Photo by John Sonderman.
It’s the holiday season, which means almost every major theater company is running an approachable, family-friendly crowdpleaser for the good boys and girls. Many of them aren’t specifically holiday shows (we’ve marked the holly jollier shows with an asterisk), but, then again, at least three of them are takes on A Christmas Carol if you’re in the mood for something traditional.
LAST CHANCE
>>THE APPLE FAMILY CYCLE: SORRY and REGULAR SINGING: Here’s what we said last month: Sorry and Regular Singing are actually two separate plays, making up the latter half of Richard Nelson’s Apple Family quartet (the first half went up at Studio two years ago). The two plays are staged on alternating nights and with a shared cast, including the never-to-be-missed Sarah Marshall. Through December 13.
NOW PLAYING
>>PERICLES: Odysseus wasn’t the only Greek hero who wandered about the sea. Shakespeare’s take on Pericles (or at least, it was partially authored by him. Maybe.) paints a hero who mostly stumbles into good and bad fortune, but the production running at Folger (by way of a well-received run at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival) turns what could feel like a loose collection of sailing stories into a tightly-directed, action-packed adventure. Through December 20
>>STAGE KISS: With a play written by Sarah Ruhl, starring the inimitable Dawn Ursula, and directed by Aaron Posner, Round House Theater seems to be playing (and winning) an awesome game of name drop. This rom com runs through December 27.
>>AKEELAH AND THE BEE: That spelling bee movie you watched on a plane once has been adapted into a play, one of two family-friendly shows now running at Arena Stage showcasing some up and coming young talent. Through December 27.
>>BRIAN FELDMAN The yearlong #TXTSHOW wrapped early, though spots are still open for #BFFDC, and a remount of Dishwasher is happening in January. For a guide to what all of those hashtags even mean, check out Rachel Kurzius’ profile on the prolific performer.
>>BLACK NATIVITY: Theater Alliance‘s family friendly take on the Nativity Story in two acts: an afro-centric take on the nativity, and a history of gospel music.* Through January 3.
>>MOTOWN: THE MUSICAL : The National Theatre’s pick for a touring Broadway production over the holiday season is this soulful musical from 2013. Through January 3.
>>BAD JEWS: After a series of almost uncountable extensions last season, Studio Theater is remounting Joshua Harmon’s money-printing machine comedy for a run over the holidays, with a new cast. Through January 3.
>>OLIVER! Here’s what we said last month: The intersection between big-budget Broadway shows and children’s theater is a surprisingly small one, but Oliver! has got to be at the very center of it. The Tony-winning musical currently running at Arena Stage calls for almost a dozen young actors, including Dickens’ scrappy titular lead. Check out our reviewer’s take on the play from last month.Through January 3.
>>BRIGHT STAR: The last musical that stopped at The Kennedy Center on its way from California to Broadway, with a big Hollywood name attached (in this case, Steve Martin), and with Emily Padgett in the cast, was Side Show, a beautiful, can’t-miss spectacle. It also promptly fell on its face and closed in record time. We’re hoping Bright Star finds a better fate. Through January 10.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
We count at least three productions of the Dickens classic (no, the Christmas one, not the orphan one) to choose from this season. Here’s a brief field guide to telling them apart:
1. A BROADWAY CHRISTMAS CAROL*: Exactly what it says on the label. Metro Stage‘s take mashes Dickens up with parodies of, count ’em, 33 Broadway musical numbers. Through December 27
2. A CHRISTMAS CAROL* Original Flavor! This one, at Ford’s Theatre, stars Edward Gero as Scrooge, or, in other words, reprising his role as Antonin Scalia in The Originalist. Same difference. Through December 31.
3. AN IRISH CAROL*: Shamrock Shake edition. Though it still focuses on a rich man listening to voices from his past, this one uses Dickens as a starting point and goes off on its own from there. Through December 31.
Have we omitted any can’t miss shows playing this month? Be sure to sound off with them in the comments.
*Description corrected.
