Art Hounds: A look at Christmas during WWII

This week on Art Hounds: "Christmas in the Airwaves," fiber art in Hutchinson and "Manhattan Nutcracker."

Twin Cities theater fiend Florence Brammer just paid her visit to the community theater Lyric Arts in Anoka, and was delighted with its production of "Christmas in the Airwaves." This original production focuses on a 1944 Christmas Eve broadcast at a radio station in Minnesota. Woven among the musical numbers and the radio plays are the stories of the people behind the microphone, and how World War II is affecting their lives. Performances run through Dec. 20.

Mankato art professor Liz Miller is intrigued and delighted by "Parts Unknown," Sarah Kusa's new show at the Hutchinson Art Center. Miller says the work manages to be both strong and ephemeral at the same time, using fabric and wood to explore resilience and interdependence. The show is on display through Jan. 7.

Rebecca Petersen, executive director of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, always looks forward to the Minnesota Ballet's annual "Manhattan Nutcracker." The traditional Tchaikovsky ballet is set in 1920s New York, with a set and costumes to match. Petersen particularly loves the performance of Artistic Director Robert Gardner, who takes to the stage as Mother Ginger. Performances run this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the DECC in Duluth.