Theater Critic Picks

These are the 10 can't-miss shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for December

Some theaters have decked the halls and are offering holiday fare, while others are just as happy to present shows with year-round appeal. No matter which you're drawn to, there's plenty of choice.

Here are the 10 shows to see in order by start date:

Miss Saigon
Performing Arts Fort Worth, December 3-8
The acclaimed new production of the legendary musical from the creators of Les Misérables is an epic love story of a young Vietnamese woman and an American G.I. The production features stunning spectacle, a sensational cast of 42, and a soaring score that includes Broadway hits like "Last Night of the World," "The Movie in My Mind," and "The Heat is On in Saigon."

A Dean Martin Christmas
Casa Mañana, December 4-21
Enjoy with a cup of hot chocolate, spiked or not, and celebrate the stories and songs of the "King of Cool," including "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!," "Baby It's Cold Outside," and "Marshmallow World."

Cirque Holidays
WaterTowerTheatre, December 5-22
In partnership with Lone Star Circus, WTT is celebrating the diversity of holidays from around the world through a magical collaboration of theater and circus. Featuring international stars alongside Dallas' amazing and entertaining circus talent, the show will treat audiences of all ages to incredible acts ranging from hula hoops to death-defying trapeze stunts, all tied together with a charismatic host and hilarious clowns.

Black Nativity
Bishop Arts Theatre Center, December 5-22
For 16 years, Langston Hughes' story of the birth of Christ has transformed the Bishop Arts Theatre stage into a gathering that unites artists and audiences of different ages, backgrounds, and beliefs through the heart-stirring power of song, story, and dance.

Nuncrackers a-MEN!
Uptown Players, December 6-15
Dan Goggin's Christmas musical stars the nuns you love, this time played by men, plus Father Virgil and four of Mount Saint Helen's most talented students. This show is filled with wacky Nunsense humor as the sisters tape their first TV special in the Cable Access Studio built by Reverend Mother in the convent basement.

Have Yourself a Broadway Little Christmas
Mainstage Irving-Las Colinas, December 12-14
This revue brings together your favorite holiday songs made famous through Broadway shows and movie musicals. Be swept away by hits from Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Mame, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Songs for A New World, Holiday Inn, Broadway's Elf, and many more. The evening will conclude with a holiday sing-along as well as auction and raffle opportunities.

A Christmas Carol: The Radio Show
The Classics Theatre Project, December 12-21
It was just announced that TCTP favorite B.J. Cleveland will be doing a one-person version of the classic Dickens tale, written by David Alberts. Expect lots of crazy voices and a tireless performance from one of DFW's most tireless performers.

Gold, Frankincense, and Credit Card Debt: A ~~Christmas Holiday~~ December Sketch Comedy Show
Theatre Three, December 13-28
Co-presented by Bootstraps Comedy Theatre and directed by celebrated playwright Matt Lyle, this show has Dallas-Fort Worth's funniest comedians roasting Santa’s chestnuts until they're a delicious golden brown. Topics under the microscope for this show include holiday parties, Thanksgiving, marketing speak, White Elephants gone very wrong with sexy results, Crossfit, the power of holiday music over a person's sanity, snow in Texas, and the sick, unforgivable, cute lies we tell our children.

Dreams of Icarus
Outcry Theatre, December 20-29
Directed by Becca Johnson-Spinos and starring Logan Beutel and Dylan Weand, this play is a devised work created by the actors and director based on the classic Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus.

The Color of Death
Pegasus Theatre, December 29-January 19
The only three-act Living Black & White Hunsacker adventure, this original from Kurt Kleinmann serves up act two in Techno-Color. Harry Hunsacker, would-be actor turned would-be detective, and his paid-by-the-hour-assistant and friend Nigel Grouse are enlisted by the Army in 1944 to join forces with Lt. Foster and go undercover to infiltrate a top-secret Nazi research lab in Bavaria.

The national tour of Miss Saigon comes to Bass Performance Hall.

