close in February). And if you want deals for family shows, Disney is offering a Kids Go Free! deal for The Lion King, Mary Poppins and The Little Mermaid for three months after January.

Not a lot of notice here, but...the Museum of Nature & Science is giving kids a chance to get a picture taken with the "star" of The Tale of Despereaux in the Science Building lobby today after the children's parade from 2:15 to 2:45 p.m. and from 3:15 to 3:45 p.m. Yes, we know the star is an animated mouse, but we're sure they'll think of something.

The event is free and there will be free movie material giveaways (posters, T-shirts, face masks, mouse ears). Of course, if you want to stick around and explore the museum, normal admission fees apply.

As an incentive to join the museum, members can register through Sunday for a free family four-pack "sneak preview" ticket drawing on Dec. 13 (110 four-packs will be given away).

And if your kids haven't read Kate DiCamillo's The Tale of Despereaux in anticipation of the big screen film, get thee to a bookstore or a library! This is a wonderful, Newbery Medal winning tale about an unlikely hero with big ears and an even bigger heart who believes that he is the one can save the fair Princess Pea.

I am sad to read of the passing of William Gibson on Tuesday. The playwright of The Miracle Worker, the story of Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller was 94 and died in Stockbridge, Mass.

I didn't know that his first success was a novel, The Cobweb, which was sold to MGM and made into a movie in 1955. He turned down the chance to make big money as a screenwriter because he preferred playwrighting. His success with The Miracle Worker (written shortly after Two For the Seesaw) brought him international fame in his 50's in 1959 as a Tony award-wnning Broadway hit and in 1960 as an Oscar-winning film hit.

I love this quote from his obituary in the New York Times: "Good things come to those who wait...far too long."

The Dallas Children's Theater did a couple of wonderful productions of this play under the direction of executive artistic director Robyn Flatt. Ms. Flatt showed an unerring ffeeling for what Mr. Gibson touched on, so exquisitely: the delicate, almost cross-hatched interconnectedness charged by the personal pain and passion required to make a difference.

Annie Sullivan could not have mustered the determination to help Helen without the shadow of the love between her and the little brother whom she couldn't save. And she would not have succeeded without the extreme stubborness and faith in her vision that is required of all visionaries.

He wrote until the end, evidently. And while his name was never as famous as the work he produced, he gave us a gift: ideas to ponder that will endure.

Fans of Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse can get their own sparkly, purple plastic purse plus a pair of Lilly's very cool sunglasses from the DCT store just by buying two tickets in Section B to Sunday's 4:30 performance at the Dallas Children's Theater. ALSO, anyone can come to the DCT to fill out a form for a chance to win a child's purse from Stanley Korshak and a $100 gift certificate for shoes from Naturino's after the show.

In addition, while the theater had previously announced they were selling $50 tickets to see a fashion show of girls ages 5-10 modeling designer purses from Stanley Korshak, the show will now be free to everyone sticking around after the 4:30 p.m. performance. If anyone wants to attend a reception after the fashion show, they can pay $25 per adult and $10 per child for a dinner catered by The Purple Cow.

Girls who want to be one of the models in the post-performance fashion show will still have to buy a $500 ticket -- but they only have until Friday at noon to allow time to rehearse.

Galleria Dallas has a cool new free series going for the kids called Showtime Saturdays, and you can expect a touch of humor, with the folks at Slappy's Puppet Playhouse helping to produce it. Darren Collins will do his comedy juggling act tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. adjacent to the Play Place on Level 3.

Forget the sparring political parties for a moment and put in a vote for Dr. Seuss. Oh My Godard Gallery (don't you love the name?) is hosting a Family Day Event at The Shops at Willow Bend Saturday from 2-4 p.m. in concert with its "Vote for Dr. Seuss" art exhibit that focuses on the political and environmental art work of Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss' real name) in its gallery.

WFAA anchor Jeff Brady will read Dr. Seuss stories, kids will get a chance to do their own artwork with teachers from J's Art Studio and those old enough will be able to register to vote as part of a Rock the Vote table in the gallery. It's all free and the exhibit continues through Oct. 5 during normal mall hours.

Is there something in the water? And, if so, we hope it's not polluting. Global warming, brought so powerfully to the adult consciousness through Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth and now, again, at a level that kids can comprehend with Wall-E from Pixar, is also front and center in the world premiere of a new musical. The show, Project Youth, continues through Saturday at Flower Mound Performing Arts Theater. Read about it here.

Students from Alaska, Louisiana, Colorado and MIssouri are joining the kids of CATS (Creative Arts Theatre & School) in Arlington for a FREE SummerStars 2008 production of Little Shop of Horrors Saturday at 2 p.m.
The kids' performance in this Alan Menken/Howard Ashman musical about a bloodthirsty plant that offers a nerdy florist a Faustian bargain, is the culmination of a two-week teen workshop for kids in grades 7-12. It's also the 30th production in a program that dates back to 1980. Reservations requested. More information here or by calling 817-861-2287.

Think of it as an American Idol for kids with chewy, jelly bean center. The Oompa Loompas (from Willy Wonka) are so excited about the Giant Chewy Nerds, that they are, as the press release says, at a complete Loss for Lyrics. Tweens and teens ages 8-18 are invited to visit the traveling Wonkalicious Lounge in the Stonebriar Centre in Frisco Saturday from 1-6 p.m. or log onto WONKA.com with witty songs about the new Giant Chewy Nerds starting today and continuing through Sept. 21.

The winner of the Loss for Lyrics video contest will be flown to Los Angeles to record his or her song with Raven-Symone. And we, hope, to get a few of those Giant Chewy Nerds.
Also, anyone under 18 can enter the Rating Sweepstakes to rate their favorite submissions and be entered into a sweepstakes to win weekly WONKA prizes.

Why let Disney have all the fun adapting animated films into Broadway musicals? Now DreamWorks Theatricals is getting into the act with Shrek The Musical. How serious are they? Previews begin Nov. 8 on Broadway. Check it out here.