Top 25 Holiday Shows & Performances This Season: November & December 2022

By
Holly Beretto
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Houston Ballet's annual "The Nutcracker" tradition runs through the holiday season | Courtesy of Houston Ballet

Don your favorite holiday duds for 25 holiday shows and performances that are sure to get you in the spirit throughout the 2022 holiday season. 

However you mark the season, Houston performing arts groups have a way to celebrate the holidays over the coming weeks.

From Christmas classics and holiday music showcases to dramas and comedies on stage, there are plenty of performances and theatrical productions to bring out holiday cheer across the Bayou City.

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Top 25 Christmas Shows & Holiday Performances in Houston

  • A Motown Christmas at Ensemble Theatre | Wednesday, November 16 to Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24 – Get into the groove that only the signature sound from Detroit can deliver. This Motown revue in Midtown blends traditional holiday carols with soulful sounds from Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and more. $44 and up. Showtimes vary.
  • The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley at Main Street Theater | Friday, November 18 to Sunday, December 18 – Jane Austen fans and lovers of drawing room comedy will delight in this holiday bonbon that takes places in the servants hall at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy’s estate. As the Darcys and their guests enjoy the holiday upstairs, hijinks are afoot downstairs, especially when Lydia’s incorrigible husband arrives. $44 and up. Showtimes vary.
  • Stages presents Houston for the Holidays With DeQuina Moore at the Gordy | Friday, November 18 to Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24 – The Houston native, who starred in Stages’ Plumshuga, hits the stage for a holiday-themed cabaret-style evening of song and story. $30 and up. Showtimes vary.
  • A Christmas Carol at Alley Theatre | Friday, November 18 to Friday, December 30 – The beloved Charles Dickens Christmas story returns, telling the tale of the miserly Scrooge visited by three spirits who compel him to change his ways, in a new production adapted and directed by Alley artistic director Rob Melrose. $41 and up. Showtimes vary.
Alley Theatre’s annual “A Christmas Carol” returns in November with a new adaptation | Courtesy of Alley Theatre
  • Stages presents Panto Snow White & the Seven Dorks at the Gordy | Friday, November 25 to Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24 – The Panto tradition returns with an all-new holiday show, this one delightfully skewering the Snow White tale. The Evil Queen has a high-tech virtual mirror and she’s banished Snow White to the wilds of Silicon Valley, where she encounters seven dorky hackers. Expect hilarity to ensue. $30 and up. Showtimes vary.
  • Houston Ballet presents The Nutcracker at Wortham Center | Friday, November 25 to Tuesday, December 27 – The Tchaikovsky classic returns to the stage, as only the Houston Ballet can deliver it. Stanton Welch’s take on this beloved story of young Clara and the nutcracker she receives as a gift on one magical Christmas Eve offers grand sets, gorgeous costumes and stunning dance. $35 and up. Showtimes vary.
  • Rocky Mountain High Experience: A John Denver Christmas at Hobby Center | Sunday, November 27 – One of the most iconic voices of the 1970s, John Denver’s unforgettable folk sounds catapulted him to the top of the charts. Rick Schuler offers this tribute concert, featuring inspirational carols and holiday classics from Denver’s Christmas albums and specials. $70 and up. 3pm and 7pm.
  • A.D. Players presents A Texas Carol at the George Theater | Wednesday, November 30 to Friday, December 23 – This Lone Star take on the holiday classic finds the whole family heading to Mee-Maw Jane’s ranch in East Texas for what might be her last Christmas. When they arrive, she’s already gone. How will they save Christmas? Recommended for ages 10 and up. $30 and up. Showtimes vary.
“Cirque Dreams Holidaze” offers a circus spectacle on the Jones Hall stage, just days before Christmas | Courtesy of Cirque Dreams Holidaze
  • A Christmas Carol at the Grand 1894 Opera House | Friday, December 2 & Saturday, December 3 – The classic ghost story of Christmas comes to Galveston, following Scrooge as he’s confronted by three spirits, who implore him to change his ways before it’s too late. $30 and up. Friday 8pm; Saturday 3pm.
  • A Beatles Holiday Cabaret at Music Box Theater | Friday, December 2 to Wednesday, December 28 – Singers take to the stage for this Beatles/Christmas mash-up show that features holiday traditional carols alongside Fab Four faves. Look for renditions of the iconic music group’s “In My Life/Christmas Canon,” “O Come All Ye Faithful/Revolution” and more. $35 and up. Showtimes vary.
