Lots of theater is on Cincinnati stages during December, but if you’re seeking something holiday-specific, here’s a checklist.
Now in its 27th year, Cincinnati Playhouse’s A Christmas Carol has become a beloved holiday tradition for families. It’s a beautifully staged production with top-notch professional actors, especially Bruce Cromer as Ebenezer Scrooge. The message of the importance of kindness and charity has never been more pertinent, and you’ll find no better rendition of Dickens’ 1843 tale than this one. Through Dec. 30. Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, 962 Mount Adams Circle, Mount Adams, cincyplay.com.
A touring production of A Christmas Story: The Musical is at the Aronoff through Sunday. You surely know the film about Ralphie, jonesing for an official Red Ryder carbine-action, 200-shot range-model air rifle from Santa. This version features funny, heartfelt songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who were recently honored with a Tony Award for the music in Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen and an Academy Award for tunes in La La Land. Through Dec. 10. Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Downtown, cincinnati.broadway.com.
The Drama Workshop, a fine community theater, is presenting a laugh-a-minute holiday-themed comedy, Inspecting Carol. A regional theater company rehearsing A Christmas Carol learns that an inspector from the National Endowment for the Arts is coming. They mistakenly assume an unfamiliar auditioning actor is an NEA spy, so they treat the bewildered guy royally. When the actual inspector shows up the fun really begins. Through Dec. 17. Glenmore Playhouse, 3716 Glenmore Ave., Cheviot, thedramaworkshop.org.
Back in 1961, poet Langston Hughes conceived Black Nativity, an Off-Broadway show celebrating the birth of Jesus from an African-American perspective. The show’s local incarnation by the Cincinnati Black Theatre Company has become a recurring holiday favorite, filled with music, praise and worship, song and dance and costumes and storytelling. Dec. 8 and 9. Word of Deliverance Family Life Center, 693 Fresno Road, Forest Park, cincinnatiblacktheatre.org.
Footlighters, Inc., another veteran community theater, is presenting The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical. It’s a sequel to a cat-fightin’, sun-worshippin’, chair-throwin’ original — The Great American Trailer Park Musical — this time decked out in tinsel and icicles. Set in Armadillo Acres, a mobile-home community in north Florida, the trailer park’s Scrooge has amnesia and neighborly love is put to the test. Part of the solution is “Keg Nog.” Through Dec. 16. Stained Glass Theatre, 802 York St., Newport, Ky., footlighters.org.
An evening of raucous adult entertainment at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company awaits those attending Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some). For the 12th consecutive year, audiences will crack up at this hilarious mash-up of familiar stories from A Christmas Carol to It’s a Wonderful Life, with numerous stops for Rudolph, Mr. Magoo, Frosty the Snowman, The Grinch and more. Definitely for grownups. Dec. 21-31. Otto M. Budig Theatre, 1195 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, cincyshakes.com.
For more zaniness, stop by Arnold’s Bar & Grill’s courtyard for The Naughty List by OTR Improv. Using audience suggestions, the improvisers offer games and scenes that change nightly to reimagine the holidays in laugh-inducing ways. Dec. 12-28; arrive between 6 and 7 p.m. if you plan to order dinner. Arnold’s Bar & Grill, 210 E. Eighth St., Downtown, otrimprov.com.
The Covedale Center is presenting the popular musical Annie (through Dec. 23); it’s not really a Christmas show, but several big scenes happen at Christmastime. Other theaters offering family-friendly productions include Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (The Dancing Princesses, through Dec. 30), Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, through Dec. 19), Cincinnati Children’s Theatre at the Taft Theatre (Cinderella, Dec. 9-18) and Cincinnati Playhouse (An
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 6, 2017.
