William Gilness, Jody Briskey, Randy Schmeling and Tod Peterse

The always-strong Theatre Latte Da brings back its nearly venerable A Christmas Carole Petersen for a seventh go-around this year. Creator and lead performer Tod Petersen has honed his holiday-season memories to a fine point over the years, crafting a tight show that runs a full gamut of emotions without ever feeling forced. Petersen uses his youthful memories of growing up in Mankato (a small city about an hour and a half south of the Twin Cities) and mixes it with Christmas experiences as an adult. Along the way, he and a talented trio of "Carolettes" sing a collection of Christmas tunes that expertly mix the emotions the season brings —joy, hope, melancholy, sadness and so many points in between.

Petersen centers the performance on his mother, the titular Carole, who comes off as the quintessential Minnesotan: practical, loving to the point of smothering, and fiercely proud of her family. Like many children, Tod rebels as an adult, becoming a bit of a Scrooge about the season. Through it all, we are treated to a number of strong memories, from Petersen's first acting gig (as one of Scrooge's school chums in a community theater production of A Christmas Carol) to the family's annual caroling excursions to excerpts from the family's annual mimeographed Christmas letter.

Aiding Petersen are the Carolettes —a trio of talented Twin Cities performers who tackle a wide swath of material. Jody Briskey (recently seen as Mama Rose in Theatre Latte Da's terrific Gypsy), William Gilness and Randy Schmeling handle their varied tasks with aplomb —whether vamping it up as Briskey does in "Surabaya Santa," taking a maudlin turn with Joni Mitchell's gorgeous "River," or joining with Petersen for a Partridge Family-themed "My Christmas Card to You."

Co-creator and director Peter Rothstein adds nice touches throughout and —along with the performers —make the simple stage, decorated with garland and dressed in holiday read, come alive with the spirit of the season.

A Christmas Carole Petersen ends a terrific year for Theatre Latte Da, who is smoothly moving from one of the best little theaters in the Twin Cities to simply being one of the best theaters in the area. Petersen's warm, but honest recollections of the holidays are a perfect way to celebrate this time of year —and enjoy the success this theater has crafted.

A Christmas Carole Petersen runs through December 30 at the Loring Playhouse, 1633 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis. Tickets are $15 to $29. For tickets and more information, call 651-209-6689 or visit www.latteda.org.

Photo: Rick Spaulding

Brave New Workshop Christmas —The Other White Holiday

For a darker, if still very entertaining, take on the holidays, you can turn to the Brave New Workshop, whose annual revue of holiday nightmares opened earlier this month. Christmas —The Other White Holiday finds the company in good form, as they mix in a number of new routines with a few classic bits from past shows.

As with any sketch show, some routines hit harder than others, but the batting average here is much higher than for some of the recent Brave New Workshop shows. It helps that they dip into the past for a few greatest hits, including their ever-popular "12 Days of Christmas" choruses. This year, both angry fathers and harried mothers are featured, and they add fine anchors to both acts.

Other favorites include a very dark sketch involving two evergreens who are separated by our human desire for Christmas trees, a cursed zombie snowman who exacts revenge on a neighborhood, and a running bit about UPS. As with any show of this type, some jokes misfire, but they are always quickly swept under the rug by a new and unexpected turn. The six performers are all up to the task, showing great comic timing and solid singing ability, while director Caleb McEwen never lets the energy sag for even a moment.

Sometimes, your physical reaction is the best guide to how good a show is or not. In the case of Christmas —The Other White Holiday, my jaw hurt from laughing before the end of the first act, and the show the never gave it a chance to recover.

Christmas —The Other White Holiday runs through January 27 at the Brave New Workshop, 2605 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis. For more information and tickets, call 612-332-6620 or visit www.braveneworkshop.com.

- Ed Huyck