Merlin at Kensington Town Hall

The British holiday tradition of pantomime theater, otherwise known as "panto," might be the best Yuletide import from England since plum pudding. With its usual over-the-top collection of bad jokes, silly songs, slapstick and familiar storybook characters, this year's offering from The British Players at Kensington Town Hall is a magical mash-up of Merlin and Harry Potter, which finds the madcap wizard and his young apprentice embarking on an Arthurian-influenced adventure.