Christmas Carols, Scrooge-Style
Ford’s Theatre brings back its popular production of
A Christmas Carol, starring Edward Gero as Scrooge. Through December 30.
At Olney, local actor/director Paul Morella also reprises his pared-down version of
the classic, based more heavily on Dickens’s original text. November 30 through December
30.
MetroStage has
A Broadway Christmas Carol playing through December 23.
Also in Old Town, the Little Theatre of Alexandria stages
A Christmas Carol November 30 through December 16.
Meanwhile Keegan Theatre’s
An Irish Carol, an “homage” to the Dickens story, plays at the Church Street Theatre December 14
through 31.
More Theater
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, the stage adaptation of the film classic, runs December 11 through January 6 in
the Kennedy Center’s Opera House.
Theater Alliance stages the local premiere of
The Night Before Christmas, a new comic riff on the
classic tale. Through December 29 at H Street
Playhouse.
December 14 through 23, Signature stages
The Holiday Guys, a song-and-dance show featuring three-time Tony nominee Marc Kudisch and Jeffry
Denman.
December 18 through 23 Signature also stages “Holiday Follies,” a cabaret series featuring
local artists and performers.
A Nutcracking Good Time
The Washington Ballet brings its production of Septime Webre’s
The Nutcracker back to the Warner Theatre. The locally themed show features George Washington as
the heroic nutcracker and George III as the villainous Rat King. November 29 through
December 23.
Ballet West, Utah’s beloved ballet company, brings
The Nutcracker to the Kennedy Center December 5 through 9.
The Moscow Ballet presents its
Great Russian Nutcracker at Strathmore December 16,
and at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts December 19 and 20.
And the Columbia Figure Skating Club stages its annual
Nutcracker on Ice December 15 and 16.
More Dance
Dance Place hosts its annual Kwanzaa celebration December 14 through 16, featuring
Coyaba Dance Theater, Coyaba Academy, and more.
Step Afrika! presents a holiday performance at the Atlas Performing Arts Center December
12 through 23.
Holidays With Handel
Never let it be said that the Washington area is wanting for productions of Handel’s
Messiah come December. The National Symphony Orchestra
performs the holiday favorite at the
Kennedy Center December 20 through 23, with a sing-along
performance on December
23.
Over at Strathmore, the National Philharmonic performs
Messiah December 8, 22, and 23.
The National Cathedral choirs sing
Messiah December 7 through 9.
More in Classical Music
December 6 at the Kennedy Center, see Pro Musica Hebraica celebrate Hanukkah with
a concert of cantorial masterpieces.
December 9, the Thomas Circle Singers perform their annual holiday show, “Sing We
All Nowell,” at St Paul’s Lutheran Church in DC.
December 14 through 23 at the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Folger Consort performs
a concert dedicated to Christmas music from Florence.
At Strathmore the Cathedral Choral Society sings “A
Dickens Christmas” December
17.
The Washington Chorus performs “A Candlelight
Christmas” at the Kennedy
Center
December 15 through 22 and at Strathmore December 20 and
21.
The Choral Arts Society of Washington sings “An Enchanted Christmas” at the KenCen
December 17 through 24.
A cappella group the Capital Hearings perform at the
US Botanic Garden December 6.
There’s also live music Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the
month.
Symphonic Sinatra (and More)
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs a Holiday Pops Celebration at Strathmore
December 12.
The NSO Pops also plays a holiday-themed show at the Kennedy Center December 13 through
16.
The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra presents a holiday pops concert featuring Tony DeSare
December 14.
The Washington Symphonic Brass also performs festive favorites at Strathmore December
18.
The Judy Collins Christmas Show stops by Birchmere
December
12.
Alternative Holiday Shows
November 30 and December 1, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington performs “Winter Nights”
at the Lisner Auditorium.
If you love Morris dancing (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t?), early music, and “the
mysterious Abbots Bromley horn dance,” don’t miss the Christmas Revels at Lisner December
8 through 16.
Birchmere brings back “A John Waters Christmas,”
featuring the King of Camp himself,
December
10.
A Jazz/Bluegrass Christmas
Scarf-wearing, be-bopping liberals, rejoice: NPR’s “A
Jazz Piano Christmas” returns
to the KenCen December 8, featuring none other than artistic
adviser for jazz and
MacArthur “genius” Jason Moran, NEA jazz master Ellis Marsalis,
and more.
The 17-piece Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra performs three holiday shows at Strathmore
December 16.
Strathmore artist in residence Mary Alouette sings “A Gypsy Jazz Christmas” at Strathmore
December 21.
Appalachian fiddler Mark O’Connor performs “An Appalachian Christmas” at Strathmore
December 13.
For Kids
“A Little House Christmas” runs at Adventure Theatre
through December
31.
“ICE!” returns to Gaylord National Harbor, this year with a Shrek theme. Through January
6.
Christmas on the Big Screen
The Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse presents the 2012 Christmas Movie Festival December
16, with screenings of
A Christmas Story,
Scrooged,
Elf,
A Charlie Brown Christmas, and more.
AFI Silver’s holiday screenings include
Miracle on 34th Street,
It’s a Wonderful Life,
The Muppet Christmas Carol, and more.
