Seussified Scrooge and The Nutcracker humorous and spellbinding

Ghosts that send mind-rays, hip rockers, six-year-old surgeons and a lactose intolerant Mouse Queen are just a few of the weird and wonderful characters that spring into action for St. Albert Children’s Theatre’s winter production.

For the company’s 35th anniversary, artistic director Janice Flower has mounted two one-act shows that fly in large part due to snappy dialogue, great comedic timing and a generous dollop of the imagination.

Peter Bloedel’s masterful A Seussified Christmas Carol is nothing like you’ve seen before. It combines both the rainbow characters of Dr. Seuss with the tight-fisted world of Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge.

Written in rhyming couplets, Bloedel’s script juxtaposes the two worlds and mines every scrap of comedic value. Flower keeps the pace moving at a fast clip and the actors set a new bar delivering the poetic words as everyday street talk while setting up jokes that fly fast and furious.

Instead The Nutcracker Sings! revisits Tchaikovsky’s creation with a Mouse Queen determined to steal a Christmas star. Set in a garlanded ballroom, this adventure is more sedate and elegant until a peevish Clara rejects the Nutcracker and falls into an enchanted sleep.

The Nutcracker, Clara learns, is actually a bewitched prince who needs a first kiss to break his curse. Faced with an invading horde of mice, a pluckier Clara, the courageous Nutcracker and his three squabbling sidekicks set out to save Christmas.

Flavouring this 65-minute one-act musical is a tentative romance, a Keystone Cops series of battles, and the Sugar Plum Fairy’s graceful arabesques.

And for a few added laughs, several bars from the overplayed themes of Mission Impossible and Star Wars are tucked into Tchaikovsky’s classic score.

By casting two different holiday shows, Flower gives more actors a chance to shine in lead roles. Virtually every actor is double cast. Some stood out more than others.

For instance, Adam Klatchuk reveals a deft comedic touch as a miserly Scrooge and later as Francois Lepoopoo, the Nutcracker’s artsy and possibly gay sidekick who prefers discussing the merits of Brie to strudel rather than fight.

Sasha Khan kept the audience in the palm of her hand as Narrator 1 in Seussified and clearly upped her game as an uber crafty, dominating Mouse Queen.

Ethan Kidney is cast as the subservient Bob Cratchit as well as the Nutcracker’s boastful and imperious German sidekick inhabiting each role with perfect equilibrium.

Ben Grabia adds an element of mystery to Uncle Drosselmeyer while Heather Bit shows off her comedic chops as the rocker chick Ghost of Christmas Past and the perfectly poised Sugar Plum Fairy.

Jillian Aisenstat has matured beautifully working her way up the troupe’s ranks and nowhere is her talent more obvious than as Clara singing the solo When I’m Grown and Here Comes the Kiss, a romantic duet with the Nutcracker.

And finally kudos to Connor Meadows as the stalwart Nutcracker prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to save Christmas.

The storytelling is evocative, but I would be remiss not mentioning Marissa Kochanski’s dynamic set as well as ingenious props and vibrant costumes that calibrate time and character.

A Seussified Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker Sings! create a holiday mood where even the coldest heart can grow in size. It plays at the Arden Theatre until Sunday, Dec. 4.