Community News

AOP Behind Scenes

The public is invited to visit virtually and embark on a virtual Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Northern Pacific Gallery at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Participants will get a chance to learn more about cold-water animals and even peek at the behind-the-scenes area of the sea otter habitat. During this tour, guests will also virtually meet aquarium staff members from the animal care team and be able to ask them questions.

This program is being offered on Saturday, Dec. 19, between 1:30 and 2:15 p.m. for $10. Additional dates will be added weekly. For dates, reservations and information, call (562) 590-3100 or visit aquariumofpacific.org/events/info/virtual_tour_of_the_northern_pacific_gallery/.

Estella Scrooge

Just in time for the holidays, Musical Theatre West brings audiences a magical musical created with new cutting-edge technology that is sure to become new a holiday tradition – the World Premiere of Estella Scrooge: A Christmas Carol with a Twist! Estella Scrooge is now available for streaming through the holidays. Tickets are now on sale and may be purchased at www.musical.org/estella.

The story follows Estella Scrooge, a modern-day Wall Street tycoon with a penchant for foreclosing. A hotelier in her hometown of Pickwick, Ohio has defaulted on his mortgage and Estella fancies the idea of lowering the boom personally. Arriving at Harthouse on Christmas Eve, Estella discovers that the defaulting party is her childhood friend Pip Nickleby (Duncan). A good and generous soul, Pip has transformed the property into a refuge for the sick, dispossessed and homeless. A freak snowstorm forces Estella to take refuge. That night, just as it happened to her ancestor Ebenezer, she is haunted by three visitations … and oh, what uninvited houseguests they are!

A modern day take on Charles Dickens’ beloved 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, Estella Scrooge also wittily incorporates characters and plot lines from Dickens’ other great novels, Great Expectations, Little Dorrit and Bleak House, among others.

Tickets are $29.99 for 72-hour viewing for each household, or $44.99 for a VIP Premium Theatre Experience, which includes unlimited viewings, a download of the CD and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage. Once purchased, audience members receive a promo code for viewing which is entered, along with the customer’s e-mail address, at StreamingMusicals.com. Once activated, customers are set up with a free account for viewing on multiple devices.

Estella Scrooge is the first digital theatre piece filmed entirely during the pandemic, utilizing cutting-edge technology. The fully realized production, a dazzlingly cinematic musical theatre adventure, was filmed using tracked green screen techniques, with 3-D surreal digital environments created in post-production merged with the actual footage of the actors to bring the story to life in a brand-new way.

Questing Heirs

The next Zoom meeting of the Questing Heirs Genealogical Society is Sunday, Dec. 20. Jane Neff Rollin’s presentation is “The Family Patchwork – Stitching Families Separated by History Back Together.”

The Zoom session will begin at 12:30 for social time. Jane’s presentation will begin at 1 p.m. Contact questingheirs@gmail.com for login information.

Tidal Mudflats

Dr. Joy Zedler will be the keynote speaker at the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust virtual holiday gathering on Monday, Dec. 21, at 6 p.m. She will be briefing attendees about her new book, Mud and Mudflats: Essential to the Planet, while discussing the need to protect and restore tidal mudflats. Recent research by others has strengthened an early argument that mudflats are critically important ecosystems, despite their small area. Find out how Long Beach mud likely contributes to global ecosystem services.

For information about how to join the meeting and to RSVP, send an email to elizabeth@lcwlandtrust.org.

Christmas Cantata

When the “safe at home” orders first were announced in March, Grace First Presbyterian Church’s Minister of Music, Stan DeWitt, decided to start working on a new Christmas cantata, with the hope that the church’s choirs would be back in worship services by December. But as the year moved on, it became clearer that would not happen in 2020. But DeWitt decided to finish the cantata anyway and work toward a virtual video performance.

The live-streamed worship service will be viewable on YouTube or Facebook on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24 at 7 p.m., as well as afterward. It is open for viewing by anyone and all are welcome. This years’ service will also include several moments of warm Christmas reflections by church members. The links for viewing are available on the church’s webpage, https://www.gracefirst.org or https://www.gracefirst.org/online-worship/.

The cantata is written as an homage to five minimalist composers: Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt, John Tavener and John Adams. The work is a marriage of ancient texts from the 15th century and more modern composing techniques. It is written for piano, violin, two percussionists playing marimba and xylophone and choir.