10 Ways to Get Into the D.C. Holiday Spirit
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, with another holiday-themed show or event everywhere you look.
The holidays can be overwhelming, and that goes for all the ways you can celebrate the holidays, too. So we thought we’d help out by culling through the festivities to select a few of the very best. We’ll do it again next week with a whole new crop of outings to consider for getting your holly jollies on.
THE HOLIDAY SHOW — The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington is sure to touch and titillate you with this year’s 44th annual year-end extravaganza, a program designed to celebrate the holidays around the world through a mix of eclectic songs enhanced by arrangements accentuating the beautiful melodies and harmonies as performed by the full chorus of more than a hundred, by one of the organization’s smaller, select ensembles, or by a few standout soloists. Among the most inspiring of the GMCW’s smaller ensembles set to perform is the GenOUT Youth Chorus, a group of budding singers from around the region. Sure to give a rousing, high-kicking performance is another GMCW ensemble, the 17th Street Dance Troupe. Even jolly ol’ Santa will drop by to liven the mood, especially for those who’ve been more nice than naughty. Saturday, Dec. 7, and Dec. 14, at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 15, at 5 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. Tickets are $25 to $75. Call 202-293-1548 or visit www.gmcw.org.
FROZEN — Olney was hand-selected by Disney as one of only a few regional theaters to create their own, original production of the blockbuster musical. Featuring music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez and a book by Jennifer Lee, who also served as the film’s screenwriter, Frozen will star Alex De Bard as Anna, joined by rising star Gabriela Hernandez as Elsa, with Kennedy Kanagawa as Olaf and Ricky DeVon Hall as Kristoff. Now to Jan. 5. Roberts Mainstage at Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Rd., Olney, Md. Tickets are $35 to $110. Call 301-924-3400 or visit www.olneytheatre.org.
CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY OF CHRISTMAS — For the past 15 years, Olney has honored the holidays with Paul Morella’s tour-de-force adaptation of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Morello’s unique retelling of the classic features a single actor playing every one of the book’s nearly 50 characters. This year, acclaimed actor Michael Russotto takes on the responsibility as Morella recovers from a recent medical event. Now to Dec. 29. Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab at Olney, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Rd., Olney, Md. Tickets are $41 to $81. Call 301-924-3400 or visit www.olneytheatre.org.
A MASS FOR CHRISTMAS EVE: BAROQUE MUSIC FOR THE SEASON — The Folger Consort’s program features “some of the most lovely and tuneful holiday music from France, Italy, and England.” Seven musicians on strings, wind instruments, and organ — including period instruments viol, viola, violone, and recorders — will be joined by eight guest vocalists bringing to life the program’s centerpiece, Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Midnight Mass for Christmas Eve. Inspired by French noels and folk melodies, the mass offers a beguiling blend of baroque dance rhythms and sophisticated harmonies. Two festive concerti by Antonio Vivaldi, another concerto by Giuseppe Torelli, Charpentier’s elegant dance suite for four viola da gambas,and three contemporary British settings of the 16th-century Scottish lullaby “Balulalow” round out the program. Performances run to Sunday, Dec. 15. Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E. Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $20 to $60. Call 202-544-7077 or visit www.folger.edu.
A BOHEMIAN CHRISTMAS — The 17-piece Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra performs a festive program of original jazz tunes composed by its members and alumni, as well as jazzy takes on classic holiday fare, presented by the Atlas Performing Arts Center. The jazz hallmark of improvisation will no doubt shine through the program, in part by virtue of the fact that there’s no officially published list of compositions to be played. The promotional material cites “cool jazz” classics by Stan Kenton, Thad Jones, Shorty Rogers, and Duke Ellington with his gay right-hand man Billy Strayhorn. Monday, Dec. 9, at 8 p.m. Lang Theatre in the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $32 by cash or check at the box office, or $36.25 with fees online or by phone. Call 202-399-7993 ext. 501 or visit www.atlasarts.org.
