After a long day at the office, having endured paper cuts, corporate strife, idiocy, and an exigent commute, you finally arrive home. A nice long listen to your favourite 45 rpm will do the trick and help you relax. But it doesn’t last long. The wife asks you to set the table, clean up the living room and give Bobby a bath. It's enough to give anyone the blues. Instead, try some of these out for size…

1.) A Christmas party can either be a high-energy alcohol-fuelled night of debauchery or a painful reminder of a miserable childhood. Avoid the latter by checking into something called A Wicked Christmas. This nefarious-sounding feat can’t be all that wicked. I mean, we are talking top 40 here. A Wicked Christmas is at Venue, tonight (Wednesday, December 23). More on the Wicked party and other cool things to do tonight… here.

2.) Alternatively, we have Thoroughly Modern Millie, a little rag-time-esque production about a small town girl with money on the mind. After moving to New York she decides money is her objective, and in order to get ahead she needs a lot of it, fast. She could marry a rich man or she could enter the workforce (but it is the 1920's). Soon Millie must choose is marrying for love if even possible, or if money outweighs everything. Thoroughly Modern Millie has a staging at the Gateway Theatre tonight. More on Millie and other theatre happenings… here.

3.) Without overlooking its lapses into populist bathos, it's necessary to rescue It's a Wonderful Life from its spot at the centerpiece of untouchable American "classics." As with The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind , uncritical reverence both inflates the film's magnitude and robs it of its most interesting elements. George Bailey's guardian angel reminds him that faith, hope and family are what truly makes life wonderful. It's a Wonderful Life has a staging at Granville Island Stage tonight. It's a Wonderful Life and other killer theatre listings… here.

4.) Just imagine creating masterpieces along the French Rivera, that are oh-so-pretty. But, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels watch out for those two con men, trying to schlep their pieces! Directed and choreographed by Max Reimer expect the musical to have all the hijinks that the 1988 movie did! Dirty Rotten Scoundrels has a staging at the Vancouver Playhouse, tonight. More theatre events… here.