They feel they can't go more than two steps without seeing Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, or advertisements for productions of "The Nutcracker" or "A Christmas Carol." They have a hard time finding anything at all that is non-Christmas related to give as Chanukah gifts.

Therefore, they decided to create a holiday "nutcracker" of a different variety.

Scott and Shannon run their own company, Guggenheim Entertainment, which for many years has produced shows such as "School House Rock Live" and organized holiday entertainment in Bay Area retail centers, as well as Bonfante Gardens Family Theme Park in Gilroy. They have also produced educational performances in schools all over the Bay Area on issues such as the prevention of tobacco use, sexual assault and gang violence.

"We use theater to educate children on all of those issues," says Scott Guggenheim.

When members of five Jewish community centers in the Bay Area—including Los Gatos—approached the Guggenheims and asked them to create a different kind of production that could be hosted on Christmas Day, they jumped at the chance.

"They came to us and asked us to provide Jews with an opportunity to celebrate their heritage at the same time that Christmas is so prevalent," Scott said. The groups wanted to use theater to educate and promote discussion within the family, as well as entertain, he says.

So the Guggenheims set to work designing a new kind of show, and the National Jewish Theater Festival was born.

"[We decided] we would write a new musical that would celebrate Chanukah and give Bay Area audiences a new cast of heroes for the season," say the Guggenheims. "At this time of year, productions featuring Scrooge and the Mouse King are a dime a dozen."

Last summer, Scott and Shannon developed a script called "The MeshugaNutcracker!" and began workshopping the material. They brought in renowned authors Eric A. Kimmel, Peninnah Schram and Steven M. Rosman to help create the book. They took 20 melodies from Tchaikovsky's score for the actual "Nutcracker," and Shannon wrote lyrics to sing over the music. They enlisted the help of arranger Thomas Tomasello and Scott's brother, Stephen Guggenheim, a Saratoga native and professional opera singer who has performed all over the world, to help with the vocal arrangements and orchestrations. By October, they were ready.

The story of "The MeshugaNutcracker!" is a play within a play. Eight characters are getting ready to perform a play when their director disappears on them, apparently going off on his own to find the true meaning of Chanukah. The actors are left to put on the performance by themselves. They proceed to try and figure out how to pull it off, while exploring eight stories about the miracle of Chanukah.

The Guggenheims insist the production is fun for both Jews and non-Jews alike.

"It's not a Santa-bashing show," Shannon said.

"It's not religious in any sense," Scott said. "It's something fun if you want to learn more about Chanukah and the Jewish heritage."

Scott explains that, more than 2,000 years ago, the Greeks took over Israel and the Temple of Jerusalem. Judah Maccabee and a small band of his people decided to fight back.

"The Maccabees—the miracle of them—is that they stood up against all odds, against the mighty Greeks," Scott said. He says, although it took many years, they eventually won the war, and took back the temple, rededicating it. Scott says that is where the name Chanukah came from—it means "rededication." He says the word "meshuga" means "crazy."

"The story of 'The MeshugaNutcracker!' focuses on what happens during the holiday, and what has happened since then, over the last 2,000 years," explains Scott.

Last year, "The MeshugaNutcracker!" premiered at The Cubberley Theater in Palo Alto—a short, 10-day run to test out the show. After the run ended, they spent the next year working out the bugs, they say.

"The MeshugaNutcracker!" opened at Paramount's Great America, in the Showtime Theater, on Dec. 7 and will run through Dec. 26 this year.

The show also helps benefit many local organizations and agencies. The Guggenheims say that each night they invite a representative from a different group to guest star in the show, as the director who comes back at the end just before the play-within-the-play is about to begin, and saves the day. Guest stars this year include people from Under One Roof, an AIDS organization; the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; Saratoga's Beth David congregation; the Los Gatos Jewish Community Center; and the Israeli consulate.

So far, they say, the show has been a success, and many of their audiences have had just as many non-Jews in them as Jews. They are also pleased that the show seems to be awakening pride in the Jewish heritage in many who did not fully understand it or get into it before.

"One night a woman came up to me after the show and said her 6-year-old grandson had just said to her, 'I feel so happy to be Jewish!' " said Shannon. It was a great moment for her, she says.

"The MeshugaNutcracker!" runs through Dec. 26 in Santa Clara at Paramount's Great America, in the Showtime Theater. Showtimes are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adult general admission, $20 for students and seniors and $15 for children. For more information about the production or to order tickets by credit card, contact the National Jewish Theater Festival at 877.456.4TIX (4849). Visit www.njtf.org.