Maybe the bad economy inspired the bumper crop of Christmas shows we’re seeing this year: everybody’s looking for either a little sweetness or surefire box office. Here are short reviews of ten newly opened holiday shows; you’ll find plenty more in our listings.
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Black Peter Venture Theater of Green Bay, Wisconsin, brings this misanthropic Christmas tale to Chicago, where it’s likely to find an appreciative audience. A figure out of Dutch folklore, the title character is Saint Nicholas’s menacing, dark-skinned assistant. He punishes naughty children by stuffing them into sacks, whisking them off to Spain, and beating them with a heavy stick. In playwright Pat Quigley’s telling, Black Peter starts out as a beloved street mime but loses his love, his audience, and his charitable disposition after he’s conscripted into a brutal war. He’s just the man Kris Kringle needs to do his dirty work for him. Mike Eserkaln directs and plays Peter as a spritely, pitiable palooka. While a few key plot points make no sense, the show overall is charmingly unpleasant. Through 12/18: Fri-Sat 11/26-11/27, 8 PM, thereafter at 9:30 PM, Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee, 773-598-4549, gorillatango.com, $10. —Justin Hayford
A Christmas Carol After 33 years maybe it shouldn’t be surprising that the Goodman Theatre’s annual holiday show feels a little frayed around the edges. Most of the scenes drag or ramble a bit—and the caroling packed into every spare minute of the two-hour-plus show doesn’t help move things along. More significantly, once the Christmas ghosts start spiriting Scrooge across time, director William Brown too often leaves the redeemable miser at the periphery, watching his life when he should be the primary dramatic focus. Still, a supremely likable cast tell Dickens’s crafty, affecting tale with such candor that these serious flaws ultimately seem like minor quibbles. Try not to scream like a little girl when the monstrous Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come appears. I nearly did. Through 12/31: Tue-Sun, Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn, 312-443-3800, goodmantheatre.org, $25-$76. —Justin Hayford
The Santa Stories: The Nice One This child-friendly musical comedy from pH Productions offers unique answers to age-old questions, exposing Santa’s origins as an elfin science experiment and Mrs. Claus’s early years as an environmental activist. It also supplies easy-to-follow fun, featuring a “story grandfather” who sets the scene with Seuss-esque flair. The show follows baby Santa to manhood—a passage marked by his battle with Claws, the cowardly polar bear who quickly becomes Santa’s best friend. After villains with foreign accents imprison Claws in a coal mine, Santa and his elf parents go on a dangerous mission to save him. I found it all pretty cute, but since there were no kids present on the night I attended, I can’t say how well it speaks to the younger set. Through 12/19: Sunday 8 PM, Studio BE Theatre, 3110 N. Sheffield, 773-248-5900, whatisph.com, $5-$12. —Marissa Oberlander
