Vacation season has arrived, and Chicago theaters are bustling with Ebenezer Scrooges, Tiny Tims and Nutcrackers in each healthful type and taste.
However our listing isn’t about mounting the classics or family-friendly revamps that really feel like acquainted items wrapped in new packages. Our listing 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 Pink-Hosed Reindeer” or the all-grown-up Cindy-Lou Who in “Who’s Vacation!” at Theater Wit. For the file, “Die Laborious” is, in reality, a Christmas film, and in Broadway in Chicago’s “Yippee Ki Yay,” John McClane tells his story of gunfights, hostages and battling terrorists in a L.A. skyscraper in true ‘80s motion hero fashion. Fa la la.
In case you’re searching for reveals past conventional theater, the burlesque and cabaret scenes come alive this time of 12 months. Jane Lynch (“Glee,” “The 40-Yr-Outdated Virgin”) and Kate Flannery (“The Workplace”) are throwing a “Swinging Little Christmas” at Steppenwolf with vacation showtunes and comedy.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 evening 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 listing of 10 grownup reveals you need to see this vacation season.
Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer
The place: Offered 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 traditional red-nosed reindeer saving Christmas — that is the kinky model. Written by creative director David Cerda, this musical vacation comedy options homosexual elves, a capitalist Santa and Rudolph in attractive crimson fishnets. Are you prepared for some reindeer video games?
In case you go: 3656 N. Halsted St., tickets from $29
Yippee Ki Yay
The place: Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place
When: By Dec 15
For a lot of Individuals, “Die Laborious” has develop into a Christmas custom. The story of John McClane saving a gaggle 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 dangerous guys, saved the woman 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 up to date chart.
In case you go: 1650 N. Halsted St., tickets from $79
Who’s Holiday!
The place: Theater Wit
When: Nov. 29–Dec. 29
It’s possible you’ll keep in mind Cindy-Lou Who because the little woman within the Dr. Seuss traditional 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–profitable actress Veronica Garza performs the title function.
In case you go: 1229 W. Belmont Ave., tickets from $39
Teatro ZinZanni
The place: Cambria Lodge
When: Ongoing residency
Teatro ZinZanni is a really distinctive expertise (I had the prospect to go in Seattle). The efficiency fuses circus arts, dance, comedy, drag, cabaret and creative delicacies into one magical evening. Throughout the holidays, the present incorporates festive music and seasonally themed cocktails. Visitors are invited to decorate up of their sparkliest vacation apparel. (Warning: Viewers members could also be requested to bounce!)
In case you go: 32 W. Randolph St., tickets from $89
A Christmas Cabaret Thee Ricky Harris Way
The place: Venus Cabaret Theater
When: Dec. 7–8
Intimate seating, grownup drinks and vacation classics: It is a good date evening, courtesy of Chicago actor and musician Thee Ricky Harris. In case you had an opportunity to see “Hot Wing King” at Writers Theater this summer time, then you definately acquired 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 Holiday Show
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 Holiday Circus Cabaret
The place: The Newport Theater
When: Dec. 13
This present has a little bit little bit of all the pieces you want for a grown-up evening 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 Gay Apparel (21+)
The place: Davenport’s Piano Bar and Cabaret
When: Dec. 13
Comic and podcast host (“Fixing Well-known Individuals”) Dominick Pupa brings again his one-person vacation present, the place he cracks on the 12 months that was. Audiences will relive 2024 by means 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 normal Christmas-season madrigal fest (or Renaissance dinner theater) and flips it on its head. Sure, the traditional songs will likely be sung — and by a reside choir, no much less — however count on 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
