Now that Halloween is over, it seems every department store in town has switched gears. Malls are already filled with Christmas decorations and it won't be long now before my radio plays nothing but carols.

For me, the Christmas spirit started even earlier. I have been in rehearsals for Miracle on 34th Street since the beginning of October. The play is based upon Valentine Davie's novel, although most people know this title from the 1947 holiday classic.

Like other Christmas plays adapted from popular movies (It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, and the DR. Seuss / Chuck Jones animated film How the Grinch Stole Christmas come to mind), much of the dialogue has been altered from its cinematic counterpart. Some characters are omitted, some scenes are combined or changed, but for the most part the sweetness and the magic of the film is intact.

Are you in an upcoming Christmas show? Tell us all about it in the Plays / Drama forum.

I've always had a problem with high school "problem plays." You know, those oh-so-serious dramas that warn students against the dangers of peer-pressure, tobacco, and driving without a seat-belt. It's not that I'm in favor of daring freshmen to puff on cigars while speeding down the freeway unbuckled. It's just that some plays can be too preachy for their own good.

That's why I'm always pleased to discover "problem plays" that approach the high school experience from a different perspective. Theatrefolk's one-act Anonymous (appropriately written by an anonymous playwright) succeeds in recreating the anxiety of being the new kid in class. The characters are essentially archetypes; they are given intentionally vague names such as "ME" and "SHE." At times they speak directly to the audience, and during other scenes the characters speak in unison, like a modern day Greek chorus.

Discover more one-act plays and scenes.

If there is one musical I am aching to see it's In the Heights, the Tony award winning love letter to the urban neighborhood, Washington Heights, hometown of composer/performer Lin-Manuel Miranda. You don't need to be a New Yorker (or from the Dominican Republic) to appreciate the show's rich, energetic melodies. So, as it launches its national tour, audiences from the East to West Coast (with many stops in between) will get a chance to experience this life-affirming musical.

In a recent interview with Playbill, Miranda discussed the inspirational sources of his show. There are many similarities with It's a Wonderful Life; although there are no supernatural elements, there are angelic characters (such as the protagonist's grandmother), and several of the characters are struggling to leave the neighborhood only to discover that their life at home offers all of the personal fulfillment they have been searching for.

Broadway.com features a six minute video showing the nation touring company having a great time during the rehearsal process.

The denouement is the resolution of the play or story. Typically, everything that unfold's after the climax of the play is the denouement.

Interestingly, I often think of the denouement as the part of the play in which all the "loose ends" are tied up. For example, supporting characters resolve their conflicts, little mysteries are explained, and the main characters reflect on their life.

However, the French term "denouement" actually means "untying." So, one can also think of a denouement as when the complicated "plotlines" become untangled.

Impress your theater friends at cast parties: Find out how to pronounce "denouement."

Explore more theater terms in the Plays / Drama Glossary.