Chicago theatres will present a wide variety of festive plays, musicals, dance, and comedy offerings this holiday season. In support, the League of Chicago Theatres has again created a comprehensive Holiday Theatre Guide, available at https://chicagoplays.com/chicago-theatre-guide/. A list of shows with additional details about each production will be available and updated throughout the holiday season at ChicagoPlays.com.
Hot Tix, the League of Chicago's discount ticket program, is enhancing the holiday season with the return of Half-Price Holidays. From December 5-15, 2024, half-price tickets will be available for select productions, both holiday and non-holiday themed. To date, 36 productions are participating, including the Goodman Theatre, Broadway In Chicago, Chicago Children's Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Ballet Chicago, and more.
League of Chicago Theatres Executive Director Marissa Lynn Jones comments, "During this festive time of year, I'm reminded that the magic that unfolds on stage is something we can all share in, collectively. These stories can make us feel at home, show us a new perspective, or teach us something new about ourselves. We hope that this guide and the ticket opportunities through Half Price Holidays will encourage people to appreciate the rich tapestry of human experience found through the theatre."
Theater is happening through the holidays all over Chicagoland. For example, downtown theatregoers can see A Christmas Carol at Goodman Theatre's, a must-see annual production that has enchanted audiences for over four decades. Another adaptation of the holiday favorite, told through puppetry and music, is the striking holiday experience of Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol is playing downtown at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building. Broadway In Chicago is offering half-price tickets to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Yippee Ki Yay, and Rocky Mountain Experience: A John Denver Christmas.
Among the many productions throughout Chicago neighborhoods include Fraudulent LLC at Trap Door Theatre in Bucktown, It's A Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! at American Blues Theatre in Lincoln Square, and Royko: The Toughest Man in Chicago and Into the Woods, both playing at Chopin Theatre in Wicker Park and TUTA's The Long Christmas Dinner at Bramble Arts Loft in Andersonville.
There's even more happening in the suburbs, including Frozen at Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women at Northlight Theatre in Skokie, Disney's The Little Mermaid at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace, and Buffalo Theatre Ensemble's The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberly at McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn.
The following are the productions work currently participating in Half-Price Holidays:
A Martian Christmas Carol, Three Brothers Theatre
Fradulent LLC, Trap Door Theatre
Royko: The Toughest Man in Chicago, Chopin Theatre
The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberly, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble at McAninch Arts Center
The Magic Parlour at Goodman Theatre
Blue Man Group
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Broadway In Chicago
Yippee Ki Yay, Broadway In Chicago
Rocky Mountain Experience: A John Denver Christmas, Broadway In Chicago
Throbbin' Wood, PrideArts
FLUSH, Campfire Repertory Theatre at Chicago Dramatists
BLANK! The Musical and Chicago Style Improv, The Revival
Teatro ZinZanni
Ruth Page's The Nutcracker, Ruth Page Center for the Arts
A Christmas Carol, Goodman Theatre
It's a Wonderful Life, Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture
Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Northlight Theatre
Who's Holiday, Theater Wit
Into the Woods, Kokandy Productions at Chopin Theatre
The Berlin Diaries, Open Space Arts
Holidays a cappella, Chicago A Cappella
It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!, American Blues Theater
The House Without a Christmas Tree, Griffin Theatre Company
Disney's the Little Mermaid, Drury Lane Theatre
Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol, at Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building
Ballet Chicago: The Nutcracker, at Harris Theater for Music and Dance
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Young People's Theatre of Chicago at Greenhouse Theater Center
Dames at Sea, Citadel Theatre
Joyce DiDonato + Kings Return, Harris Theater for Music and Dance
December shows, including A Very Steamworks Christmas and The Sleighover, Annoyance Theatre
The Long Christmas Dinner, TUTA Theatre at Bramble Arts Loft
New Philharmonic: New Year's Eve, McAninch Arts Center
The Beatrix Potter Holiday Party, Chicago Children's Theatre
The Infinite Wrench, The Neo-Futurists
Rudolph the Red Hosed Reindeer, Hell in a Handbag Productions at Hoover Leppen Theatre at Center on Halsted
For a comprehensive list of Chicago productions, visit the League of Chicago Theatres website, ChicagoPlays.com. Tickets available in the Half-Price Holidays promotion will be listed at HotTix.org.
About Chicago theatre
Chicago theatre is the leader in the U.S. with more than 250 theatres throughout Chicagoland, comprising a rich and varied community ranging from storefront, non-union theatres to the most renowned resident theatres in the country, including 6 which have been honored with Regional Tony Awards, and the largest touring Broadway organization in the nation. Chicago's theatres serve 5 million audience members annually and have a combined budget of more than $250 million. Chicago produces and/or presents more world premieres annually than any other city in the nation. Each year Chicago theatres send new work to resident theatres across the country, to Broadway, and around the world. For more information, visit www.chicagoplays.com.
The League of Chicago Theatres' Mission Statement
Theatre is essential to the life of a great city and to its citizens. The League of Chicago Theatres is an alliance of theatres, which leverages its collective strength to support, promote and advocate for Chicago's theatre industry. Through our work, we ensure that theatre continues to thrive in our city.
