Spotlight: Holiday productions and the return of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’

Second City skewers seasonal traditions

Members of The Second City’s touring company send up holiday traditions in the sketch comedy revue “The Second City: Jack Frost Roasting on an Open Fire” this weekend at the McAninch Arts Center.

5 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at the College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. $32-$49. AtTheMAC.org.

Charles Dickens’ encore

At 213 years old, Charles Dickens has once again been booked to perform his acclaimed holiday tale in “Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs ‘A Christmas Carol’ Again,” a solo show by actor/writer Blake Montgomery. Montgomery reprises his role as Dickens in Theater Wit’s revival directed by Jonathan Berry for Clownshow productions.

Previews at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 4-6, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The show opens Sunday, Dec. 7. $30-$45. (773) 975-8150 or DickensAgain.com or theaterwit.org.

Family-friendly holiday shows

• PlayMakers Laboratory remounts its family-friendly seasonal sketch show “That’s Weird, Grandma: Holiday Party!” at the Neo-Futurist Theater.

7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6-7 and 13-14, at 5153 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. $25 for adults, $15 for kids. PlaymakersLab.org.

• Chicago Children’s Theatre combines puppetry and audience participation for its annual production of “The Beatrix Potter Holiday Party,” which is followed by a post-show party.

9:30 and 11:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6-7, and through Dec. 28, at 100 S. Racine Ave., Chicago. $47.25. (312) 374-8835 or ChicagoChildrensTheatre.org.

• “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” Clement-Clarke Moore’s beloved poem better known as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” inspired Cirque du Soleil’s holiday show about a jaded young girl who believes she has outgrown her family’s tradition of reading the poem, until magic helps her rediscover the joy of the season.

7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Dec. 11-12; 1, 4 and 7 p.m. Dec. 13; noon, 3 and 6 p.m. Dec. 14, and through Dec. 28, at The Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., Chicago. $45-$191. msg.com/the-chicago-theatre.

Porchlight sings the season

Porchlight Music Theatre luminaries Adrian Aguilar, Neala Barron, Sharriese Hamilton and George Keating perform holiday standards from “Mame,” “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “Holiday Inn” and other musicals at The Rhapsody Theater.

7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 8-9, at 1328 W. Morse Ave., Chicago. $65. (888) 495-9001 or PorchlightMusicTheatre.org.

‘Phantom’ returns

“The Phantom of the Opera,” the beloved musical spectacle by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe about a mysterious genius obsessed with a beautiful young soprano, returns to Chicago for an extended run at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.

7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Dec. 11-12; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Dec. 14; 7 p.m. Dec. 16 and 18; 1 and 7 p.m. Dec. 17 and through Feb. 1, at 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. $49-$145. BroadwayinChicago.com.

Trap Door introduces new work

On opening night of “The Threepenny Opera,” composer Kurt Weill wants to cancel the show because actress Lotte Lenya’s name is missing from the program. In an effort to change his mind, Lenya relives her traumatic past in the adults-only Trap Door Theatre production “Rag Doll on a Bomb Site” written and performed by Shelley Cooper. The play references parental physical abuse, suicide ideation, child sexual exploitation and sexual assault, which may distress some viewers. It is part of the company’s Trap Open Series showcasing nontraditional forms of playmaking.

8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 11-13, at 1655 W. Cortland St., Chicago. $24.17. (773) 384-0494 or TrapDoorTheatre.com.