Miss Saigon: Emily Bautista, Anthony Festa

Photo by Matthew Murphy

The national tour of Miss Saigon comes to Bass Performance Hall.

openings music theater

Season announcement

Mystic Pizza's Dallas premiere leads new AT&T PAC Broadway season

Photo courtesy of Lively McCabe Entertainment

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The 2026-2027 Broadway at the Center season at Dallas' AT&T Performing Arts Center will feature a mixture of new and returning shows, including several recent Tony Award-nominated productions.

According to a release, the main season will consist of five musicals: Mystic Pizza: A New Musical, Shucked, Beetlejuice, The Who’s Tommy, and The Wiz. All productions take place at Winspear Opera House in downtown Dallas.

They will be joined by two previously-announced co-productions with Broadway Dallas - The Notebook and Hadestown - as well as TITAS/Dance Unbound co-production, Dance Me - The Music of Leonard Cohen.

First up will be Dance Me - The Music of Leonard Cohen, a creation inspired by the work of famed Montreal-based poet, artist, and songwriter Leonard Cohen, performed by Ballet Jazz Montreal.

The homage to the iconic artist evokes the grand cycles of existence in five seasons, as described in Cohen’s deeply reflective music and poems. There will be performances on September 18 and 19, 2026.

The first theater production will be Mystic Pizza: A New Musical, making its Dallas premiere. It is based on the 1988 rom-com that tells the story of three working-class girls who navigate the complexities of life, love, and family in a small-town pizza joint.

The score features megahits of the '80s and '90s, including songs originally recorded by Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper, John Cougar Mellencamp, and more. It will run November 20-22, 2026.

After the Broadway Dallas co-production of The Notebook, running January 12-24, 2027, the season picks up again with the return of Shucked, which played at the Music Hall at Fair Park in December 2024.

In the Tony Award-winning comedy, the corn that protects a small community starts to die. The town needs answers. But who will dare to venture beyond the borders of Cob County?

The Broadway hit, running March 19-21, 2027 is about an unlikely hero, an unscrupulous con artist, and a battle for the heart and soil of a small town.

Hadestown will follow shortly thereafter, running March 30-April 4, 2027, before the third Broadway Dallas co-production of the season, Beetlejuice, running April 28-May 2, 2027.

The musical, which previously came to Dallas in early 2024, is based on Tim Burton’s 1988 film and tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager whose whole life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and a demon with a thing for stripes.

June 2027 will bring the final two productions of the season, The Who’s Tommy (running June 3-5) and The Wiz (running June 10-13).

The Who's 1969 rock opera is about the young Tommy Walker whose innate knack for pinball catapults him from reticent adolescent to celebrity savior. It features the anthems “I’m Free,” “See Me, Feel Me,” “Sensation,” and “Pinball Wizard.”

The Wiz, which just came to Dallas in September 2025, is a groundbreaking twist on The Wizard of Oz that features soul, gospel, rock, and '70s funk that puts Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world.

“This season is designed to welcome both longtime subscribers and new audiences with a lineup that celebrates the full range of Broadway - from high-energy crowd pleasers and reimagined classics to bold contemporary storytelling,” said Warren Tranquada, CEO and President of the AT&T Performing Arts Center, in a statement.

For the first time in their partnership with Broadway Dallas, Broadway at the Center subscribers will enjoy early access and full subscriber benefits for Beetlejuice through May 1.

After May 1, all ticket purchases, customer service questions, and support for Beetlejuice will be handled directly by Broadway Dallas.

The Center offers a flexible subscription package that allows patrons to choose four or five shows from the season lineup, with the option to add or remove shows by contacting the box office directly.

Subscription package prices range from $150-$660, and sales begin on Monday, April 13, 2026. Packages may be purchased by phone at 214-880-0202, or online at attpac.org/broadway.

att performing arts center beetlejuice broadway at the center music mystic pizza performing-arts the wiz theater winspear opera house