HOT TICKETS

Kent Trumbull Theatre will present “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. The family-oriented holiday comedy, directed by Patricia M. Fagan, tells the story of six poorly behaved children who find themselves in the annual Christmas Play at their church. Despite what everyone expects, the pageant turns out to be a pleasant surprise. Kent Trumbull Theatre is located at 4314 Mahoning Ave. N.W. in Champion. Call (330) 675-8887 or e-mail trumbullboxoffice@kent.edu for more information.k

Continuing at area community theaters:

Stage Left Players’ “Jingle My Bell,” 8 p.m. Friday and 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Trinity Playhouse, 234 E. Lincoln Way, Lisbon; (330) 424-5093.

“Miracle on 34th Street,” 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Youngstown Playhouse, off Glenwood Avenue; (330) 788-8739.

Laughrica, a comedy show, will be at 8 p.m. Friday at the Oakland Center for the Arts, 220 W. Boardman St., Youngstown. The show, which features stand-up and comedy skits, will benefit two grad students who are on their way to Africa for a humanitarian mission. For tickets, call (330) 746-0404.

The JiMiller Band will travel to Mecca on Saturday for a party at Lake Tavern, 6071 state Route 46. The JiMiller Band is known for its improvisational genre-blending jams that call to mind the Grateful Dead or the Allman Brothers. Front man Jim Miller was the longtime leader of Oroboros, which for 18 years wandered the country playing sets with the likes of Santana, the Kinks, Hot Tuna and members of the Dead. More recently, the JiMiller Band has been on the festival circuit, sharing the stage with freeform stalwarts such as String Cheese Incident, Little Feat and Rusted Root. For more information, call Lake Tavern at (330) 637-1971. Show starts at 9 p.m.

Kelly Pavlik defends his boxing title against Miguel Espino on Saturday night at Youngstown State University’s Beeghly Center. Fight parties will take place at various locations, including Downtown 36, 36 W. Federal St.; University Pizzeria, 133 Lincoln Ave.; and Buffalo Wild Wings, Federal Plaza, downtown.

The Oakland Center for the Arts will present its traditional holiday musical revue, “My Grown Up Christmas List,” at 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 and 8 p.m. Sunday. The Oakland is at 220 W. Boardman St.; call (330) 746-0404. Story, D7

Half Mile Home, the Akron-based gospel quintet, makes a Youngstown appearance at 7 p.m. Saturday at Everlife Worship Center, 474 Early Road, Youngstown. Tickets will be available at the door. Story, D9

jThere are Christmas shows, and then there is “Miracle on Easy Street,” the annual spectacle of song, dance and costuming presented by Easy Street Productions. “Miracle,” which returns this weekend for its 20th straight season, has been given an overhaul with 12 new routines. Todd Hancock of Easy Street put the musical revue’s longevity into perspective. “Our opening night [in 1989] was three weeks after the Berlin Wall fell and two weeks before the first episode of ‘The Simpsons’ aired,” he said. “That’s a longer run than ‘A Chorus Line,’ ‘Les Miserables’ and ‘Cats.’ Granted, those shows ran every week for thousands of performances, but hey, that’s still pretty impressive. As a matter of fact, there is only one Broadway show still running that tops ‘Miracle on Easy Street’: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Phantom of the Opera.’ It opened in 1988, but I’m betting it will run out of steam sooner or later! Ha!” “Miracle on Easy Street” will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Powers Auditorium, 260 W. Federal St., Youngstown. Call (330) 743-8555.

Gil Mantera’s Party Dream marks its 10th anniversary with a Christmas Eve show at Cedars in downtown Youngstown. Story, D8