The Nutcracker Moved Up a Month to Keep Its El Campanil Stage. One Weekend Is Left.

Black Diamond Ballet had a choice this fall between its usual December dates and El Campanil Theatre, and it chose the theater. Its 14th annual Nutcracker moved up to November 13 through 22 so it could still play the 1928 stage on West 2nd Street before the El Campanil Theatre Preservation Foundation's tenancy ends on November 30. Opening weekend is over. Three performances remain, and they all fall on the weekend before Thanksgiving.

A December tradition that moved into November

In its announcement, published in the Antioch Herald, the ballet company called the production something many families treat as tradition, "a commencement of the winter holiday season." Board President Sam Khamseh told the paper the date change was "a necessary change prompted by circumstances beyond Black Diamond Ballet's control."

The circumstances came together in about a week. Escrow on the theater's sale to Legendary Movement Church closed on Friday, September 25, according to the Antioch Herald. The church became only the fourth owner in the building's history, following the Stamm and Beede families who built it, the Preservation Foundation, and Tung and Tiffany Bui. The Mercury News put the sale price at $1.45 million and reported that the Foundation, which runs the theater as its tenant, received a 60-day notice on September 30 ending its contract on November 30.

The Nutcracker was the show that move affected most. In an October 2 statement in the Antioch Herald, Foundation Board President Sharon Sobel Idul promised that "all shows currently on the calendar through November 30 will take place." In the same statement she said the Foundation was working with Black Diamond Ballet to see whether the Nutcracker could move to an earlier date at the theater. Six days later, the ballet confirmed the new run.

As a result, the production that has opened Antioch's holiday season for 14 years now plays during the Foundation's last month in the building.

What's left on the schedule

Here is the full run from the theater's ticket listing, with what remains as of Thursday, November 19:

Ticket prices depend on where you sit in the house: $20 in the Opera section, $25 in the Loge, $30 in the Orchestra and $36 in Gold Circle. School and sensory-friendly shows are $17. The sensory ticket price breaks down as $14 plus a $3 preservation fee, and the ticketing system adds a 3.5% card-processing fee. You can buy tickets at ElCampanilTheatre.com, through Black Diamond Ballet's Nutcracker page, or from the box office at 925-757-9500.

The Saturday matinee is designed for a different audience

The 2 p.m. show on Saturday is the one to look at closely if anyone in your group finds a standard theater performance hard to sit through. Black Diamond Ballet designs this performance for people with autism, sensory sensitivities or other disabilities. According to the ballet's sensory-friendly page, the matinee includes:

• Reduced sound and lighting levels
• Fidgets and earplugs on request
• A quiet area in the lobby
• Permission to leave and come back in during the show

The company says it produces this performance every year alongside its school-day shows and special-day programs, with the goal of making live ballet accessible to the whole community. Because the run moved up, this year's sensory-friendly show lands five days before Thanksgiving, which is earlier than most families would plan a holiday outing.

Why the building was worth moving the calendar for

There are other stages in East County, and a December Nutcracker could have played on one of them. Black Diamond Ballet kept its production in the building instead, and the building's history explains why. El Campanil opened on November 1, 1928, and Ferdinand Stamm and Ralph Beede built, owned and operated it. The theater turned 98 this month.

Black Diamond Ballet's announcement names the venue as part of the tradition itself, "the Nutcracker at El Campanil Theatre." When the company had to choose between the date and the stage, it kept the stage. The Mercury News described the season ahead as "the final curtain call" for the theater as a historic East Bay institution. In her statement, Idul asked audiences to "bring someone who has never been to El Campanil Theatre."

December in Rivertown starts a few blocks away

With the Nutcracker now in November, the rest of Antioch's holiday calendar moves on without it, and most of it stays within walking distance of West 2nd Street.

Saturday, Nov. 22. On the same day as the ballet's last matinee, Reach Church at 11 Texas St. is holding a Holiday Food & Toy Giveaway, according to the Antioch Herald.

Saturday, Dec. 5. The 69th Annual Antioch Christmas House Tour runs along G Street. Tickets are sold at three shops a short walk apart: Willow Park Mercantile at 205 G St., Rivertown Treasure Chest at 306 G St. and the GFWC Woman's Club at 509 G St. Tour programs and wristbands are picked up at the clubhouse. Willow Park Mercantile also marked its 11th anniversary in Rivertown this month.

Saturday, Dec. 12. The 50th Annual Paul Schorr Memorial Holiday Run and Walk for Health moves out of downtown to Contra Loma Regional Park at 1200 Frederickson Lane. Registration opens at 7:30 a.m., the one-mile race starts at 9 a.m. and the three-mile race at 9:35 a.m.

One of these events is in its 50th year and another in its 69th. This year they start in early December, two weeks after the Nutcracker has already brought down its curtain.

For a lot of Antioch families, the Nutcracker at El Campanil has been the start of the holidays, and this year that start comes before Thanksgiving. If you're mapping out your own December in Rivertown, or wondering how changes downtown might fit into a move you're considering, Christine Canales is glad to talk through your plans whenever the timing is right for you. Let's Connect.