Traditional holiday shows are a real treasure

Thirst for holiday theater still not sated? Here are some more seasonal shows running in the suburbs and city:

• Steel Beam Theatre's “Scrooge the Musical,” the stage adaptation of the 1970 movie inspired by Charles Dickens' holiday tale, runs through Friday, Dec. 23, at 111 W. Main St., St. Charles. (630) 587-8521 or steelbeamtheatre.com.

• 2011 Joseph Jefferson Award winner Mike Nussbaum co-stars as the hapless angel Clarence and slumlord Henry Potter in American Theater Company's 10th anniversary production of “It's a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play.” Performances, which conclude with complimentary milk and cookies, begin Friday, Nov. 25, at 1909 W. Byron St., Chicago. (773) 409-4125 or atcweb.org.

• Lake Forest's Citadel Theatre celebrates the season with its take on “A Christmas Carol” starring Frank Farrell as Scrooge. Performances begin Friday, Nov. 25, at the West Campus Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. (847) 735-8554 or citadeltheatre.org.

• Redmoon Theatre's annual Winter Pageant, opening Saturday, Nov. 26, at 1463 W. Hubbard St., Chicago, appeals to all ages. It combines the interactive, kid-friendly Teeney Lounge — featuring songs inspired by classic children's tunes and sung by 1950s-style crooner Ricky D. Fish — with a meta-theatrical cabaret act in which aging lounge singer Ricky recounts his glory days opening for onetime A-listers like SpongeBob and Hannah Montana. (312) 850-8440, ext. 111 or redmoon.org.

• A nearsighted reindeer goes from waitress to recording artist in “Tinsel! The Musical,” a family-friendly holiday show from Li'l Buds Theatre, opening Saturday, Nov. 26, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 404-7336 or lilbudstheatre.org.

• “Joy!” iO Chicago's holiday review, runs at 9 p.m. Wednesdays beginning Nov. 30, at the iO Theater, 3541 N. Clark St., Chicago. (773) 880-0199 or ioimprov.com.

• Herman Melville's “Moby-Dick” inspired Vex Theatre's Company's “Twist-A-Carol II: Moby Nick,” running Friday to Sunday, Dec. 2 to 4, at the Elgin Arts Showcase, 164 Division St., Elgin. (847) 991-8081 or vextheatre.org.

• Interviews with Chicago mass transit riders inspired the real-life vignettes that make up Waltzing Mechanics' latest installment, “El Stories: Holiday Train.” Performances begin Friday, Dec. 2, at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 404-7336 or waltzingmechanics.org.

• The Annoyance Theatre, 4830 N. Broadway, Chicago, pairs stage adaptations of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” as part of its holiday double bill beginning Saturday, Dec. 3. (773) 561-4665 or theannoyance.com.

• Donny and Marie celebrate Christmas Osmond-style beginning Tuesday, Dec. 6, at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• American Blues Theater, which pretty much introduced to the Chicago area the 1940s-style radio adaptation of Frank Capra's “It's a Wonderful Life,” salutes one serviceman or servicewoman with a tribute and a complimentary ticket at each performance of “It's A Wonderful Life: Live at the Biograph.” Director Marty Higginbotham's production — accompanied by Foley sound effects and an original score — runs through Saturday, Dec. 31, at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 871-3000 or americanbluestheater.com.

• A crusty woodcarver's attempts to re-create a nativity set for a grieving boy and his widowed mother help all of them find a bit of comfort and joy in “The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey,” an original play by Tim Gregory and Michael Mahler. Gregory directs the Provision Theater production, which runs through Friday, Dec. 23, at 1001 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago. (866) 811-4111 or provisiontheater.org.

• Emerald City Theatre's family-friendly show “Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!” adapted from Barbara Park's children's books, runs through Jan. 8, at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. (773) 529-2690 or emeraldcitytheatre.com.

• Greenstick Theater Company re-enacts the 1939 radio broadcast of “A Christmas Carol” on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 16-17 at the Improv Playhouse, 735 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville. (847) 968-4529 or improvplayhouse.com.

• Barrel of Monkeys presents a holiday version of “That's Weird, Grandma,” its long-running sketch comedy show penned by Chicago students, beginning Monday, Dec. 19, at the Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. (312) 409-1954 or barrelofmonkeys.org.

• Hollis Resnik stars as a social worker who's lost her Christmas spirit, and Don Forston plays a homeless man who helps her recover it in the musical, “Another Night Before Christmas,” running through Sunday, Dec. 18, at the Theatre at the Center, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Ind. (800) 511-1552 or theatreatthecenter.com.