The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. For locals, by locals. Sign up today!
Across the Denver metro, theater companies, musicians, and playwrights are finding creative ways to get the holiday spirit on stage. Catch everything from a sultry cabaret to a murder mystery to a high-flying circus. And of course, a few Christmas classics for good measure.
Here are the 10 shows we’re most looking forward to this season.
Keeping the X in X-mas
- Where: The Bug Theatre (3654 Navajo St.)
- When: December 6–7 at 7:30 p.m.
- Price: Tickets start at $30
The Bug Theatre in Highland has a little bit of something for everyone, whether you’re into holiday burlesque or indie film. On December 6 and 7, the Bug is Keeping the X in X-mas with a queer Christmas cabaret, complete with burlesque and drag queens.
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas
- Where: Buell Theatre (1350 Curtis St.)
- When: December 6–8; times vary
- Price: Tickets start at $52
The pulsating sounds of Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, led by Grammy Award–winner Chip Davis, are back in downtown Denver for another year. The ensemble of 15 musicians will perform new-age and rock versions of classical holiday tunes with dazzling visual effects.
Chevy Chase
- Where: Bellco Theatre (1100 Stout St.)
- When: December 11 at 7 p.m.
- Price: Tickets start at $60
In the words of Clark W. Griswold, “Nobody’s walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas.” The 35th anniversary of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation brings a screening of the film to downtown, followed by a live conversation and Q&A with Chevy Chase himself.
Hazel Miller and the Collective: Christmas with Soul
- Where: The Arvada Center (6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada)
- When: December 14 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
- Price: Tickets start at $42
Hazel Miller’s talents have landed the blues, pop, and gospel singer gigs opening for Mel Torme, Lou Rawls, James Taylor, the Temptations, and Big Head Todd and the Monsters, as well as singing backup for Al Green. Don’t miss this local legend belting holiday classics during Hazel Miller and the Collective: Christmas with Soul.
Cirque Dreams Holidaze
- Where: Bellco Theatre (1100 Stout St.)
- When: December 20–24; times vary
- Price: Tickets start at $44
Closing out the holiday season in big top fashion is Cirque Dreams Holidaze, a Broadway level production under the Cirque du Soleil umbrella that incorporates contemporary circus arts in a breathtaking, dreamlike event filled with acrobatics, aerial artists, jugglers, and clowns, all set to the tune of familiar holiday favorites at downtown’s Bellco Theatre.
The Story of the Nutcracker
- Where: Miners Alley Performing Arts Center (1100 Miners Alley, Golden)
- When: December 7–28
- Price: Tickets start at $18
Not to be confused with the classic ballet, The Story of the Nutcracker is a play that tells the tale of a young girl who receives a special gift on Christmas Eve—only to see it get broken. In her attempts to fix the toy, the Nutcracker comes to life and takes her on an unexpected journey of danger and delight.
A Christmas Carol
- Where: Wolf Theatre (1001 14th St.)
- When: Through December 29
- Price: Tickets start at $50
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The DCPA Theatre Company continues its 30-year tradition of performing this classic, redemptive tale of prickly Ebenezer Scrooge. Performed in the largest of the complex’s theaters, there won’t be a bad seat in the house.
Black Nativity
- Where: Vintage Theatre (1468 Dayton St., Aurora)
- When: December 6–29
- Price: Tickets start at $38
Aurora’s Vintage Theatre offers classic holiday tales with modern twists, which certainly describes Black Nativity, written by playwright and social activist Langston Hughes. The show features a contemporary retelling of the Nativity story from an African American point of view and is filled with both gospel music and lively dance.
Who’s Holiday!
- Where: Vintage Theatre (1468 Dayton St., Aurora)
- When: Through December 31
- Price: Tickets start at $24
Any adult fond of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas will delight in this comedic (and raunchy) retelling of the classic Dr. Seuss story through the eyes of Cindy Lou Who, from her initial encounter with the green grouch to the post-credit aftermath and the direction her life has taken since in Who’s Holiday!.
Murder at North Pole Land
- Where: Adams Mystery Playhouse (2406 Federal Blvd.)
- When: Through January 10
- Price: Tickets start at $56
Put on your sleuthing cap for a night of murder mystery dinner theater at Adams Mystery Playhouse in Jefferson Park as it hosts an interactive holiday whodunnit that is simply, ahem, to die for. Murder at North Pole Land tells the story of a popular holiday amusement park that falls under new management. Suddenly, everyone is in fear for their lives, including Mrs. Claus.
