THUMBS UP AT THEATRE THREE: Theatre Three’s The Drowsy Chaperone is getting all kinds of raves. The musical is a send-up of musical theater set in the 1920s and loosely follows a former Follies star about to marry a Texas oilman. “Director Michael Serrecchia has cast each terminally silly role so perfectly that we … don’t really care that the plot about a celebrity wedding makes no sense,” Lawson Taitte writes on dallasnews.com. “Theatre Three’s cast of 21 sparkles, sings, dishes, dances and dazzles with appealing verve and consummate style,” Alexandra Bonifield writes on criticalrant.com. And Lindsey Wilson writes on Front Row that, “Along with the loopy, catchy songs by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, the show-within-a-show floats along on an effervescent champagne bubbles.” Catch it through Jan. 9.

MUSIC BITS: Smile Smile has released a sweet acoustic “Silent Night” for free download. (smilesmile.com) … Old 97’s have a big gig in NYC this week. They stopped by the local Fox station to play “Champaign, Illinois,” which you can now watch. (myfoxny.com) … Preston Jones picks out a few CDs by local artists that might make good stocking stuffers. (dfw.com)

GIVE AND GET: If you’re an artist looking for a little funding for your project or just an arts lover willing to donate, a new website is here to help. On unitedstatesartists.com, artists post a listing of a project they are trying to complete, including how much it will cost and a deadline for raising the funds. If the goal is met by the deadline, the project goes forward; if not, the money is returned. Pretty neat, huh? More details are here.