On stage: 'Christmas Carol: A Holiday Pantomime' comes to the Raue

• Otherworld Theatre Company's "The 12 Fights of Christmas," a comedic brawl that pits such characters as Santa and The Sugar Plum Fairy against Rudolph and Frosty, continues through Sunday, Dec. 22, at 3914 N. Clark St., Chicago. Additionally, Otherworld hosts a New Year's Eve Time Traveler's Soiree beginning at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31. Partygoers are encouraged to dress according to their favorite historical time period. The party includes hors d'oeuvres, performances and dancing. Tickets are $100 (open bar) and $70 (cash bar). See otherworldtheatre.org.

• Holiday offerings continue at the Raue Center for the Arts with "A Christmas Carol: A Holiday Pantomime" a co-production with Sage Studio running Saturday, Dec. 21, through Dec. 29 at 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. Seven professional adult actors will be joined by 55 kids for this interactive production that instructs youngsters in theater fundamentals. (815) 356-9212 or rauecenter.org.

• Writer/actor Tom Mula performs a staged reading of his play "Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol," which tells Charles Dickens' tale from the perspective of Ebenezer Scrooge's late business partner who warns Scrooge about the fate that awaits him if he doesn't change his ways. Mula performs at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, at Studio 5, 1934 Dempster St., Evanston. See studio5.dance.

• "Champions of Magic," a showcase of five illusionists that originated in London's West End, comes to Chicago for a limited run from Monday through Sunday, Dec. 23-29, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago. Tickets range from $39.99 to $169.99. See championsofmagic.co.uk.

• Performances begin Wednesday, Dec. 25, for the Chicago stop on the first national tour of "Mean Girls," the musical based on the 2004 film about high school queen bees and the newcomer who's eager to join their hive. The story centers around Cady, a home-schooled teenager raised in Africa who attends public school for the first time and discovers The Plastics, the most popular clique in school led by queen bee Regina. Performances run through Jan. 26 at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com.

• Goodman Theatre presents a Spanish language-captioned performance of "A Christmas Carol" with Spanish supertitles at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 26, at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Tickets start at $35. Use the promotional code "Spanish" when ordering online. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org.

• Theatre at the Center, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana, invites New Year's Eve revelers to ring in 2020 with the musical revue "Motown and More" featuring Sheryl Youngblood from TATC's "The Signal." Performances are at 6 and 10 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31. Tickets are $45 (adults), $40 (subscribers) and $20 (students, early performance only). A dinner buffet is available for an additional $30. Cash bar available. (219) 836-3255 or theatreatthecenter.com.

• On the off chance you receive an unwanted gift this holiday season, you can exchange it for a $10 ticket to some divine entertainment at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The regifting offer applies to "Bible Bingo: An Act of Charity in Two Acts" by Vicki Quade or "Late Nite Catechism," by Quade and Maripat Donovan, which return in their regular formats on Jan. 3. The gifts will be donated to the Little Sisters of the Poor, whose members operate St. Mary's Home at 2325 N. Lakewood, Chicago. "Bible Bingo" runs at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. "Late Nite Catechism" runs at 5 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Use the code "regift" when ordering tickets. (312) 988-9000 or nuns4fun.com.

• Lookingglass Theatre Company announced that actors Walter Briggs and Anthony Irons, performer/choreographer Kasey Foster, circus artist/choreographer Sylvia Hernandez-Distasi and composer/sound designer Andre Pluess have joined the ensemble. Additionally, Lookingglass welcomed artistic associates including actors Cordelia Dewdney and Matthew C. Yee, writer/comedian Wendy Mateo and artist/performer Sully Ratke.

• Sideshow Theatre Company named as its new executive director, Brian Pastor, who is the founding executive director and current artistic director of Promethean Theatre Ensemble and the resident director at City Lit Theater. "I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to help shepherd Sideshow Theatre into its next chapter," said Pastor in a prepared statement. "I have long admired the company's bold and diverse storytelling as well as its incredibly talented stable of artists."

• Black Ensemble Theater's 44th season begins March 5 with "Legends," Jackie Taylor's homage to African-American artists and activists who've made the world a better place, including the late comedian/political candidate Dick Gregory. That's followed by "B-Side," a nostalgic look at the long-gone 45 single, which consisted of a hit (the A-side) and a throwaway tune (B-side) that musicians used to make a personal statement. It runs May 9 to June 28. "I'm Every Woman: In Tribute to Chaka Khan," Rueben Echoles' tribute to the Chicago-born singer and other great women of R&B, runs Aug. 15 to Oct. 4. The main stage season concludes with the bio-musical "Reasons: The Story of Earth, Wind & Fire" written and directed by Daryl Brooks. It runs Nov. 7 to Jan. 10, 2021. Performances take place at 4450 N. Clark St., Chicago. The $210, five-performance, flexible subscription can be used in any combination. (773) 769-4451 or blackensemble.org.

• Rivendell Theatre Ensemble's 25th season includes a pair of world premieres and a collaboration with The Neo-Futurists. The season begins Jan. 10 with the premiere of "The Tasters," Meghan Brown's drama, which premiered at Victory Garden's 2019 Ignition Festival, about a resistance leader who's captured and forced to work as a Taster for government officials. Next up is the premiere of Madison Fiedler's "Spay" (April 23-June 7) about two sisters, one of them an addict with a young child, who disagree over the issue of sterilization for pay. The season concludes with "45 Plays for America's First Ladies" (Sept. 24-Oct. 31). Produced in cooperation with The Neo-Futurists, it's a 100-minute survey of the lives of the women who've served as the country's First Lady. Performances take place at 5779 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago. Subscriptions are $59 for previews and $80 for performances. (773) 334-7728 or rivendelltheatre.org.