Looking for the perfect production to light up your stage this holiday season? From heartwarming classics to festive musicals that dazzle, we’ve curated a collection of Christmas plays and musicals to enchant your audiences and bring the spirit of the season to life. Let’s make this holiday unforgettable—find your next favorite show today!
Musicals
Christmas in Connecticut; Book by Patrick Pacheco and Erik Forrest Jackson, Music by Jason Howland, Lyrics by Amanda Yesnowitz, Based upon the Warner Brothers Picture
Photo by BW Productions, 2023 Pioneer Theatre Company production
Based on the beloved Barbara Stanwyck film, this hilarious musical is destined to become a holiday tradition!
Aspiring writer Elizabeth Sanders moves to New York City wanting to change the world, but first she needs to make rent. Out of desperation, she takes a job as a columnist, doling out advice about domestic life in the country—something she knows nothing about. Under the pseudonym Liz Lane, she skyrockets to fame, writing weekly about cooking, marital bliss, and life in her bucolic farmhouse in Connecticut…all the while living alone in her city apartment. When Liz’s biggest fan, a beloved war hero, is invited to her nonexistent farm by her publisher, Liz is forced to find a house and husband in Connecticut to maintain the façade…and her job. Throw in some unknowing co-conspirators, madcap locals, and a toe-tapping Broadway-style score, and holiday hijinks abound as Liz tries to pull off the hoax.
The Great Christmas Cookie Bake-Off!; Book, Music, and Lyrics by Rick Hip-Flores
The Great Christmas Cookie Bake-Off! combines the time-honored tradition of Christmas cookies with the ever-popular phenomenon of reality baking competitions. In this musical, eight young cookie chefs have been selected from all over the country to battle it out for first prize at the Cookie Coliseum. Just as no two cookies are the same, each contestant reveals their unique personality through song. Suspense mounts as the chefs are eliminated one by one, by three distinguished celebrity judges. Over the course of the competition, feelings of intense rivalry give way to virtues of charity, family, and forgiveness, as the chefs learn what really makes for a winning Christmas recipe.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever; Book and Lyrics by Jahnna Beecham, Music and Lyrics by Malcolm Hillgartner
Photo by Barry Brown Photography, 2022 Cumberland County Playhouse production
The Herdmans are the worst kids in the history of the world–so when they crash Sunday school and demand parts in the Christmas pageant, the whole town panics. There’s not supposed to be biting or cigar-smoking in Bethlehem, and while these kids have never even heard the Christmas story, they definitely have rewrites! Soon, everyone is calling for reluctant director Grace Bradley to cancel the whole thing. It’s up to the Bradleys and the Reverend to help their community see the Christmas story and the Herdman kids through new eyes in this buoyant musical adaptation of the funny and touching holiday classic.
Winter Wonderettes, Written and Created by Roger Bean
The Wonderettes are back! This seasonal celebration finds the girls entertaining at the annual Harper’s Hardware Holiday Party. When Santa turns up missing, the girls use their talent and creative ingenuity to save the holiday party! Featuring great ’60s versions of holiday classics such as “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Run, Rudolph, Run,” and “Winter Wonderland,” the result is, of course, marvelous! This energetic and glittering holiday package is guaranteed to delight audiences of all ages.
The Land of Forgotten Toys: A Christmas Musical; Music and Lyrics by Dylan MarcAurele, Book and Lyrics by Jennifer Enchin and Jaclyn Enchin, Additional Lyrics by Mike Ross
The Land of Forgotten Toys follows Grace, a brilliant young woman with big dreams and a passion for astronomy, who is stuck at a dead-end job at a toy store three days before Christmas. When she is transported to the Land of Forgotten Toys, everything changes. Christmas is in trouble—and it’s up to Grace and her rag-tag crew of forgotten and broken toys to save it!
