WHO KILLED SANTA?

The white-bearded Fat Man In Red has been candy-caned to death and it’s up to the audience to decide who amongst five iconic Christmas characters “dunit” in Neil Haven’s Avenue Q-inspired, R-rated Who Killed Santa?, a Milwaukee perennial since 2008 now making its West Coast debut at Theatre 68, and while those who insist upon sophistication, refinement, and wit may want to look elsewhere for their holiday entertainment, Haven’s cult smash does what it sets out to do. It makes you laugh.
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NUNSENSE

The gals in black-and-white are back as Crown City Theatre celebrates three decades of Nunsense with a crowd-pleasing 30th-anniversary revival that makes it abundantly clear why Dan Goggin’s Singing-Nuns Musical took New York by storm back in ’85 before going on to become the 2nd-longest-running show in off-Broadway history. (Talk about Fantastick!)
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HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

The Christmas season has arrived in Claremont, and with it Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre’s 30th-annual original holiday musical, and though Home For Christmas may not  offer the grown-up pleasures of 2014’s It’s Christmas Every Day and 2013’s Because It’s Christmas, Candlelight’s latest nonetheless provides ample reason for families with children to treat themselves to lunch or dinner and a show at the Pavilion.
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ALICE!

Director Denise Devin has done it again, making theatrical magic on a shoestring over at Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre with Alice!, her supremely imaginative, delectably comedic adults-only musical take on Lewis Carroll.
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THE JEW WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS

RECOMMENDED

The jokes may be broad, the characters stereotypical, and performances far from nuanced, but Andy Shultz’s The Jew Who Saved Christmas!, the latest from Zombie Joes Underground Theatre Group, does precisely what a comedy is supposed to do—it makes you laugh.
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A SNOW WHITE CHRISTMAS

Snow White and her Seven Little Men have set up shop down Laguna Beach way as Lythgoe Family Productions delight audiences of all ages with their premier panto, A Snow White Christmas, pitch-perfectly performed by TV stars Lindsay Pearce and Marina Sirtis and a castful of sensational stage vets and musical theater up-and-comers.
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SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO MOTOWN

The Troubadour Theater Company is back at the Falcon Theatre for their once-a-year Christmas fun fest, a reprise of the smash 2004 hit Santa Claus Is Coming To Motown, and though I only counted two actual Motown songs (plus a brief medley) amongst Santa’s dozen or more R&B/soul hits, the Troubies’ latest annual year-end offering remains a hilarious holiday treat.
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DNA

The attempt by a group of high-school students to cover up the not-quite-accidental death of a bullied classmate makes for dramatic fireworks and multiple unexpected turns in Dennis Kelly’s twisted black comedy DNA, a largely impressive first production from Red Cup Theatre Company.
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