A merry Christmas wish comes early this year in Los Angeles. A Holiday Cabaret concert for LA's BEST (Better Educated Students for Tomorrow) will be held Dec. 5 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.

Well-known cabaret artists Lee Lessack and Amanda McBroom (author of the musical Heartbeats) will sing with Dale Kristien (Christine, The Phantom of the Opera), Karen Benjamin, Alan Chapman, Carolyn Sykes, Kate Peters, Joanne O'Brien, Renee Orin, Stephen Applegate, Anne Kerry Ford, Jeff Rizzo, George Ball, Marie Cain and Claudia Anderson.

Tickets are $20 and available by calling (800) 233-3123. The Alex Theatre is located at 216 N. Brand Boulevard.

A Holiday Cabaret was begun in Los Angeles four years ago by Karen Benjamin and D. C. Anderson in a small parlor concert, where the only admission was a children's present to be given to Para Los Ninos (For the Children), a local charity. Today, Anderson and Margaret Irwin head up a national effort to hold low-priced concerts (usually $20) for the benefit of children's charities.

-- By Christine Ehren