All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914; Written by Peter Rothstein, Vocal Arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach
Photo by Dan Norman, 2019 Theater Latté Da production
The Western Front: Christmas 1914. Out of the violence of World War I, a silence, then a song. A German soldier steps into No Man’s Land singing “Stille Nacht.” Thus begins an extraordinary night of camaraderie, music, and peace. An a cappella chorale, All Is Calm is a remarkable true story in the words and songs of the men who lived it.
Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play; Adapted from the 1947 Lux Radio Broadcast by Lance Arthur Smith, Original songs and arrangements by Jon Loren
When a department store Santa claims he’s the real Kris Kringle, his case gets taken all the way to the Supreme Court, and a little girl’s belief makes the difference in the ‘miracle.’ With live Foley effects and a score of holiday carols, Miracle on 34th Street is a beloved musical that will melt even the most cynical of hearts.
Scrooge In Rouge; An English Music Hall Christmas Carol, Book and Lyrics by Ricky Graham, Additional Material by Jeffery Roberson, Other Interesting Bits by Yvette Hargis, Original Music Composed by Jefferson Turne
This quick-change version of the Charles Dickens classic is set in a Victorian music hall. The Royal Music Hall Twenty-Member Variety Players are beset with a widespread case of food poisoning. This leaves only three surviving members to soldier on through a performance of A Christmas Carol. The undaunted trio gamely face missed cues, ill-fitting costumes, and solving the problem of having no one to play Tiny Tim. Done in the style of British Music Hall, Scrooge In Rouge abounds in bad puns, bawdy malapropisms, naughty double-entendres, and witty songs. A raucous holiday treat!
The Silver Belles; Book by Allyson Currin, Music by Matt Conner, Lyrics by Stephen Gregory Smith
It’s Golden Girls meets Designing Women with a heaping helping of well-known Christmas tunes and clever new country and western ditties. Christmas without the Silver Belles… just wouldn’t be Christmas! When Oralene, the longtime director of small town Sylva Ridge’s Christmas Pageant, suddenly passes away, the Silver Belles must come to the rescue! With the spirit of Oralene looking on, the sterling-hued vixens band together, discover their talents and pull out all the stops to keep the beloved pageant alive. Contains adult language.
It’s a Wonderful Life – The Musical; Book and Lyrics by Keith Ferguson, Music by Bruce Greer
Based on the beloved 1946 film, this musical faithfully follows George Bailey’s life from his childhood dreams to his midlife disappointments and beyond, as we all take a journey to discover whether his life has mattered at all. Cinematically scored and theatrically staged, this adaptation breathes musical life into a familiar story, while retaining the warmth, humor, and pathos of the original. A new holiday classic for devotees and newcomers alike.
It’s a Wonderful Life is based on the story, The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern.
Dramatists Play Service Plays
A Sherlock Carol by
Moriarty is dead, to begin with. And Sherlock Holmes is a haunted man. But, when a grown-up Tiny Tim asks Holmes to investigate the death of Ebenezer Scrooge, the Great Detective must use his gifts to solve a Dickens of a Christmas mystery! Six actors take on the beloved characters of Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens in this heartwarming and highly theatrical holiday treat for all ages!
It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play (Full Length Version) adapted by Joe Landry
Photo by T. Charles Erickson, 2011 Long Wharf Theatre production
It’s a Wonderful Life is based on the story, The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern
This beloved American holiday classic comes to captivating life as a live 1940s radio broadcast. With the help of an ensemble that brings a few dozen characters to the stage, the story of idealistic George Bailey unfolds as he considers ending his life one fateful Christmas Eve. (A Short Version of this play is also available.)
Coney Island Christmas by Donald Margulies, based on the story The Loudest Voice by Grace Paley
2012 Geffen Playhouse production
Pulitzer Prize-winner Donald Margulies weaves together nostalgia, music and merriment in this new seasonal classic. A holiday show for people of all ages and all faiths, Coney Island Christmas introduces us to Shirley Abramowitz, a young Jewish girl who (much to her immigrant parents’ exasperation) is cast as Jesus in the school’s Christmas pageant. As Shirley, now much older, recounts the memorable story to her great-granddaughter, the play captures a timeless and universal tale of what it means to be an American during the holidays.
