Coming up in Philly theater: Holiday faves, political humor, and sexy science

It’s December, and just like that, another jam-packed year in Philadelphia theater comes to a close. But before the ball drops on 2018, there’s still a lot to see and enjoy on area stages throughout the month.

Christmas onstage

The end of the year brings about a returning host of holiday favorites. McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey, remounts David Thompson’s beloved adaptation of A Christmas Carol on its Matthews Stage, December 4 through 29. Greg Wood returns to play Ebenezer Scrooge for the third year in a row.

Hedgerow Theatre offers two distinct takes on the Dickens classic. Artistic director Jared Reed revived his self-devised adaptation, which he debuted to acclaim a decade ago with Curio Theatre Company, for a brief run ending December 2. But from December 7 through 24, the company hosts its traditional production, on stage for the 26th year.

Act II Playhouse in Ambler brings back This Wonderful Life, Steve Murray’s one-person version of the Frank Capra classic, December 4 through 30, with artistic director Tony Braithwaite taking the stage. For younger audience members, Act II offers Rosie the Reindeer and the Case of the Missing Snow Globe (December 8 through 28), written by local playwright Bill D’Agostino.

1812 and Completeness

Those without a taste for Christmas goose and figgy pudding still have plenty of options. 1812 Productions continues an annual tradition of its own — the satirical political revue This Is the Week That Is, on stage at Plays and Players through January 5, 2019. Something tells me Jennifer Childs and her ensemble will have plenty of material to work with this year.

Theatre Exile starts its season with Itamar Moses’s Completeness, through December 23. Moses recently won a Tony for his contributions to the hit Broadway musical The Band’s Visit, but his own works brim with a tartly humorous voice all their own. Here, a computer programmer and biologist watch their relationship evolve from professional to personal, with all the messy complications such a shift can bring.

The cast includes James Ijames, Mary Tuomanen, and Claire Inie-Richards, under Matt Pfeiffer’s direction. Living up to its name, Exile is in exile at the Louis Bluver Theatre at the Drake while its South Philly home base gets rebuilt.

Creation stories and Charlotte

11th Hour Theatre Company continues its Next Step concert series with Stephen Schwartz’s Children of Eden, through December 9. The biblically inspired musical dramatizes Adam and Eve’s fall from grace, as well as Noah and his family in the lead-up to the flood. Although the show has never reached Broadway, its score gives us several well-known show tunes, including “Lost in the Wilderness” and “The Spark of Creation.”

At the Arden Theatre Company, director Whit MacLaughlin and playwright Joseph Robinette debut a family-friendly adaptation of Charlotte’s Web (through January 27, 2019). I have long admired MacLaughlin’s ability to create children’s theater that appeals equally to adults — even to confirmed childfree folks like yours truly — and I look forward to seeing the approach he takes with E.B. White’s classic. He’s already assembled a fine cast, including Campbell O’Hare, Emilie Krause, Brian Anthony Wilson, J Hernandez, and Alex Bechtel.

Happy holidays and happy new year from all of us at BSR. After a short winter’s nap, I’ll be back to fill you in on all the great theater you can expect in 2019.

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