"Who's Holiday" at the Hive Collaborative

After a long #TCTheater holiday* season, Christmas is finally upon us! But we have one more entry in the most wonderful time of the year (in theater ticket sales if nothing else) - the wild party with unexpected poignancy that is Who's Holiday at The Hive Collaborative. The casting of #TCTheater favorite Kim Kivens as a grown-up Cindy Lou Who was either a brilliant choice by director Max Wojtanowicz, or the biggest no-brainer ever. She looks the part, she's hilarious, and she can sing (comedically). This one-hour show is just the perfect dessert at the end of a great year of theater. But you need to act quick, because it's a super short run with only three remaining performances this weekend.

"Yarrrh! The Lusty, Busty Pirate Musical" and "Have Yarrrhself a Lusty, Busty Xmas!" by Fortune's Fool Theatre at The Hive Collaborative

To celebrate their 20th anniversary, Fortune's Fool Theater is giving back by offering two shows completely free to their audiences! Father/daughter co-Artistic Director team Daniel and Ariel Pinkerton decided to not only remount their smash hit 2009 Minnesota Fringe show Yarrrh! The Lusty, Busty Pirate Musical, but to also create a brand new holiday* sequel Have Yarrrhself a Lusty, Busty Xmas!, both written by Daniel and starring Ariel. My first year attending the Fringe was 2011, so I did not see the original Yarrrh! The Lusty, Busty Pirate Musical, but that's the title of a Fringe hit if I've ever heard one! I found both shows to be really fun, clever, tongue in cheek, and chock full of pirate cliches and double entendres. They've got one weekend left of their three-weekend run, with both shows playing on Saturday, and the new show only playing Friday and Sunday. Head to The Hive Collaborative for some free pirate fun! (And check out all the other festive offerings at The Hive.)

"Family Dinner" at the Dudley Riggs Theatre

My favorite improv show is back! Improvisor Molly Ritchie started Family Dinner, a two-act improvised play about, you guessed it, a family gathering for a holiday* dinner, about 20 years ago. The show eventually landed at HUGE Theater where it played to sold-out houses for 13 years until HUGE sadly closed its doors last year. But it has found a new home at the Dudley Riggs Theatre, the home of Brave New Workshop and part of the Hennepin Arts group of theaters. It's been playing every Friday and Saturday since November 7, and will continue through the end of December (that means just four more shows!). It's become a sort of tradition for the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers to gather for our own TCTB family dinner, and then watch a performance of the most hilariously awkward Family Dinner you'll (hopefully) ever experience. I joined my friends from Beyond the Curtains, Minnesota Theater Love, Play Off the Page, The Stages of MN, and Twin Cities Stages for a fun evening of dinner (at Crave right across the street) and comedy on Hennepin Avenue.

"Mistletoe & Mayhem" by Just Us Theater at the Phoenix Theater

I caught Just Us Theater's new Hallmark holiday movie spoof Mistletoe & Mayhem on their final weekend. I wasn't sure I could fit it in during this busy #TCTheater holiday* season, but my fellow Twin Cities Theater Blogger The Stages of MN assured me it was worth it. So I drove to the Phoenix Theater in snowy Uptown, got a decaf mocha from their extensive concessions counter, and settled into the theater for some festive comedy. I found it to be charmingly goofy and delightfully spoofy, poking fun at all of those holiday romance tropes, and even includes an original song! Mistletoe & Mayhem would be a great 70-minute-no-intermission show, if not for the unnecessary intermission, with only a couple shows left before it closes on Sunday.

"Plaid Tidings" at Artistry

What's better than a '60s boy band with men in sharp suits singing tight harmonies and performing smart choreography? When the suits are plaid, or Christmas cardigans, and the music is accompanied by comedy. I had never seen any rendition of the popular jukebox musical Forever Plaid, or its holiday* sequel Plaid Tidings, until seeing Artistry's production of the latter yesterday. I found it to be utterly delightful, and surprisingly poignant as it ends in a rumination on the fleeting nature of life, the afterlife, and the joys of being together at the holidays. Featuring a fantastic cast of four that is a musical and comedy dream team, and direction by Church Basement Ladies' Greta Grosch with her signature zany humor with heart, Plaid Tidings is, in a world, heaven. The Plaids will perform in Bloomington, Earth through December 28. Weekends are already selling out, with greater availability on weeknights and the weekend after Christmas.

"A Christmas in Ochopee" by New Native Theatre at 825 Arts

There's a new #TCTheater holiday* tradition in town - New Native Theatre's A Christmas in Ochopee. They're remounting their 2023 production (with some returnees and some new cast members) to see if it might become an annual tradition. This was my first time seeing the show, and I found it to be fun take on the awkward family holiday dinner. This specific story of a Native family in the Ochopee community in the Everglades of Florida tells universal truths about family - the weird uncle and his new girlfriend, the newcomer that doesn't quite fit in, family members who make mistakes in an attempt to help the family and are welcomed back in, and just being together on special occasions, whether you like it or not! Playwright Montana Cypress is from the Everglades and writes about his lived experience, brought to vivid life by the nine-person all-Native mostly local cast. Check out this new holiday tradition at 825 Arts on University in St. Paul through December 21.

