With Chicago companies roasting old chestnuts and throwing some new logs on the seasonal fire, here’s our annual guide to festive theatrical attractions with an eye on shows the whole family can enjoy together. There’s a little less, especially in the neighborhoods, than before the pandemic but the survivors are coming back strong.
Let’s start with a look at what you can find in downtown Chicago, still the most festive part of Chicago when it comes to the holidays.
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You might have read of problems in the Loop: Let’s note here instead that downtown Chicago will be filled with people going to shows in coming weeks. There are many big productions coming this year, as always, meaning that 10,000 or more people will be watching a show each night between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that means the streets, stores and restaurants will be full. Something for every Chicagoan to cheer.
At the Cadillac Palace, “The Lion King” (through Jan. 14) is spending the holidays in town. This musical has been attracting all kinds of international media attention in recent days, due to it celebrating its 25th anniversary. It’s worth noting that many in the youthful target audience didn’t get their chance to see Simba during the pandemic pause. This is the fifth time the show has been in Chicago, but the last time was in 2015, which is back when a good chunk of the target demographic had not learned to talk.
At the Nederlander Theatre, meanwhile, the current tour of “Wicked” (through Dec. 4) is doing boffo business. I like the current crop of performers, especially Lissa deGuzman’s Elphaba. But in the midst of the holiday season, that show will be replaced with another reprise blockbuster, “Dear Evan Hansen” (Dec. 6-31). Meanwhile, for those seeking dinner and a show without having to move around town in the cold, you can catch the lively new Cabaret ZaZou (formerly ZinZanni; open run), starring the wonderful Frank Ferrante, the kind of warm-centered host who will make sure everyone from kids to malcontents are in safe comedic hands.
What about a show specifically tied to the holidays?
Well, “A Christmas Carol” (Nov. 19 to Dec. 31) is back again at the Goodman Theatre, starring Larry Yando (once Scar in “The Lion King”) in his 15th year as Scrooge, a truly incredible feat. This show changes little from year to year but the current director, Jessica Thebus, says she added more of an environmental focus to the 2022 production: “The spirits all speak in some way to the land, water and skies of the natural world,” Thebus says, “and now there are more of them! Nature offers images of the magical and the sacred that are very very old, much older than even this story. … We have a few mysterious new images that connect Scrooge’s story to the universal spirit of nature.”
Thebus also said the show has added a Ukrainian carol, describing a bird flying through the night sky. “It’s a beautiful song,” she said, “and encourages all of us to remember those living in places of conflict this winter, and to work for peace and justice on earth.” Amen to that.
Lookingglass Theatre is reprising Mary Zimmerman’s “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” (through Jan. 8), a sweet and dryly humorous show that I first reviewed in 2018 and liked very much. As I wrote back then, the hero finds himself “tormented by a big baby, propelled from a windowsill, swallowed by a storm drain, chased by a rat, eaten by a fish, humiliated repeatedly by a Jack in the Box and ultimately, incinerated.” And yet, he abides! It’s a lovely piece, filled with eye-popping visuals and a message of resilience and love.
And at the Lyric Opera, the Joffery Ballet is reprising its wonderful “Nutcracker” (Dec. 3-27). I first reviewed Christopher Wheeldon’s gorgeously visualized take on Tchaikovsky through the prism of the Chicago World’s Fair in 2016. Since then, the ballet has moved over to the Lyric Opera House, an aptly elegant new home for this old-school attraction, perfect for the romantic ideal of dressing up and coming downtown during the holiday weeks. (Wheeldon, by the way, is the man mostly responsible for the current Broadway hit, “M.J. the Musical,” coming to Chicago in 2023.)
The Auditorium Theatre also gets into the holiday vibe with a short run of “Cirque Dreams Holidaze,” just playing Dec. 22-24 in the historic venue.
Another downtown holiday-themed show also has that magic word “Cirque.” Titled “A Magical Cirque Christmas” (Dec. 6-11), this bespoke variety attraction at the CIBC Theatre is hosted by Lucy Darling, the alter ego of Carisa Hendrix, a charming and amusing magician and fresh from runs at Chicago’s Magic Lounge in Andersonville and the Rhapsody Theatre. Acts include unicyclist Jonathan Rinny, juggler Christopher Stoinev and foot juggling duo Ray Rodriguez Lara and Henry D’Boyd Collado Green.
What about the neighborhoods? Wicker Park is the newest location for American Blues Theater’s long-running “It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!” (Nov. 23 to Dec. 23) soon to be opening its retro studio, live and in person, at the sweet Chopin Theatre. I’ve seen this charming, homegrown show (which comes with live music) many times and it’s a beautifully crafted affair, very much centered in our city. It’s ideal for senior members of your crew but also lively enough for the kids. During the pandemic, the actors performed from their homes. What a relief that they all are back together with their audience.
In the northern suburbs, Writers Theatre in Glencoe is staging Manual Cinema’s “Christmas Carol” (Nov. 29 to Dec. 24) another show previously seen as a remote broadcast during the pandemic. This should be a fascinating night, given this Chicago-based company’s national reputation for creativity, employing everything from puppets to animation to live music to human performers. I can’t wait to see it.
A little further south, meanwhile, Jane Austen fans are getting the third (and final) part of Northlight Theatre’s bit of seasonal fan fiction, now something of a Skokie tradition. Characters from Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” appear in “Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley” (Nov. 26 to Dec. 24) and I’m told the fan base already is salivating.
Care for something wackier than “Elf the Musical” (through Jan. 8) at the Drury Lane in Oakbrook? How about “What the Elf?” (through Jan. 1), a sketch and improv show in the Up Comedy Club at Second City?
The Greenhouse Theater Center has “The Buttcracker: A Nutcracker Burlesque” (Dec. 1-31; the title says it all). Theater Wit has Matthew Lombardo’s “Who’s Holiday!” (Nov. 25-Dec. 30), starring the widely admired Veronica Garza, and the Den Theatre has “A Judy Christmas” (Dec. 15-17), a campy re-creation of holiday specials from long ago and far away.
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And if you hate the holidays and its schmaltz, there’s always Steppenwolf, which has proudly avoided seasonal fare for decades. This year, it will be playing Vichet Chum’s “Bald Sisters” (Dec. 1 to Jan. 15) all about two women settling the affairs of their deceased mother.
Sadness and comedy, rolled into one. That kind of year, no?
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.