Columbus-area theater companies set 2021 stage with a full lineup of holiday productions
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Greater Columbus theater companies will celebrate the holidays with a variety of musicals, plays and children’s shows — and in some cases, they’ll be celebrating their first live production since the pandemic began.
The musicals range from the homegrown (Shadowbox Live’s premiere of “Not So Silent Night”) to productions of Broadway hits (“Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” and “A Christmas Story, The Musical”).
As always, “A Christmas Carol” will be revived in different ways by different troupes (including Hilliard Arts Council and Worthington Community Theatre), while new editions of other annual favorites will be offered by Nia Performing Arts (“Black Nativity”) and Shadowbox Live (“Holiday Hoopla.”)
Not every holiday show is about Christmas, though — with CATCO celebrating the Jewish holidays with “Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins.”
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Events are listed in chronological order:
'HOLIDAY HOOPLA'
SHADOWBOX LIVE, 503 S. FRONT ST.
Details: The 29th annual updated edition of the resident-ensemble troupe’s most popular sketch-comedy and music show, suggested for mature audiences because of language, celebrates the hustle, bustle and fun of the season
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 26-27, Dec. 1-4, Dec. 8-11, Dec. 14-18, and Dec. 20-23
Tickets: $80 to $130 for tables of two, or $160 to $260 for tables of four
COVID policy: masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required
Contact: 614-416-7625, shadowboxlive.org
'HERSHEL AND THE HANUKKAH GOBLINS'
CATCO, RIFFE CENTER’S STUDIO TWO THEATRE, 77 S. HIGH ST.
Details: CATCO’s Theatre for Young Audiences production of the one-act play with music, is suggested for ages 6 and older. The adaptation by Michael Dailey and composer-lyricist Jacob Combs from Eric Kimmel’s classic 1989 children’s picture book, focuses on a Jewish trickster-folk-hero who challenges and defeats through guile a series of goblins over the eight nights of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Showtimes: 1 and 3:30 p.m. Nov. 27; 1 and 3 p.m. Nov. 28; 7 p.m. Dec. 2-3; 1 and 3:30 p.m. Dec. 4-5; 7 p.m. Dec. 9-10; 1 and 3:30 p.m. Dec. 11-12
Tickets: $25, or $15 for children
COVID policy: masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required for ages 12 and older; masks required for all children
Contact: 614-469-0939, www.catco.org
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'NOT SO SILENT NIGHT'
SHADOWBOX LIVE, 503 S. FRONT ST.
Details: The company-created two-act musical, in its world premiere, features seasonal songs from Mariah Carey, Kenny Loggins, Madonna and other Top-40 musicians. The musical revolves around vignettes of families and individuals calling in to a radio disc jockey to make song dedications on Christmas Eve, as the DJ worries about his traveling wife and son during a snow storm.
Showtimes: 2 p.m. Nov. 28; 2 p.m. Dec. 4; 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 5; 2 p.m. Dec. 11; 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 12; 2 p.m. Dec. 18; and 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 19
Tickets: $80 to $130 for tables of two, or $160 to $260 for tables of four
COVID policy: masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required
Contact: 614-416-7625, shadowboxlive.org
'IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS'
NEW ALBANY COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE, FIVE14 CHURCH, 5744 N. HAMILTON ROAD
Details: The Broadway holiday musical, adapted from the Bing Crosby and Danny Kay 1954 Paramount movie musical, blends Irving Berlin classic songs (“Blue Skies,” “How Deep is the Ocean?,” “I Love a Piano,” and the title song) with a story about a pair of showbiz performers who fall in love with two sisters while putting on a show to help their old Army general.
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11
Tickets: "pay what you wish" (minimum $10), with 10 percent of proceeds benefiting the New Albany Food Pantry
Contact: 614-333-3333, www.newalbanycommunityplayhouse.org
'SANTA'S WORKSHOP'
VAUD-VILLITIES, NORTHLAND PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, 4411 TAMARACK BLVD.
Details: The country’s longest-running variety show will return with a family-friendly holiday edition with seasonal songs, dancing and lighthearted comedy set during a chaotic Christmas where two lost hunters stumble into the North Pole to find Mrs. Claus on strike, the elves busy making toys and Santa preparing for his sleigh ride.
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4; and 2:30 p.m. Dec. 5, with streaming available Dec. 3-5
Tickets: $25, or $20 for senior citizens, $15 for students, $10 for children (ages 6 to 17), and free for children younger than 5; $25 for streaming
COVID policy: masks required (for ages 3 and up), with proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required for ages 12 and older
Contact: 614-262-7469, vvshows.org
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'MAGIC TREE HOUSE, A GHOST TALE FOR MR. DICKENS'
PICKERINGTON COMMUNITY THEATRE, VIOLET TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY THEATER, 10190 BLACKLICK-EASTERN ROAD NW, PICKERINGTON
Details: The one-act holiday musical, adapted from one Mary Pope Osborne's “Magic Tree House” books, offers a fantasy adventure about a boy and girl whisked back in time to poverty-stricken Victorian England, where they meet Charles Dickens.