"A Christmas Carol... More or Less" at Yellow Tree Theatre

Holiday* comedies are a tradition at Yellow Tree Theatre since the very beginning of their 18 seasons, when co-founder Jessica Lind Peterson wrote an original play about a small town theater couple that had to come up with a new Christmas show when the rights to the show they were planning to do were pulled, because, you guessed it, the rights to the show they were planning to do were pulled. This art-imitating-life creation spawned a franchise of goofy Minnesota holiday shows that Yellow Tree did for many years, and now under new Artistic Director of the last several years Austene Van, they're continuing this holiday comedy tradition. This year's selection is one we haven't seen at Yellow Tree before, but shares a similar theme with that first holiday comedy. A Christmas Carol... More or Less is about another small town theater couple in crisis, and the theater magic they create using Dickens' classic story of redemption and generosity. It's fun and funny and heart-warming, featuring a fantastic two-person cast in an immersive and gently participatory experience in Yellow Tree's intimate space. And since I'm not the only one who loves this Yellow Tree holiday comedy tradition, the show is close to selling out the entire run, so get your tickets now!

"The Chaos of the Bells" by Brave New Workshop at Dudley Riggs Theatre

Brave New Workshop's annual holiday* comedy sketch show is becoming another holiday tradition I never miss; I've seen it every year since 2019 (minus two years for... some global event I can't recall). The title changes every year, the sketches morph and get shuffled around with new ones added, but what doesn't change is the laughter that gets us through the stress and craziness of the holiday season. This year's show is entitled The Chaos of the Bells, and it's delightful chaos. The show continues through January 17 at the Dudley Riggs Theatre, to be followed by The Holiday Hangover which will run about a month. And if you love BNW, you can buy the Punchy Pass, that gets you tickets to four shows throughout the season for the price of three. And for more comedy on Hennepin Avenue, check out my favorite improv show Family Dinner, in which some of our best improvisors create a family before your eyes, and actually eat dinner, playing every Friday and Saturday at 8pm through the end of the year in the entry-level space at Dudley Riggs (BNW performs upstairs).

"Rollicking! A Winter Carnival Musical" at History Theatre

The new original musical Rollicking! A Winter Carnival Musical celebrates the one holiday* that unites us all here in the Northland - winter itself! And specifically, it celebrates the way that we celebrate winter, namely the St. Paul Winter Carnival. Like all of History Theatre's original work, it's educational, shedding light on a little known aspect of local history, and it's also entertaining in the way it tells that history. But I don't think I've seen a History Theatre musical quite like this before, that wraps its historical lesson up in a bright fantastical world. It's an odd mix of real world facts and people, and a fantasy realm full of magical creatures, but somehow it works. Rollicking! is a yummy confection of a winter musical that celebrates everything we love about Minnesota, its people, and its traditions. Join the celebration at History Theatre in downtown St. Paul through December 21.

"Annie" at Lakeshore Players Theatre

When I saw the Ordway's production of Annie in December of 2017, I wrote the following, and now, almost exactly eight years later, I feel a great sense of déjà vu. "'The future is female.' If the main stage at the [Lakeshore Players Theatre] is any judge of it, this statement is true, and gives one hope for the future. The story of one 11-year-old girl who changes hearts and minds with optimism and determination is an inspiring one, as is the boundless energy and talent of the young females on stage who bring this story to life. Watching Annie last night, I couldn't help but feel nostalgic for the Great Depression, when at least the president cared about the people and developed (with Annie's help of course) a New Deal that would help lift the country out of poverty. A stark contrast to today's reality, when the current resident of the White House seems to care only for the rich, and those in need get served newly crappy deals nearly every day. Maybe we need to send Annie to the Washington to get Democrats and Republicans singing together about the hopeful future of America!" This female future hasn't come to fruition in the last eight years, if anything it feels farther away, but there's always tomorrow! This show about hope, optimism, working together, and the improbable notion of billionaires and politicians giving back to help their fellow human beings is exactly what we need right now. And Lakeshore has assembled a great team to bring this hopeful story to vibrant life (continuing through December 14).

"A Nice Family Christmas" at Lyric Arts

I'm starting my 2025 #TCTheater holiday* season on the naughty side. There's plenty of nice fare out there (e.g., Guthrie's 51st production of A Christmas Carol or Chanhassen Dinner Theatre's remount of White Christmas), but if you're looking a holiday treat that's more salty than sweet, A Nice Family Christmas at Lyric Arts is a great choice. Despite the title, this family is not so nice, as they reluctantly gather for a Christmas Eve full of family dysfunction, sibling rivalry, breakups, secrets revealed, misunderstandings, arguments, and eventual reconciliation. Written by Phil Olson of the Don't Hug Me franchise, this show has a similar tone of broad comedy and Minnesota references (it's not a #TCTheater holiday season without lutefisk jokes!). And it also has a bit of a DalekoArts wacky holiday comedy feel; this show reunites the director and writer of the now closed New Prague theater's original holiday comedies and two of their regular cast members. The result is fun and wild and outrageous. Maybe don't bring anyone who's easily offended, but anyone who's ready to laugh at the antics of this wacky dysfunctional family will have a great time. The fun continues through December 21 on Lyric Arts Main Street Anoka stage.