PICK OF THE DAY Kick up your heels Tomorrow is the last day of the year and the final performance for Clara and company. There are two shows today and a special one tomorrow. Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker New Year’s Eve Celebration Performance features guest characters (rumor has it that one is from the North Pole) and an intermission meet-and-greet with company dancers and characters. Principals Pavel Gurevich as Herr Silberhaus, Larissa Ponomarenko as Snow Queen, and James Whiteside as Snow King are scheduled to dance Friday. Today at 1 and 7:30 p.m., Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m. $25-$170. The Boston Opera House, 539 Washington St., Boston. 617-695-6955. www.bostonballet.org TODAYArtistic exploration The Multicultural Arts Center offers two exhibits: Gloria Calderón-Sáenz’s “Signs of Life’’ is vividly painted and carved wooden panels exploring fascination, fear, humanity, and concern (through Feb. 25). “Parallel Journeys: A Shared Vision’’ is paintings by Manika Srivastav and Lenore Sempert (through Feb. 28). Today from 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Free. Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge. 617-577-1400. www.cmacusa.org
TOMORROW Put a lid on it The boxes on view at Gore Place make us want to toss our plastic storage containers and give our junk a better home. The 19th-century items at “Storage With Style: Thinking Outside the Box’’ include a painted box made by a convict in 1833. Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. (through April 23). $12, $6 ages 5-12. Gore Place, 52 Gore St., Waltham. 781-894-2798. www.goreplace.org
By St. George Have you seen a bubbly performer named Kathy St. George who lights up a stage better than your utility company? Want a bubbly beverage? Both are at “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?’’ With Kathy St. George where the Stoneham native will sing show tunes and American Songbook hits. Dec. 31 at 7 and 10 p.m. $44-$48. Stoneham Theatre, 395 Main St., Stoneham. 781-279-2200. www.stonehamtheatre.org
Make and break What resolutions are you planning to make and break? Resolve to attend the Resolution Ball where the Felix Brown Band & DJ Samuel L. will provide Motown and more. Dec. 31 from 7:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Check website for prices and the separate Back Bay Gala event for folks 40 and older. Seaport Boston Hotel, 1 Seaport Lane, Boston. 781-444-7771. www.bostoneventguide.com/events/nye.htm
Disco donkey Mirror balls, roller skaters, and hustle queens — plus a champagne toast, refreshments, and dessert — are a great way to spend the last day of the year. American Repertory Theater’s “The Donkey Show’’ moves Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream’’ to the ’70s. Dec. 31 at 10 p.m. (post-show party until 2 a.m.). $55, $85. The Donkey Show Disco, Oberon, 2 Arrow St., Cambridge. 617-547-8300. www.americanrepertorytheater.org
SATURDAY Quite a change Jake (Kelby T. Akin) wants to make the switch from Hollywood action star to serious Broadway actor in a Kafka play. “The Understudy,’’ Theresa Rebeck’s loving poke at the theater world, is directed by the funny Larry Coen and presented by the Lyric Stage Company of Boston. Jan. 1 at 3 and 8 p.m. (through Jan. 29). $25-$52, $5 senior discount. The Lyric Stage, 140 Clarendon St., Boston. 617-585-5678. www.lyricstage.com 
