Very Merry Theater

10 Dallas stage productions wishing you a very merry Christmas

Now that Thanksgiving is out of the way, you can start celebrating Christmas without feeling guilty. Here are 10 shows guaranteed to get you in the holiday spirit (holiday spirits not included).

A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration
Theatre Three, through December 14
Historical figures sing alongside regular folk in Paula Vogel's American answer to the British A Christmas Carol. While there aren't technically any Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present or Future, there are plenty of spirits hanging around circa 1864, and they make for some pretty heavy storytelling. Thankfully, more than 20 traditional hymns and carols — sung by a cast including Stormi Demerson, Stan Graner, Bryan Lewis and Bryan Pitts — lighten things up.

A Christmas Story
Dallas Summer Musicals, December 2-14
"You'll shoot your eye out" was just begging to be turned into a chorus, no? Songwriters Benj Paul and Justin Paul were nominated for Tony Awards for the stage adaptation of the cult classic holiday film, which includes an Italian-ish leg lamp, bunny pajamas and one very famous Red Ryder BB Gun. Two local kids, Peyton Nicholson and Grace Moore, perform with the children's ensemble during the run at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

A Christmas Carol: A Radio Show
One Thirty Productions, December 3-20
B.J. Cleveland makes his onstage debut with One Thirty Productions in this one-man radio retelling of Charles Dickens' classic. Cleveland made microphone magic two years ago with It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play at WaterTower Theatre, so listening to him inhabit 20-plus characters (and sound effects) here is sure to be a treat. As noted by the company's name, all performances are 1:30 matinees.

Yes Virginia Woolf, There Is a Santa Claus
Fun House Theatre and Film, December 5-12
The ingenious (and sometimes twisted) team at Fun House has spoofed everything from family-friendly musicals to modern superhero films (with a dancing Nazi thrown in there and there for good measure), so combining Edward Albee's hard-drinking play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with a heartwarming tale about the existence of Santa Claus isn't too out there. Wait, yes it is. It's completely bananas, which is what makes it so good. If you ever wanted to see a 16-year-old play Drunk Santa, here's your chance.

Christmas Our Way
Uptown Players, December 11-14
Normally Uptown Players' fundraiser Broadway Our Way is held at the first of the year. This time, the group is giving the annual concert a holiday twist with the first-ever Christmas Our Way. More than 30 Christmas-themed tunes from Broadway musicals are performed by some of DFW's finest performers, all of whom donate their time and talent to benefit the company, whose mission is to promote acceptance and awareness.

Miracle on 34th Street
Dallas Children's Theater, through December 21
There's magic in the air with this stage version of the Twentieth Century Fox film, as Kris Kringle goes on trial and skeptics start believing. A large cast of kids (natch) bring a bubbly excitement to the stage, playing excited children and merry elves. Stick around after to meet Santa (Francis Fuselier), who looks so real you might start to wonder yourself.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical
Bass Hall, December 5-7
Majestic Theatre, December 16-21
This stage adaptation brings the beloved 1964 stop-motion holiday special to life, with Rudolph and his cast of holly-jolly pals tasked with saving Christmas. Santa and Mrs. Claus, Hermey the Elf, the Abominable Snow Monster, Clarice, Yukon Cornelius — they're all here, celebrating Rudolph's 50 years on television.

A Christmas Carol
Dallas Theater Center, through December 27
Kevin Moriarty and DTC shook things up last year by debuting an all-new adaptation of the holiday classic, and they're taking it a step further this year by having DTC's director of new play development, Lee Trull, assume directing duties, with Home by Hovercraft's Shawn Magill overseeing the music. Trull has been involved with Carol in some way or another for 10 years, so it should be interesting to see what he does with resident company member Chamblee Ferguson returning to the role of Ebenezer Scrooge.

The Santaland Diaries
WaterTower Theatre, December 5-28
Garret Storms returns as Crumpet the Elf, the surliest employee at Macy's North Pole. WaterTower has been producing this one-man show, adapted from a popular essay by David Sedaris, for years, but last year Storms brought a no-nonsense intensity that somehow made his character's oh-so-wrong musings even funnier. Director Kelsey Ervi is rumored to have some tricks up her sleeve for this year's incarnation.

