“What if you heard that the Rat King was alive and well, and trying unsuccessfully to control his animal instincts? What if the ornaments on the giant tree came to life to help with the decorating? And what about the Chocolate from Spain that’s so disdainful of being wrapped in gold foil that she can’t wait to tear it all off?” Your options for a holiday burlesque show this season are many, but Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker will bring those curiosities to life in its second annual production. Host Jasper McCann and ballerina Lily Verlaine are veterans of the local BQ scene, and as producers have rounded up Seattle’s A-list performers and aerialists to enact a behind-the-scenes look at this familiar family ballet. The tableaux are similar, but rather than performing for Clara and the Prince, it’s as if the audience is looking in on how the Nutcracker characters live and play in their off-time. They promise “an unpretentious smash-up of classical dance and vintage bump at the hepist winter party since the end of prohibition.” Expect some boozin’ and floozin’—and a lot more skin—than you’ll see in the G-rated version.

Dec. 18-20, 7 & 10 p.m., 2007