Performing Arts
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Spotlight: ‘Annie’ opens at Music Theater Works and Second City comes to the MetropolisDec 09, 2025 9:10 am - Music Theater Works revives “Annie,” Metropolis Performing Arts Centre hosts Second City’s “Jack Frost Roasting on an Open Fire,” and Manual Cinema stages its unique interpretation of “A Christmas Carol” at Chicago’s Studebaker Theater.
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Best bets: Elgin Symphony brings ‘Holiday Spectacular’ to Raue Center, HemmensDec 08, 2025 1:28 pm - The Elgin Symphony Orchestra performs its “Holiday Spectacular” at Crystal Lake’s Raue Center and Elgin’s Hemmens, Naperville comedian Chris Ryan returns for a show at North Central, and the Ruth Page dancers perform their namesake’s “Nutcracker” in the city and suburbs.
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Things to do Dec. 5-11: Tree lightings, Dickens in Dundee, Jingle Bell Jubilee and moreDec 05, 2025 12:51 pm - Make plans for Dickens in Dundee, tree lightings, Warrenville Holly Days, Jingle Bell Jubilee, Mundelein Winter Tree Lighting Festival, West Chicago Frosty Fest and more.
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‘Nutcracker’ takes center stage with classic and jazz-style productions across the suburbsDec 03, 2025 10:30 pm - Enjoy twists on the classic ballet, such as “Nutcracker All Jazzed Up” featuring a modern, up-tempo score, and “Duke It Out! Nutcracker,” pitting classical and jazz versions against each other.
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Metropolis artistic director reflects on ‘A Christmas Carol’ and her ‘wonderful new community’Dec 03, 2025 3:26 pm - Metropolis Performing Arts Centre artistic director Johanna McKenzie Miller freshens up the Arlington Heights theater’s annual production of “A Christmas Carol” with a new adaptation taken from a first edition of Charles Dickens’ classic tale.
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Best Bets: ‘Nutcracker’ ballets, ‘Home for the Holidays’ and Winter WonderFestDec 03, 2025 9:44 am - The Joffrey and Salt Creek ballet companies remount “The Nutcracker,” Winter WonderFest returns to Chicago’s Navy Pier, and Ruben Studdard, Peabo Bryson and Sheena Easton headline the “Home for the Holidays” concert at the Genesee Theatre.
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Handbell concert Dec. 12 at Des Plaines libraryDec 02, 2025 2:37 pm - A group called the Random Ringers will perform a holiday concert with handbells Dec. 12 at the Des Plaines Public Library.
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Spotlight: Holiday productions and the return of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’Dec 02, 2025 1:38 pm - The Second City brings “Jack Frost Roasting on an Open Fire” to the McAninch Arts Center, Cirque du Soleil performs “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” at the Chicago Theatre and “The Phantom of the Opera” begins a two-month run at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.
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Get ’em while they’re hot: Half-price tickets available for suburban, Chicago performancesDec 01, 2025 8:10 pm - Suburban and Chicago theaters, including Drury Lane, Buffalo, Marriott, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Broadway in Chicago and Teatro ZinZanni, are among the venues participating in the Hot Tix half-price tickets promotion Dec. 4-15.
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WT Productions’ holiday tradition shines on with ‘Seasonal Stars’Nov 30, 2025 9:09 pm - The "Seasonal Stars" production on Dec. 6-14 is a new collection of six short plays that takes a unique look at Christmas and winter holidays from different perspectives. The plays blend comedy and drama, with the first five stories coming together in the finale in the traditional "Seasonal" style.