The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical
WaterTower Theatre, December 5-January 4
Everyone's favorite trashy trailer park dwellers are back, as Christmas comes to Armadillo Acres. Sara Shelby-Martin, Cara Serber and Megan Kelly Bates reprise their roles as Betty, Linoleum and Pickles, respectively, having starred in the original The Great American Trailer Park Musical at WaterTower in 2007. "Contains adult content" is an understatement.

Cara Serber, Sara Shelby-Martin and Megan Kelly Bates in The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical.

WaterTower Theatre presents The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical

Photo by Kelsey Leigh Ervi

Cara Serber, Sara Shelby-Martin and Megan Kelly Bates in The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical.

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Season Announcement

Echo Theatre introduces Dallas audiences to a season of strangers in 2026

Photo by Julieta Cervantes

'The Roommate' was recently on Broadway.

It's a "Season of Strangers" for Echo Theatre this year, as the Southwest's premier company for promoting dramatic works by women+ focuses on how someone different than you can change your life.

The 28th season begins with the new musical Silhouettes by Jordan Ealey and Ari Afsar. This score-in-hand workshop was developed in the aftermath of the fall of Roe v. Wade, and examines a pivotal moment in American history through the intersecting lives of two women navigating the decision to have an abortion. Echo's managing and artistic director Kateri Cale directs, with Vonda K. Bowling as musical director.

In a joint statement, Ealey and Afsar say that Silhouettes was born from their need to process the emotional and political aftermath of Roe’s fall. “We continue to see that history is cyclical and equity is fleeting,” they say. “But when policy fails, art has the opportunity to step in. Silhouettes is a musical about choice, sisterhood, and intergenerational courage.”

They add that presenting the work in Dallas reflects their commitment to community-building in states like Texas, where bans and restrictions have made women and gender minorities particularly vulnerable. “We want this musical to be a safe and brave haven amid attempts to create a culture of fear and a reminder that people are not alone.”

It runs January 16-17, 2026, and admission is free, though a $20 donation is suggested.

The world premiere of You Must Wear A Hat by C. Meaker is next, and plugged-in Dallas theater fans might recognize the play from its reading at Kitchen Dog Theater in 2019.

Tuesday and Weeks make hats on the Great Barrier Reef, waiting for the world to end. It's described as "A play for two. And a rabbit."

C. “Meaks” Meaker (they/them) is a playwright, essayist, and teacher whose work often explores queerness, monstrosity, and the end of the world. Their plays have been performed and developed across the United States, including the Kennedy Center, Seattle Repertory Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, Annex Theatre (Seattle), Hub Theater (D.C.), Fat Theater Project (Chicago), and About Face (Chicago). They’re a two-year finalist for the Dramatist Guild National Fellows program and a recent finalist for the Jerome Hill Theater Arts Fellow.

You Must Wear a Hat runs February 27-March 14, 2026.

The season closes with The Roommate by Jen Silverman. The play was on Broadway in 2024 starring marquee names Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone.

In it, a divorced Midwesterner takes a roommate from The Bronx. A relationship evolves and secrets unfold into a darkly comedic exploration of life choices. It runs June 19-July 4, 2026.

All shows this season will be performed at the Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther Dr., in White Rock Lake Park.

Tickets range from Pay-What-You-Can to $40, with discounts available for students and seniors.

Additional events this season include Cake by the Lake on April 21, Echo's free birthday party fundraiser that also launches its reading series, Echo Reads.

Echo Reads runs April through September, presenting six plays in six month. All plays will be performed on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm, and then read the next day at different venues around the city.

Echo Offstage Podcasts is going monthly. The free podcast series interviews women+ who are making art and making a difference.

And Echo is already teasing its 29th season, which will begin in the fall of 2026 and run the more traditional September through August instead of the calendar year.

The season 29 opener is a co-production, the company mysteriously hints, involving three Dallas theaters, two shows, and an internationally known writer. We'll all just have to wait and see what this intriguing production might be.

echo theatre podcasts world premieres echo reads the roommate play theater