ARS GRATIA POPULI: RENAISSANCE CHRISTMAS — In recent years, Kevin Elam has made a name for himself as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist rooted in Irish traditional music. Elam closes out 2024 with two performances in Strathmore’s historic Mansion leading the a cappella chamber ensemble he launched in 2023 in tandem with his participation in the venue’s prestigious Artist in Residence program. The group performs Christmas music of yore, a mix officially described as ranging “from rustic English carols to choral masterworks — and of course your favorite sing-along classics.” Thursday, Dec. 12, and Friday, Dec. 13, at 7:30 p.m. The Mansion at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda, Md. Tickets are $38. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.
A MAGICAL CIRQUE CHRISTMAS — A circus-inspired show for all ages similar in spirit to America’s Got Talent. The show features Jonathan Rinny, a fourth-generation circus artist who performs feats on the balance board and the unicycle and Aryn Shelander, a Las Vegas contortionist deemed the creator of “aerial archery.” Thursday, Dec. 12, and Friday, Dec. 13, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 14, and Sunday, Dec. 15, at 2 and 7:30 p.m. National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $50 to $130. Call 202-628-6161 or visit www.broadwayatthenational.com.
CELTIC WOMAN WITH THE NSO — Twenty years ago, a former music director of Riverdance enlisted a handful of female musicians — four singers and one fiddler — to perform together, ostensibly for a one-off concert in Dublin. Within six months, Celtic Woman had become an international phenomenon, thanks to PBS’s decision to broadcast a recording of that very first concert. Though the lineup has changed, the outline of the group has remained the same: Always a quartet of female singers accompanied by a female strings musician, all of Irish heritage. The group will perform from its extensive holiday repertoire in three concerts at the Kennedy Center conducted by Lloyd Butler, promoted as “a rare opportunity to hear the Grammy-nominated group’s angelic harmonies with the thrilling live sound of the National Symphony Orchestra.” Friday, Dec. 13, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 14, at 2 and 8 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $29 to $119. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.
L’CHAIM II — In the Spring of 2023, programmers at the McLean Community Center in Northern Virginia invited singers affiliated with Broadway to perform a toast to the Great White Way’s Jewish composers and their many hits over the last century and a half. The official description summed things up: “The best of Broadway’s Jewish composers [is] everyone but Cole Porter.” The concert was a hit, so they planned a sequel, this time organizing it around Christmas. The latest show not only features live renditions of Christmas tunes with Jewish origins, the performers will also put the songs in proper context, connecting the history of musical theater and that of writing holiday-themed jingles with that of Jewish Americans, especially those in the first half of the 20th century who flocked to Broadway after facing overwhelming antisemitism in other realms of entertainment at the time. Sunday, Dec. 15, at 2 p.m. The Alden Theatre in the McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean, Va. Tickets are $30 to $40. Call 703-790-0123 or visit www.mcleancenter.org.
WINTERFEST — This weekend sees the start of the annual WinterFest, three weeks of festive fun at Wunder Garten, the boisterous gay-owned beer garden in NoMa. Gather around a cozy fire pit with fellow guests, or splurge with a three-hour rental of a cabana for you and your festive besties. Throughout WinterFest you can select from the options at the Hot Cocoa Bar or from the Seasonal Holiday Beers on tap. You can even leave with your own live evergreen selected from the on-site Christmas Tree Market. Highlights include “A Very Merry Swiftmas,” a night for Swifties on Friday, Dec. 13, at 8 p.m., “Ho-Ho-Ho,” an LGBTQ-themed holiday party, Thursday, Dec. 19, at 8 p.m., and “Battle of the Christmas Divas,” a tribute and sing-along to iconic holiday hits by the likes of Cher, Maria, and Kelly, on Friday, Dec. 20, at 8 p.m. Wunder Garten is at 1100 1st St. NE. Visit www.wundergartendc.com.
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