Home for the Holidays by
Part of the collection One Christmas Eve at Evergreen Mall
One Christmas Eve at Evergreen Mall follows eight intertwined stories in a Midwestern mall on the last day of shopping before the holiday. A diverse cast of characters—from a lovesick mall Santa to an over-eager mall cop, from a pair of brainy misfit teenagers to a pair of battling actors in a production of A Christmas Carol, from a petulant college freshman to a pair of newlyweds—navigate first meetings, second chances, and last-minute choices. One Christmas Eve wraps the joys and sorrows of the season into one festive package.
Little Women by
Photo by Joan Marcus, 2019 Off-Broadway production
Adapted from the novel by Louisa May Alcott
Jo March isn’t your typical Victorian lady. She’s indecorous and headstrong, and one day she’s going to be a great American novelist. As she and her sisters grow up in the middle of the Civil War, they strive to be brave, intelligent, and imaginative young women. But as adulthood approaches, each sister must negotiate her private ambitions with society’s expectations. In a war-torn world defined by gender, class, and personal tragedy, Jo March gives us her greatest story: that of the March sisters, four dreamers destined to be imperfect little women.
Christmas Belles by
A church Christmas program spins hilariously out of control in this Southern farce about squabbling sisters, family secrets, a surly Santa, a vengeful sheep and a reluctant Elvis impersonator.
It’s Christmas-time in the small town of Fayro, Texas, and the Futrelle Sisters—Frankie, Twink and Honey Raye—are not exactly in a festive mood. A cranky Frankie is weeks overdue with her second set of twins. Twink, recently jilted and bitter about it, is in jail for inadvertently burning down half the town. And hot-flash-suffering Honey Raye is desperately trying to keep the Tabernacle of the Lamb’s Christmas Program from spiraling into chaos. But things are not looking too promising: Miss Geneva, the ousted director of the previous twenty-seven productions, is ruthless in her attempts to take over the show. The celebrity guest Santa Claus—played by Frankie’s long-suffering husband, Dub—is passing a kidney stone. One of the shepherds refuses to watch over his flock by night without pulling his little red wagon behind him. And the entire cast is dropping like flies due to food poisoning from the Band Boosters’ Pancake Supper. And when Frankie lets slip a family secret that has been carefully guarded for decades, all hope for a successful Christmas program seems lost, even with an Elvis impersonator at the manger. But in true Futrelle fashion, the feuding sisters find a way to pull together in order to present a Christmas program the citizens of Fayro will never forget. Their hilarious holiday journey through a misadventure-filled Christmas Eve is guaranteed to bring joy to your world!
Dashing Through the Snow by
It’s four days before Christmas in the tiny town of Tinsel, Texas, and a colorful parade of eccentric guests arrive at the Snowflake Inn and deck the halls with holiday hilarity. Trina, the harried yet upbeat innkeeper of this B&B, has more than she can handle coping with these nuttier-than-a-fruitcake lodgers. Hoyt and his sister, Donna Jo, make the mistake of trying to end a thirty-year feud between their curmudgeonly aunts, Ennis and Della, with sidesplitting results. Ainsley and Lenora, self-involved actors from a lower-than-low-budget touring production of A Christmas Carol, descend on the Inn to fulfill a promise, leaving comedic chaos in their wake. Add to this Yuletide mayhem an ill-advised romantic rendezvous between Mrs. Claus and one of Santa’s elves, a demanding guest who refuses to leave, not to mention a tipsy housekeeper, and it’s clear it will take more than a kiss under the mistletoe to keep Trina’s spirits merry and bright. But a spur-of-the-moment Christmas Eve wedding that brings together the fabulous Futrelle sisters—Honey Raye, Twink, Frankie and Rhonda Lynn—and their best friend, Raynerd, takes a surprising and delightful turn that leads to a laugh-’til-your-sides-ache climax, changing all their lives forever. You’ll swear this family-friendly Jones Hope Wooten Christmas comedy is more fun than a joyride in a one-horse open sleigh!
Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big [Your Town Here] Christmas Show! by
Photo by Jim Cox, 2021 The Old Globe Production
One of the holiday season’s favorite tales has been transformed into a gut-busting, fun, and family-friendly theatrical experience that incorporates the details of your own theatre into the script. Take a spin with Ebenezer, all three Ghosts, Tiny Tim, and more in this music-filled show.
A Doublewide, Texas Christmas by
In this outrageously funny comedy, it’s Christmas-time in the newest—and tiniest—town in Texas. And it’s beginning to look a lot like trouble in Doublewide. Not only are the trailer park residents dealing with the stress of the holiday season, but they’ve just discovered that Doublewide is being double-crossed by the County. With their official incorporation papers in jeopardy, this band of eccentric Texans throw themselves into taking on the “Big Guys.” Determined to bolster their legitimacy, they first set their sights on the County-wide “Battle of The Mangers” competition. They conspire to win this smackdown with their “Nativity At The Alamo” entry…by any means possible.
In addition to that shaky undertaking and trying almost single-handedly to keep the new town afloat, Mayor Joveeta Crumpler has to wrangle her celebrity-obsessed mother, her beleaguered brother who’s being bullied by a pack of vengeful raccoons, and her demoralized best friend who’s at the end of her rope from dating every loser this side of the Rio Grande. To make matters worse, Joveeta finds herself increasingly wary of the newest resident, Patsy Price. Patsy, fresh out of the local mental institution, clearly has her own devious agenda and the County competition over in Fayro is just the place for her to settle an old score.
By the time this full-tilt rocket ride of lunacy climaxes in a what-else-can-go-wrong live television presentation, you’ll have doubled your Christmas spirit. So spend the Yuletide in Doublewide and let this hilarious Jones Hope Wooten Comedy make your Christmas merry and bright…because there’s no place like a good ol’ Texas-sized mobile home for the holidays!
One Christmas Eve at Evergreen Mall by Lynne Halliday, James Hindman, Arlene Hutton and Craig Pospisil
One Christmas Eve at Evergreen Mall follows eight intertwined stories in a Midwestern mall on the last day of shopping before the holiday. A diverse cast of characters—from a lovesick mall Santa to an overeager mall cop, from a pair of brainy misfit teenagers to a pair of battling actors in a production of A Christmas Carol, from a petulant college freshman to a pair of newlyweds—navigate first meetings, second chances, and last-minute choices. ONE CHRISTMAS EVE wraps the joys and sorrows of the season into one festive package.
THE PLAYS:
What Child is This
Making Spirits Bright
Home for the Holidays
Good Will to Men
We Need a Little Christmas
Deck the Halls
Bearing Gifts, We Traverse Afar
Hark Now the Bells
Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon
Photo by Aaron Sutten, 2022 Virginia Repertory Theatre production
A sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice set two years after the novel ends, MISS BENNET continues the story, only this time with bookish middle-sister Mary as its unlikely heroine. Mary is growing tired of her role as dutiful middle sister in the face of her siblings’ romantic escapades. When the family gathers for Christmas at Pemberley, an unexpected guest sparks Mary’s hopes for independence, an intellectual match, and possibly even love.
Part of the Pemberley trilogy with The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley and Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley.
The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon
2019 Northlight Theatre production
In this delightful companion play to Miss Bennet, Gunderson and Melcon once again bring Austen’s beloved characters to the stage for a yuletide sequel to Pride and Prejudice. While Miss Bennet depicted the newly wed Darcys’ Christmas gathering on the ground floor of Pemberley, THE WICKHAMS takes audiences to the downstairs servants’ quarters for that same celebration. Mrs. Reynolds, a no-nonsense housekeeper; Cassie, an eager new maid; and Brian, a lovesick footman, are bustling with preparations for holiday guests. But their work is interrupted by the midnight arrival of the definitely not invited Mr. Wickham—Lydia’s rogue of a husband and Mr. Darcy’s sworn enemy. THE WICKHAMS is a charming holiday tale that explores the confines of class and the generosity of forgiveness.
Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon
The third and final play in the Pemberley trilogy which, continues the stories begun in Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice. (Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley)
Georgiana Darcy is an accomplished pianist but wary of romance. Kitty Bennet is a bright-eyed optimist and a perfect best friend. After years of being overshadowed by their older siblings, these two younger sisters are ready for their own adventures in life and love, starting with the arrival of an admirer and secret correspondent. Meddlesome families and out-moded expectations won’t stop these determined friends from forging their own way in a holiday tale filled with music, ambition, sisterhood, and forgiveness.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted to the stage by Romulus Linney
An adaptation of the story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey from an embittered, ungenerous creature into a giving, caring human being at the hands of three spirits, who, one Christmas Eve, show him what life means. Of his new stage version of the story Linney writes, “When the Milwaukee Repertory asked me about adapting its new A CHRISTMAS CAROL for them, I did not remember actually reading the book, nor had I seen any of its numerous stage versions. I was only acquainted with the film starring Alastair Sim, done in England years ago, which I had liked, but only dimly remembered. So when I read A CHRISTMAS CAROL, I was able to pretend I had never heard of the great story before. I was of course amazed not only at its beauty and durability, but at its blazing theatricality. It is part Hamlet …part Everyman…and part Charlie Chaplin. I vowed to stick to the bones of the story as closely as I could to take the evolution of Scrooge seriously, and to try and find, as he goes, the child within him that slowly emerges from his ordeal to such bountiful happiness.” This richly textured play brings the full spirit of the book, as well as those of Christmases Past, Present and Yet To Come, to life on the stage. Directions are included for a simplified version of the play.
Other Desert Cities by
Photo by Sara Krulwich, 2011 Broadway production
Brooke Wyeth returns home to Palm Springs after a six-year absence to celebrate Christmas with her parents, her brother, and her aunt. Brooke announces that she is about to publish a memoir dredging up a pivotal and tragic event in the family’s history—a wound they don’t want reopened. In effect, she draws a line in the sand and dares them all to cross it.
Kringle’s Window by
Becka, age twelve, and Boomer, age eight, are sisters whose parents are in the middle of a trial separation at Christmas time. Becka, a precocious computer hacker, has become cynical and withdrawn. Boomer tries to be the peacemaker, eternally positive and anxious for all around her to be happy. Their parents, Dean and Irene, both child therapists, disagree on how to deal with the problems of their own children. While taking her sister to the mall to see Santa, Becka is goaded by her hacker friends into telling Boomer that there is no Santa, and when she does, this threatens to ruin Christmas for the family. While Dean and Irene try to deal with the fallout, the magical and mysterious Mrs. Rosen, comes into everyone’s lives and begins to change the equation. She challenges Becka to prove there is no Santa by using her computer to see if she can’t find him hooked up to a network somewhere. Becka, feeling more and more remorseful over what she has done to her sister, is intrigued by Mrs. Rosen’s challenge and by the end Dean and Irene have reconciled, Becka has a brighter outlook on life, Boomer gets her Christmas wish, and Santa…well, of course he’s real.
Playscripts Plays
A Krampus Carol by Brent Holland
On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus’s oft-forgotten demon partner, Krampus, is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley, who hopes to get him to see the error of his ways. But the joke’s on Marley: Krampus loves his life! So what if his method for punishing kids who misbehave lost him the respect of his family, friends, and the elves who work for him? He doesn’t have a problem with that, and spying on the past, present, and future isn’t going to change his mind! Hilarious and irreverent, A Krampus Carol pits Dickens’s classic redemption tale against a stubborn holiday fiend who doesn’t think he needs to be saved.
