Back to normal?

PATTI LUPONE in “Gypsy”

Now is the time of year when we all pretend we really liked the fact entertainment has been dominated for nearly a month by holiday fare. We smile when we say Nutcracker, we exult in A Christmas Carol, we sing Hallelujah for Handel’s Messiah, but we silently thank the deity of our choice or the coming of January.

Of course, some of us like to keep the seasonal flame alight. If you’re a holiday hanger-on, you may want to catch The Phoenix Symphony’s annual, traditional New Year’s Eve Gala: Viennese waltzes, Auld Lang Syne, and a flute of champagne. You may even wish to hear those Christmas carols one last time – I don’t blame you, they are like nothing else we hear the rest of the year. If so, check out the last two nights of Copperstate Dinner Theater’s Christmas Jukebox, an interactive event in which you choose the holiday tunes you want to hear.

On the other hand, if you’re ready to say goodbye to the holidays and hello to the middle of the theater/music/dance season, your Phoenix Symphony event of choice won’t be the New Year’s Eve Gala, it’s be the Symphony’s premier pops event of the 2009-2010 season: Broadway goddess Patti Lupone in concert Saturday, Jan. 2. ASU Gammage is also offering a sudden change-up from Christmas in the form of that chestnut of the Great White Way, Annie.

After this weekend, though, it’s back to normal – and a pretty good normal it is, too, with appearances by comedian Jason Alexander, jazz singer Dennis Rowland, the Ying Quartet and Marvin Hamlisch, plus productions of Ain’t Misbehavin’ and August” Osage County – and that’s all before Jan. 15. As usual, check out ShowUp.com to get a jump on planning your cultural month.