Vacation season has arrived, and Chicago theaters are bustling with Ebenezer Scrooges, Tiny Tims and Nutcrackers in each healthful type and taste.
However our checklist isn’t about mounting the classics or family-friendly revamps that really feel like acquainted presents wrapped in new packages. Our checklist is naughty.
Sneak a peek at grownup variations of iconic Christmas characters just like the risqué reindeer in Hell in a Purse’s Rudolph the Purple-Hosed Reindeer or the all-grown-up Cindy-Lou Who in Who’s Vacation! at Theater Wit. For the file, Die Onerous is, the truth is, a Christmas film, and in Broadway in Chicago’s Yippee Ki Yay, John McClane tells his story of gun fights, hostages and battling terrorists in a L.A. skyscraper in true 80’s motion hero type. Fa la la.
In case you’re in search of reveals past conventional theater, the burlesque and cabaret scenes come alive this time of 12 months. Jane Lynch (Glee, The 40-12 months-Outdated Virgin) and Kate Flannery (The Workplace) are throwing a Swinging Christmas at Steppenwolf with vacation showtunes and comedy. BenDeLaCreme (RuPaul’s Drag Race) and Jinkx Monsoon (two-time winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race) ring within the holidays with their acclaimed night time of music and comedy in The Jinkx & DeLa Vacation Present, whereas The Newport Theater places a campy burlesque spin on conventional madrigal dinners with The Naughty Little Madrigal.
Right here’s our checklist of 10 grownup reveals you need to see this vacation season. Ideas? Solutions? Inform us at arts@wbez.org
Rudolph the Purple-Hosed Reindeer
The place: Introduced by Hell in a Purse Productions at The Hoover-Leppen Theatre
When: By Jan. 5
Go away the youngsters at dwelling for this parody of the basic red-nosed reindeer saving Christmas — that is the kinky model. Written by inventive director David Cerda, this musical vacation comedy options homosexual elves, a capitalist Santa and Rudolph in attractive purple fishnets. Are you prepared for some reindeer video games?
Yippee Ki Yay
The place: Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place
When: Nov. 19–Dec 15
For a lot of Individuals, Die Onerous has turn into a Christmas custom. The story of John McClane saving a bunch of individuals held hostage in an L.A. skyscraper by terrorist thugs unfolds on Christmas Eve. This theatrical adaptation is a one-person present written and carried out by Richard Marsh, an award-winning playwright and soon-to-be TV author (his play Wingman is being developed by CBS). Our hero retells the story of that fateful Christmas Eve, when he battled the unhealthy guys, saved the lady and shot a bunch of weapons.
In case you go: 175 E. Chestnut St., tickets from $36.50
Jane Lynch’s A Swingin’ Little Christmas
The place: Steppenwolf Theatre
When: Dec. 12–15
Music and comedy collide at Steppenwolf when five-time Emmy winner Jane Lynch and Kate Flannery (Meredith Palmer in The Workplace) take the stage with their stylings of vacation tunes and cheerful banter. Together with Tim Davis (who labored behind the scenes in Glee) and the Tony Guerrero Quintet, Lynch and Flannery launched a 2016 vacation album, A Swingin’ Little Christmas, that reached the highest 10 on Billboard’s Grownup Modern chart.
In case you go: 1650 N. Halsted St., tickets from $79
Who’s Vacation!
The place: Theater Wit
When: Nov. 29–Dec. 29
You could bear in mind Cindy-Lou Who because the little lady within the Dr. Suess basic who helps soften the ice-cold coronary heart of the Grinch along with her candy and harmless kindness. However now, she’s all grown up. On this one-person present, set in a trailer park, Cindy spins a story of gossipy vacation knowledge laced with vodka, weed and profanity. Jeff Award–successful actress Veronica Garza performs the title function. Go away the youngsters at dwelling for this one.
In case you go: 1229 W. Belmont Ave., tickets from $39
Teatro ZinZanni
The place: Cambria Lodge
When: Ongoing residency
Teatro ZinZanny is a very distinctive expertise (I had the prospect to go in Seattle). The efficiency fuses circus arts, dance, comedy, drag, cabaret and inventive delicacies into one magical night time. Throughout the holidays, the present incorporates festive music and seasonally themed cocktails. Friends are invited to decorate up of their sparkliest vacation apparel. (Warning: Viewers members could also be requested to bop!)
In case you go: 32 W. Randolph St., tickets from $89
A Christmas Cabaret Thee Ricky Harris Approach
The place: Venus Cabaret Theater
When: Dec. 7–8
Intimate seating, grownup drinks and vacation classics: It is a excellent date night time, courtesy of Chicago actor and musician Thee Ricky Harris. In case you had an opportunity to see Scorching Wing King at Writers Theater this summer season, then you definitely obtained a style of Harris on the keyboard. His soulful voice will likely be on full show on this present, joined by native actor and musician Laura McKenzie on the piano.
In case you go: 3745 N. Southport Ave., tickets from $35
The Jinkx & DeLa Vacation Present
The place: Auditorium Theatre
When: Dec. 8
The Queens of Christmas return. BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon each stepped into the nationwide highlight on RuPaul’s Drag Race, with Monsoon a two-time winner and DeLa a fan favourite. Now this fabulous duo once more takes the stage for an evening of holiday-themed tunes and spicy comedy.
In case you go: 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive., tickets from $39.50
Raks Inferno: A Vacation Circus Cabaret
The place: The Newport Theater
When: Dec. 13
This present has a bit of little bit of every little thing you want for a grown-up night time at a vacation present, together with circus performers and stomach dancers. In a cabaret billed because the place the place “harmful meets attractive,” with specialty themed cocktails readily available, this efficiency goals to tantalize the viewers and features a meet-and-greet with performers after the present.
In case you go: 956 W. Newport Ave., tickets from $39
Dom We Now Our Homosexual Attire (21+)
The place: Davenport’s Piano Bar and Cabaret
When: Dec. 13
Comic and podcast host (Fixing Well-known Folks) Dominick Pupa brings again his one-person vacation present, the place he cracks on the 12 months that was. Audiences will relive 2024 by way of the distinctive stylings of the nightclub queen in a success present that excursions the nation with catchy songs and provocative jokes.
In case you go: 1383 N. Milwaukee Ave., tickets from $34.61
The Naughty Little Madrigal (21+)
The place: The Newport Theater
When: Dec. 5–8
This present takes the standard Christmas-season madrigal fest (or Renaissance dinner theater) and flips it on its head. Sure, the basic songs will likely be sung — and by a dwell choir, no much less — however anticipate a risqué twist with burlesque, drag and naughty jokes. This present is for adults solely and is a enjoyable and spicy various to the household model usually discovered at your native college or church.
In case you go: 956 W. Newport Ave., tickets from $25
Mike Davis is WBEZ’s theater reporter.
