Paper Mill Playhouse’s free 2011 Holiday Village and Animated Light Spectacular with 75,000 animated lights timed to music will kick off the holiday season tonight.

The 2011 Holiday Village and Animated Light Spectacular also celebrates the opening of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, which starts on Wednesday, Nov. 16 and runs seven days a week through Dec. 24. 

On Monday and Tuesday evenings, guests can hear some of the best choirs in the state performing holiday selections in the theater’s courtyard.  Beginning Nov. 28, visitors to the Playhouse on Monday and Tuesday nights will have an opportunity to shop in the Paper Mill Playhouse Holiday Gift Bazaar in the theater’s lobby and art gallery from 6 to 9 p.m., which carry arts and crafts.

In addition, guests can receive free photos with Santa Claus, free hot cocoa and warm apple cider in The Carriage House, which will also serve dinner each night. Call 973-609-2429 for restaurant hours and reservations.

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas runs at Paper Mill Playhouse from Nov. 16 through Dec. 24 and will be performed eight times a week, Wednesday through Sunday. (Check the Paper Mill Playhouse website papermill.org for special holiday schedules.) Tickets start at $25 and may be purchased by calling 973-376-4343, going to the Paper Mill Playhouse Box Office at 22 Brookside Drive in Millburn, or online at www.papermill.org. Groups of ten or more can receive up to a 25 percent discount on tickets and should call 973-315-1680.

Based on the beloved Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye film by the same name, it is the story of two famous song-and-dance men who stage a show in a scenic, snow-topped Vermont inn – and end up finding love with two singing sisters under the mistletoe. With laughter, crazy plot turns, Broadway-size production numbers and the unforgettable music and lyrics of the legendary Irving Berlin, a book by David Ives and Paul Blake, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas is Paper Mill's holiday gift to audiences.

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas will be directed by Marc Bruni, with choreography by Randy Skinner. The cast features: James Clow (Bob Wallace), Tony Yazbeck (Phil Davis), Jill Paice (Betty Haynes), Meredith Patterson (Judy Haynes), Edward James Hyland (General Waverly) and Lorna Luft (Martha Watson).

Check the Paper Mill Playhouse website for a complete schedule of events and show times.