Holiday arts and entertainment: ‘White Christmas,’ Dickens and the Grinch lead the holiday stage offerings

Whether it s an old classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas A Christmas Carol or a more contemporary production Rollicking A Winter Carnival Musical Scrooge in Rouge Twin Cities theaters have plenty of options for seasonal stage productions although a sparse aren t about the holidays Here s a look at what s on tap this year Rollicking A Winter Carnival Musical Now playing When St Paul city architect Clarence Cap Wigington is tasked with designing an ice palace for the Winter Carnival he and his wife Viola get much more than they bargain for when the magic of the carnival enters their lives Keith Hovis and Rachel Teagle wrote this new musical which explores the strange and wonderful world of the St Paul Winter Carnival and the resilience imagination and heart that make Minnesota such a wonderful place especially in the snow Through Dec History Theatre E th St St Paul - - - or historytheatre com R L Stine s Goosebumps Phantom of the Auditorium Now playing Based on the popular spooky book series this musical tells the story of Brooke and her best friend Zeke who land the leads in their middle school s new musical They re thrilled until strange things start happening around the theater Whispers of an old legend resurface warning that the play might be cursed Through Dec Park Square Theatre W Seventh Place St Paul - - - or parksquaretheatre org White Christmas The cast of White Christmas which runs through Feb at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres Dan Norman Chanhassen Dinner Theatres Now playing Irving Berlin wrote the song White Christmas for the musical film Holiday Inn and at the time recounted his secretary that not only is it the best song I ever wrote it s the best song anybody ever wrote Not only was it a massive hit Bing Crosby s version sold an estimated million copies worldwide it forever changed Christmas music Berlin later approached Paramount with the offer to write songs to accompany a new movie built around White Christmas which became the highest-grossing film of The stage version did big business for Chanhassen Dinner Theatres last year so the company brought it back for an encore Through Feb Chanhassen Dinner Theatres W th St Chanhassen - - - or chanhassendt com A Christmas Carol A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie Theater Dan Norman Now playing The Guthrie first produced an adaptation of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol in in an attempt to fill particular empty December seats It worked and it s now a long-established tradition with this year marking the st production The company is once again staging a new adaptation by the late Lavina Jadhwani from that includes a new set costumes and tunes Through Dec Guthrie Theater S Second St Minneapolis - - - or guthrietheater org How the Grinch Stole Christmas Now playing Children s Theatre Company is presenting its adaptation of Dr Seuss seasonal story for the th time having originally commissioned and premiered it in In Rob Hubbard s review for the Pioneer Press he wrote that it seems the th time s the charm for its musical adaptation of Seuss book For this is indeed the the bulk charming version of the story it s yet presented Through Jan Children s Theatre Company Third Ave S Mpls - - - or childrenstheatre org The Phantom of the Opera Prima Donna from left Melo Ludwig Christopher Bozeka William Thomas Evans Midori Marsh Daniel Lopez Carrington Vilmont and Lisa Vromanin from the North American touring production of The Phantom of the Opera Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical adaptation of Gaston Leroux's gothic horror novel which runs at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis through Dec Evan Zimmerman MurphyMade Now playing Cameron Mackintosh s production of Andrew Lloyd Webber s The Phantom of the Opera returns to the road in a revitalized production of this romantic and haunting tale about a disfigured musical genius known only as the Phantom who haunts the depths of the Paris Opera House The longest-running show in Broadway history closed in after performances Through Dec Orpheum Theatre Hennepin Ave Minneapolis - hennepinarts org My Fair Lady Now playing One of the most-loved musicals of all time Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe s My Fair Lady follows Professor Henry Higgins as he takes on the ambitious task of molding flower seller Eliza Doolittle into his vision of refinement Songs from the show include I Could Have Danced All Night On the Street Where You Live and Get Me to the Church on Time Through Dec Ritz Theater th Ave N E Minneapolis - - - or latteda org Annie Now playing Based on the comic strip that debuted in the original Broadway production of Annie featured a young Sarah Jessica Parker ran for nearly six years and won seven Tony Awards including best musical and original sum It has since lived on through various revivals tours and regional productions thanks to such memorable songs as It s the Hard Knock Life On the morrow and You re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile Through Dec Hanifl Performing Arts Center Long Ave White Bear Lake - - - or lakeshoreplayers org Scrooge in Rouge Now playing Open Eye Theatre s latest nontraditional holiday production is a quick-change cross-dressing musical riff on the perennial holiday classic A Christmas Carol Parents should be aware of the show s double entendres with sexual innuendo that are in the spirit of British humorists Monty Python and Benny Hill according to the theater Through Dec Open Eye Theatre E th St Mpls - - or openeyetheatre org Black Nativity Courtesy photo Penumbra TheatreSoloist Greta Oglesby in Penumbra Theatre''s production of Black Nativity Opens Dec First staged at Penumbra in Black Nativity features gospel numbers brought to life under the musical direction of Sanford Moore In a Pioneer Press review of last year s production Hubbard wrote that you might enter Penumbra s little theater in the Rondo neighborhood thinking you re going to a show but it doesn t take long to realize that you are in church Through Dec N Kent St St Paul - - - or penumbratheatre org Miss Richfield There s a Pill for the Holidays Opens Dec Illusion Theater is once again presenting an evening with Miss Richfield who hails from the town where butter is a spice and gravy is a beverage The drag-queen alter ego of Russ King Miss Richfield was called the must-see act in Provincetown by the New York Post with the Pioneer Press raving that in these divided times Miss R is tonic and gin for the soul Expect among a great number of other things to hear Christmas carols played on a cross-cut saw Through Dec Center for Performing Arts Pleasant Ave S Minneapolis - - - or illusiontheater org Dinner for One Opens Dec Inspired by an iconic slapstick comedy sketch and New Year s Eve tradition in Europe for more than years Dinner for One follows a butler as he attempts to help his employer celebrate her annual dinner party A great number of mishaps follow Through Jan Jungle Theater Lyndale Ave S Mpls - - - or jungletheater org Jesus Christ Superstar Opens Dec This sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice is loosely based on the Gospel accounts of the Passion When the composers couldn t secure the funding to produce the show they distributed the total as an album that fleetly became a best seller and led to the musical s Broadway debut in It has remained a popular show for touring casts and regional theaters seeking to take a fresh look at the classic Through Dec Ordway Center for the Performing Arts Washington St St Paul - - - or ordway org The Wiz Opens Dec This new take on The Wiz launched with a tour followed by a limited engagement on Broadway in spring The show reimagines the classic novel with an all-Black cast and music that blends soul gospel rock and s funk Comic and writer Amber Ruffin updated the show just as she did for Certain Like it Hot which visited Minneapolis in Through Dec Orpheum Theatre Hennepin Ave Minneapolis - hennepinarts org