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'Tis, once again, the season. Time for toys, time for cheer, as Alvin and the Chipmunks would say. 'Tis also, once again, time for all your favorite holiday-themed plays to start showing at theatres around Chicago: A Christmas Carol, The Christmas Schooner, It's A Wonderful Life, The Nutcracker, etc. (I'm assuming these are some of your favorite plays. If I'm wrong, sue me.) The good news is, there are more versions of these hits playing this year than ever before. And even if you hate these old stand-bys like the Grinch hates the Whos, there are also plenty of alternative, off-beat productions to choose from. On Dasher, on Dancer.
First, A Christmas Carol. In and around Chicago, there are no less than seven staged productions of the Charles Dickens classic being performed this season. Of course, the Goodman Theatre has their annual show (always extremely popular), but this year they're being given a run for their non-profit holiday money by the likes of Drury Lane Oakbrook, Metropolis Performing Arts Center in Arlington Heights, Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Overshadowed Theatre and two competing "Broadway" musical versions by Steel Beam Theatre and Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire. All run for about a month, between late November and early January.
American Theatre Company's annual showing of It's A Wonderful Life is proceeding despite a schism in that ensemble earlier this year that produced a new theatre company, American Blues Theatre, who are also preparing their own version of It's A Wonderful Life to be performed at the Victory Gardens-Biograph Theatre. Both versions are presented as staged radio dramas, complete with authentic Foley sound effects and 1940s-era commercials.
There are six versions of The Nutcracker playing around town, from the classic ballet at the Auditorium Theatre to A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas at the Apollo Theatre, a modern re-imagining of the tale (okay for families). The Christmas Schooner this year plays not at the Bailiwick, which is in the midst of restructuring, but at Theatre At The Center in Munster, IN.
As far as those aforementioned "alternative, off-beat" shows go, the offerings range from the vaguely blasphemous (two versions of A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant) to the improvisational (The Second City's Exceedingly Dysfunctional Holiday Revue) to the sing-along (Noble Fools' Plaid Tidings) to the ultra post-modern (It Came Upon A Midnight Queen at Chemically Imbalanced Theatre) to the acrobatic (500 Clown Christmas).
Some of these shows may not be suitable for children, so do your research before you go. Or just go see A Christmas Carol. You could see it seven different ways if you wanted to. Either way, whatever you're looking for this season, you'll find it listed below.
Complete List of Holiday Plays In Chicago
Luke Heiden
Contributing Writer