The Gift List by Kyle Nesbit
Santa isn’t the only one who has to check his Christmas list twice. After siblings Keith and Caroline ask for an unwieldy seventy-nine presents from Saint Nick, two elves arrive to tell the kids they can’t have everything they want. Luckily, Keith and Caroline—and their parents—are prepared to negotiate. Funny and charming, The Gift List is a one-act play about dreaming big and making holiday wishes come true.
Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!) by Michael Carleton, James FitzGerald, John K. Alvarez
Instead of performing Charles Dickens’ beloved holiday classic for the umpteenth time, three actors decide to perform every Christmas story ever told — plus Christmas traditions from around the world, seasonal icons from ancient times to topical pop-culture, and every carol ever sung. A madcap romp through the holiday season!
A Seussified Christmas Carol (full-length) by Peter Bloedel
A whimsical reinvention of Dickens’ most beloved Christmas story in wacky rhymed couplets. With zoot fruited juices and binka bird geese, from Bed-Headed Fred to Timmy Loo Hoo, this tale of glorious holiday cheer is similar to something Dr. Seuss might have come up with — if he ever had his way with the story… (A one-act version of this play is also available.)
The Trial of Santa by Don Zolidis
The trial of the century: Santa Claus (aka Kris Kringle) v. Emily Worthington (aka bratty nine-year-old girl). In the TV courtroom of Judge Trudy, Santa is charged with delivering the wrong present on Christmas Day. Will Santa be convicted of this heinous crime? Or will Santa’s Elven lawyer prove beyond a doubt that Emily was naughty, not nice?
Closed for the Holidays by Cindy Marcus, Flip Kobler
After a blizzard shuts down the roads on Christmas Eve eve, a motley crew of travelers find themselves stranded at the local community center. From the lovelorn drama teacher with a bus full of students, to the quarrelsome couple on the way to their wedding, to the overeager Sheriff ready for some real criminal action, everyone has their own troubles to untangle. But to have a happy holiday, they’re going to need a miracle–or seven, to be exact. A spirited and heartwarming comedy with a healthy dash of Christmas magic.
Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! by Allison Gregory
Junie B. Jones, First-Grader, is super-excited about the upcoming Holiday Sing-Along and Secret Santa gift exchange at her school. Too bad tattletale May keeps ruining all of Junie B.’s fun. So when Junie B. draws May’s name for Secret Santa, she comes up with the perfect plan to teach her nemesis a lesson! But will the Christmas spirit of peace and goodwill interfere before she can give you-know-who what she deserves? A hilarious and endearing tale based on the best-selling book series by Barbara Park.
The Holiday Channel Christmas Movie Wonderthon by Don Zolidis
Christmas: a time for magic. A time for the traditions we cherish. A time to watch as many original TV movies as a human being can possibly endure. But now with The Holiday Channel Christmas Movie Wonderthon, you can enjoy the sugar rush of six Christmas movies all at once! Welcome to Hopewood Falls, Vermont, where singles in adorable sweaters converge to look for love. Can disguises help royalty and/or movie stars find the down-to-earth connections they crave? Will evil city slickers destroy charming inns and/or Christmas tree farms? Isn’t it a little creepy for a meet-cute to depend on one person being in a coma? Grab a hot chocolate and your favorite wise single friend to find out in this wildly entertaining parody of holiday rom-coms.
A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play; From the novella by Charles Dickens,
The Charles Dickens holiday classic comes to life as a live 1940s radio broadcast, complete with vintage commercials for fruitcake (extra-fancy), and the magic of live sound effects and musical underscoring. A handful of actors bring dozens of characters to the stage, as the familiar story unfolds: Three ghosts take Ebenezer Scrooge on a thrilling journey to teach him the true meaning of Christmas. A charming take on a family favorite that will leave no one saying “Bah Humbug!”
