St. Nicholas is coming to Seattle's A Contemporary Theatre, but he's not the jolly fat man of Christmas lore. Instead, Conor McPherson's St. Nicholas is the tale of a cantankerous middle-aged theatre critic whose attraction to a beautiful and strange actress seduces him into the world of vampires.

Making its Northwest premiere, St. Nicholas runs Aug. 17-Sept. 10 on The Bullitt stage, with an opening Aug. 18. Lawrence Ballard stars in this one-man piece by the author of The Weir and This Lime Tree Bower.

Ballard most recently directed for ACT, helming Wallace Shawn's The Fever, the 2000 season opener at The Bullitt. As an actor, he has performed at ACT in Death of a Salesman, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Gray's Anatomy, Lonely Planet and Shadowlands.

Jeff Steitzer directs. In the last 25 years of directing he has been at the head of world premieres of works by Steven Dietz, Jon Klein and Erik Brogger as well as American premieres by David Edgar, Peter Barnes and Alan Ayckbourn. Steitzer will direct ACT's mainstage production of The Odd Couple later in the season.

Designing St. Nicholas are Etta Lilienthal (sets), Carolyn Keim (costumes) and Ann Ciecko (lighting). Tickets are $15-$10. The Bullitt at A Contemporary Theatre is located at the corner of Seventh Avenue and Union Street. For reservations, call (206) 292-7676. A Contemporary Theatre is on the web at http://www.acttheatre.org.

-- By Christine Ehren