Showtimes: 8 p.m. Dec. 3; and 10 and 2 p.m. Dec. 4-5 and Dec. 11-12
Tickets: $19, or $17 for senior citizens and children 12 and younger
COVID policy: masks required
Contact: 614-508-0036, www.pctshows.com
'THE GRINCH WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS'
MOUTH OF THE WOLF PRODUCTIONS, TWO LOCATIONS
Details: Local playwright Amber Myers’ stage adaptation of the Dr. Seuss holiday fable centers on a mean green creature who tries to put an end to the holiday by stealing items from the nearby town of Whoville.
Showtimes: 7 p.m. Dec. 10; 12:30 p.m. Dec. 11; 2 p.m. Dec. 12 at 150 E. Columbus St., Lithopolis; and with a different cast at 7 p.m. Dec. 17-18 and 2 p.m. Dec. 19 at 210 W. 5th St., Marysville
Admission: free, but donations accepted and RSVPs required
COVID policy: masks required for ages 3 and older
Contact: www.motwp.com
'A CHRISTMAS CAROL'
HILLIARD ARTS COUNCIL, HILLIARD CIVIC & CULTURAL ARTS CENTER, 5425 CENTER ST., HILLIARD
Details: The stage play version of Charles Dickens’ holiday classic returns with a focus on the spiritual transformation of a stingy man haunted by ghosts.
Showtimes: 7 p.m. Dec. 10; 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 11
Tickets: $5 donation, or five nonperishable food items or one or more new unwrapped toys
COVID policy: masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required
Contact: 614-527-4407, www.hilliardartscouncil.org
'A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL'
COLUMBUS CHILDREN’S THEATRE, LINCOLN THEATRE, 769 E. LONG ST.
Details: The Broadway musical, based on the classic film about a 1940s-era small-town Indiana family whose 9-year-old son Ralphie dreams of getting a Red Ryder 200-shot air rifle for Christmas, is suggested for ages 8 and older because of the two-act length, brief language, depictions of bullying and use of BB guns.
Showtimes: 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays Dec. 10-23, plus 7 p.m. Dec. 21-22 and 2 p.m. Dec. 23
Tickets: 16.50 to $51.50
COVID policy: masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required
Contact: 614-469-0939, cbusarts.com, columbuschildrenstheatre.org
'A FAIRY TALE CHRISTMAS CAROL'
WORTHINGTON COMMUNITY THEATER, MCCONNELL ARTS CENTER, 777 EVENING ST., WORTHINGTON
Details: The Big Bad Wolf plays Ebenezer Scrooge in this fractured-fairy-tale, family-oriented version of Dickens’ classic, with a Fairy Godmother, Old King Cole and the Queen of Hearts respectively playing the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 16-18 and 2 p.m. Dec. 19
Tickets: $12, or $10 for students and senior citizens
COVID policy: masks required
Contact: 614-431-0329, www.mcconnellarts.org
'THE LAND OF FORGOTTEN TOYS'
ABBEY THEATER OF DUBLIN, 5600 POST ROAD, DUBLIN
Details: The holiday musical, in its central Ohio premiere suggested for ages 5 and up, is set three days before Christmas as a girl and her friend are magically transported to a legendary land and meet an elf and Icicle Giant, and discover that forgotten toys aren’t misfits and that their “flaws” are key to their success.
Showtimes: 7 p.m. Dec. 16-18 and 1 and 4 p.m. Dec. 18
Tickets: $10
COVID policy: masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required
Contact: 614-410-4550, dublinohiousa.gov/abbey-theater
'BLACK NATIVITY 2021: GOOD NEWS: WE MADE IT'
NIA PERFORMING ARTS, OHIO DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY’S MATESICH THEATRE, 1216 SUNBURY ROAD
Details: The African American troupe offers an updated version of Langston Hughes’ holiday classic with new songs, choreography and technologies dramatizing a theme of post-pandemic survival.
Showtimes: 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 18
Tickets: 20 to $30, or $15 for students 12 to 18 and senior citizens; or $10 for children 11 and younger
COVID policy: masks required
Contact: 614-321-5098, niaperformingartsblacknativity.eventbrite.com
'IABD HOLIDAY SHOW'
IT’S ALL BEEN DONE PRESENTS, RED HERRING THEATER COMPANY, 3723 S. HIGH ST.
Details: The holiday edition of the 80-minute geeky comedy program, staged in the style of old-time radio serials, celebrates the holidays with a touching framework tale in which the god-like Zee shows Commander M- a series of shorts to teach him a lesson.
Showtime: 5 p.m. Dec. 18
Tickets: $10, or or become a donor at Patreon.com/IABD, $5 for students and senior citizens
COVID policy: masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required
Contact: 614-916-6043, www.iabdpresents.com
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'PLAID TIDINGS'
WEATHERVANE PLAYHOUSE, 100 PRICE ROAD, NEWARK
Details: Stuart Ross’ holiday version of his popular off-Broadway “Forever Plaid” musical revue brings back a 1950s-era male doo-wop quartet — Sparky, Jinx, Smudge and Francis — who return from heaven to add vocal harmonies to a discordant world.
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20-21; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 22; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 23; 2 p.m. Dec. 26; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 27-28; and 2 p.m. Dec. 29
Tickets: $37, or $35 for senior citizens, $26 for students or $15 for children
COVID policy: masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required, but children (11 and younger) don’t need a negative test to attend
Contact: 740-366-4616, www.weathervaneplayhouse.org
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Theater companies offer variety of holiday shows around Columbus