  • What-A-Christmas at Alley Theatre | Friday, December 2 to Friday, December 30 – In this brand-new, adult holiday comedy written by H-Town’s own Isaac Gómez, Margot is a Tejana Scrooge, on the Christmas Eve overnight shift. When her dead best friend Jackie Marley turns up and warns her about some spirits coming to visit, Margot is in for a wild night. $55 and up. Showtimes vary.
  • Houston Bronze Ensemble presents A Jazzy Little Christmas at MATCH | Saturday, December 3 – H-Town’s premiere handbell ensemble offers this holiday concert of Christmas favorites with a jazz riff. $15. 7:30pm.
  • Performing Arts Houston presents Blind Boys of Alabama Christmas Show at Jones Hall | Sunday, December 4 – These “living legends of Gospel music” present traditional and contemporary songs of the season designed to help audiences feel the holiday spirit and get the rafters ringing. $29 and up. 6:30pm.
“A Magical Cirque Christmas” brings comedic magician Lucy Darling to Sugar Land | Courtesy of A Magical Cirque Christmas
  • Uncle Eb at MATCH | Thursday, December 8 to Saturday, December 17 – This brand-new take on A Christmas Carol finds Tiny Tim Cratchett all grown up and returning home following the death of his Uncle Ebenezer. That’s when things get, well, strange. Please note this play contains strong language. $28. Showtimes vary.
  • Houston Grand Opera presents El Milagro del Recuerdo at the Wortham Center | Thursday, December 8 to Sunday, December 18 – This family-friendly, Mariachi opera celebrates family and tradition, transporting audiences to Mexico to experience the story of Laurentino, a bracero who comes back from the United States to share the holiday with his family, and his wife Renata, who worries his time away is changing him. $30 and up. Showtimes vary.
  • Christmas With C.S. Lewis at Hobby Center | Friday, December 9 to Sunday, December 11 – This one-man play finds the acclaimed author, played by David Payne, entertaining a group of Americans in his home near Oxford at Christmas. Together, they explore the wonder of the season and how an encounter with J.R.R. Tolkien changed Lewis from a Christmas skeptic into a believer. $75. Showtimes vary.
  • Houston Symphony presents Handel’s Messiah at Jones Hall | Friday, December 9 to Sunday, December 11 – Joined by guest soloists, the Houston Symphony orchestra and Chorus performs this majestic choral work that celebrates the life of Christ. $29 and up. Friday and Saturday 7:30pm; Sunday 2:30pm.
  • The Nutcracker at the Grand 1894 Opera House | Saturday, December 10 & Sunday, December 11 – The story of a young girl named Clara and her journey into the Land of Sweets has captivated audiences for more than a century. Now in its 25th year, City Ballet of Houston offers the holiday tradition on Galveston’s Grand stage. $19 and up. Showtimes vary.
  • Houston Chamber Choir presents On This Day Earth Shall Ring at Chapel of the Villa de Matel | Saturday, December 10 & Sunday, December 11 – The Grammy Award–winning choir is joined by the Houston Treble Choir and guitarist Marc Garvin for a selection of holiday favorites in the stunning setting of the Villa de Matel chapel in East End. $40. 2:30pm and 5pm.
“A Very Merry Pops” unites the Houston Symphony and Chorus for an evening of Christmas classics | Courtesy of Houston Symphony

More Holiday Attractions & Things to Do

Holiday Lights
Top 25 Things for Christmas
Christmas Concerts
Holiday Markets
Holiday Shows & Performing Arts
Trans-Siberian Orchestra comes to Toyota Center for their annual tradition | Courtesy of Trans-Siberian Orchestra

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Holly Beretto
Holly Beretto
Holly Beretto writes about food and wine, the arts and interesting people for a variety of local and regional publications. In addition to 365 Things to Do in Houston, her work has appeared in the Arizona State University Alumni Magazine, Arts + Culture Texas, Bayou City Magazine, Downtown, Galveston Monthly and Houston Woman. She is also a regular contributor to Eater.com's Houston site. She earned her B.A. in mass communication with a minor in professional writing from Franklin Pierce College (now Franklin Pierce University) and her M.A. in communication studies with an emphasis in journalism from St. Louis University. She has worked in television news production, public relations and marketing in Rhode Island, Maine, New York and Texas. A native Rhode Islander, she has lived in Texas since 1997. She is the author of Christ as the Cornerstone: Fifty Years of Worship at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, published by Bright Sky Press.

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