When 20-year-old Leo drops out of college and returns home to San Francisco's Chinatown, he discovers a secret that's been kept from him: his father passed away weeks ago. To try to cope, he delves into his family's untold past in the Chinese Communist Cultural Revolution, redefining everyone and everything he thought was in his bloodline. Winner of the 2019 Relentless Award, Max Yu's thrilling Nightwatch reckons with unknown history and generations of hidden family stories.

This retelling of the Charles Dickens classic is filled with warmth, humor, music and holiday cheer. Wealthy miser Ebenezer Scrooge greets every Christmas with a "Bah, Humbug". That all changes when he is visited by three holiday spirits who reveal to him his misguided past, reclusive present and tragic future, helping him to realize the errors of his ways and to embrace the kindness and generosity in his heart.

Midsommer Flight's perennial holiday production of TWELFTH NIGHT will return in December, in a new immersive "choose-your-own-path" concept to be directed by Kristina McCloskey and associate directed by Stephanie Mattos. Audiences will follow performers promenade-style from scene to scene over the entirety of the Conservatory, often having to choose which characters to follow or plot points to see.

"Knuffle Bunny" launches The Young People's Theatre of Chicago's inaugural three-show 2020-2021 season! Led by experienced director Randy White and working with Chicago's finest professional theatre artists, Young People's Theatre of Chicago aims to engage and educate children of all ages and economic backgrounds by offering extraordinary theatrical experiences. Daddy is off to the laundromat with Trixie and her beloved Knuffle Bunny. What could possibly go wrong? Mo Willems' cherished children's book is now an action-packed musical comedy for kids and their frazzled families, directed by Randy White!

8-TRACK is a fast-paced musical journey through one of the most impassioned decades of the 20th Century as lived by four young adults who navigate the changes of those times. Their story is told through the music of The Emotions, The Carpenters, Labelle, Barry Manilow, Marvin Gaye, The Doobie Brothers, The Bee Gees, Helen Reddy, KC and the Sunshine Band, and more!

WT Productions presents "Seasonal Tags," a new collection of six short plays by Debbi Dennison and Carl Zeitler that takes Christmas and the winter holidays and looks at them from different perspectives. Each play tells a different story, and elements of the first five are connected in the finale. "Seasonal Tags" blends light comedy, dark comedy, and drama to provide a unique spin on this traditional time of year.

Christopher Wheeldon's reimagined classic returns for the holidays. Follow young Marie and the Nutcracker Prince on a Christmas Eve journey through the 1893 World's Fair, a dazzling spectacle of sights, sounds, and enchantment. This annual holiday tradition celebrates the magic of the season and the rich cultural heritage of Chicago.

Leslie Odom, Jr. is a multifaceted, award-winning vocalist, songwriter, author, and actor. With a career that spans all performance genres, he has received recognition with Tony and Grammy Awards as well as Emmy and, most recently, two Academy Award nominations for his excellence and achievements in Broadway, television, film, and music. Odom currently stars and performs the songs of legendary singer Sam Cooke in the critically acclaimed Amazon film adaptation of the Olivier Award-nominated play, One Night in Miami, directed by Regina King. His portrayal of the soul icon has been met with widespread praise and critical acclaim, earning him nominations for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Critics' Choice Award, Golden Globe Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards, among others. King also enlisted Odom to write, compose, and perform the film's original song, "Speak Now," for which he was nominated for an Oscar and has since earned him a Critics' Choice Award for Best Song as well as several other award nominations.

Set in 1920's America, A&A BALLET's The Art Deco Nutcracker, featuring Tchaikovsky's beloved score, is a fresh, yet traditional take on the beloved holiday favorite with a sumptuous costume and set design inspired by the unique sophistication of the Art Deco era. The Art Deco Nutcracker is Alexei Kremnev's eighth full-length ballet. His work has been presented at the world-renowned Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Lincoln Center in New York, and the Opernhaus Zurich in Switzerland, among other prestigious venues across the globe. The Huffington Post describes his choreography as "encompassing the best and brilliance of what movement can be while breaking boundaries of what we know."

Emmy nominee Angela Ingersoll captures the festive sounds of a dozen divas. Ingersoll is known for her outstanding Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow (Los Angeles, Chicago) and Get Happy Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland on PBS. "The actress with the astonishing voice" (Chicago Sun-Times) joyfully shares her holiday bag of tricks with a haunting Judy Garland, a rockin' Brenda Lee, a purr-fect Eartha Kitt, a proper Julie Andrews, a soulful Edith Piaf, a sultry Marilyn Monroe, and plenty of surprises! Holiday favorites include "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Santa Baby," and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."

Chicago hip hop sensations, the Q Brothers Collective, heat up the holiday season with a wildly entertaining ad-rap-tation of Charles Dickens' classic. The crew mashes up hip hop with contemporary musical styles, ranging from reggae to dancehall music, dubstep, and epic rock ballads-all underscored with beats spun live by a DJ. Brighten your festivities with some cheeky spirit and a whole lot of heart. Fully decked out in the holiday spirit, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare is strewn with more than two miles of twinkling lights as the ghosts of hip hop Past, Present, and Future lead Scrooge on a journey of rhythm, rhyme, and redemption.

Karol, a jaded cafe owner and former social worker must face the night she dreads the most: the Annual Christmas Carol concert at her cafe. As she prepares, she talks to the audience and welcomes carolers from around the city. By the end of the night the audience gets to know her real issue.

Alaudin, a stand-up comedian whose family hails from Bangladesh, is in L.A. on the verge of success when a family crisis forces him back to New York. Deferring his dreams while confronting his family history, he takes us on a moving and hilarious journey from colonial India in the 1930s to Spanish Harlem in the 1970s and all the way to present-day Hollywood for his once-in-a-lifetime audition for a major film.

In Winter In The Wildwood, audiences will be transported to a Fae-Realm filled with holiday trees, lights, and magic as they meet a magical Faun and uncover the truth behind the fading Wildwood lights, embarking on a quest to restore magic to the forest. Along the way, audiences will enjoy fairytale stories, magicians, puppetry, and one-of-a-kind photo opportunities. Each performance is unique and tailored to the audience, whether families or adults.

Do you remember the first time you heard the Christmas sounds of Mannheim Steamroller? You can again celebrate the holiday magic of Mannheim Steamroller in 2021 when they bring their annual holiday tour to fans throughout the country. While 2020 was the first year the group was unable to tour in 35 years, 2021 will reunite the No. 1 Christmas music artist in history with its legion of long-time fans. Experience the music that has become the hallmark of the holidays and a tradition for multi-generational families: Mannheim Steamroller Christmas live in concert in 2021!

Get into the holiday spirit with this classic story of the last-minute replacement Santa for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade who claims to be the real Kris Kringle. Be part of the studio audience for this live musical radio play adapted from the original 1947 Lux Radio Broadcast. This beloved holiday classic melts the most cynical of hearts and is destined to become a highlight of the holiday season!

Accompanied by orchestra and a choir, Sarah decks the halls with show-stopping renditions of classics from the Christmas canon, along with personal holiday favorites and her greatest hits. A Christmas Symphony is sure to be an unforgettable Christmas spectacle during the most wonderful time of the year!