Updated for 2023
One way to celebrate the holiday season is to attend a Holiday show. Here in Southern California, the Entertainment Capitol of the World, you can be sure there are lots of musicals, stage productions, vocal performances, and more, happening throughout the rest of the year – that are guaranteed to leave you full of holiday spirit! Enjoy this list of Christmas and Holiday Shows in Los Angeles!
From A Christmas Carol to The Nutcracker Ballet, and everything between and beyond, Los Angeles serves up terrific Holiday Shows for the whole family. With our world-class theater companies and creative talent, you’re sure to find something that will get you in the mood for celebrating this wonderful holiday season.
Featured Holiday Show 2023
Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical
Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles 90028
Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical is the record-setting Broadway holiday sensation which features the hit songs “You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch” and “Welcome Christmas” from the original animated special. Max the Dog narrates as the mean and scheming Grinch, whose heart is “two sizes too small,” decides to steal Christmas away from the Holiday loving Whos. Magnificent sets and costumes inspired by Dr. Seuss’ original illustrations help transport audiences to the whimsical world of Whoville and helps remind us of the true meaning of the holiday season. Don’t miss what The New York Times calls “AN EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMANCE! 100 times better than any bedtime story.” Celebrate this holiday season with Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre from December 6 through December 17! Tickets available at www.BroadwayInHollywood.com with best availability on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings.
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Santa’s Circus
The Montalbán Theater, 1615 Vine St, Hollywood, United States. CA 90028
Step into an enchanting holiday fantasy at Santa’s Circus, a family-friendly, mesmerizing theatrical experience that delivers the joy of Christmas in whole new way through a unique blend of theater and cirque-style acrobatics!
Step into a Magical Christmas Wonderland. This new winter extravaganza (Running Dec. 8 – 23 at The Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood) promises all-new thrills to awaken the childlike wonder in us all!
Holiday Shows in Los Angeles for 2023
A Christmas Carol at A Noise Within
3352 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107
A Noise Within, California’s acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, is proud to announce the return of Los Angeles’ longest-running production of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, running Dec. 1 through Dec. 24, for its tenth holiday season at ANW with an all-new musical score by Robert Oriol, adapted for the stage by Geoff Elliott, and directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott.
Elf in Concert
The Peacock Theater at LA Live, 777 Chick Hearn Ct, Los Angeles 90015
The spirit of the holidays is making a grand entrance in Los Angeles! This holiday season, experience Elf in Concert at the Peacock Theater on December 17th. Celebrated composer John Debney, creator of Elf’s heartwarming score, will personally conduct a full symphony orchestra performing his music live to picture, projected onto a 40-foot movie screen.
Elf tells the heartwarming story of Buddy, a human raised among Santa’s elves. As an adult, he embarks on a journey to New York in search of his real father, bringing with him an infectious holiday spirit. Los Angeles, get ready to welcome the magic of Buddy the Elf at the Peacock Theater on December 17th!
The Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Families are invited to what is described as the “largest multicultural holiday celebration” in Los Angeles always held on December 24th at 3 pm. Seating for this free event is on a firstc-ome, first-served basis. The three-hour live production includes instrumental music, choral music, and dance performances. (The show is also broadcast live on PBS SoCal and re-broadcast the next day.)
Returning audience favorites include two-time GRAMMY® award-winning Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea; 10-piece Latin jazz band Gabrielito y La Verdad; the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles; Jewish culture revival band Mostly Kosher; high energy JazzAntiqua Dance & Music Ensemble; and internationally renowned Japanese drummers TAIKOPROJECT in a collaboration with Indian-inspired Blue13 Dance Company.
Fun Fact: there are dozens of Nutcracker performances in Socal this year!
Holiday Shows at the LA Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall
111 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012
The LA Phil is bringing back in-person performances in a big way this Holiday season, with multiple events that are sure to delight music fans of all stripes.
Navidad Nuestra: December in the Americas
Sunday, December 10, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.
Filled with holiday spirit, these Christmas carols are sung in the musical traditions of the composers’ homelands of Argentina, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba and the United States. Each work embodies the warmth of the season, filling the Concert Hall with sounds and rhythms of the Americas.
A Chanticleer Christmas
December 13th at 8 pm
The beloved Grammy®-winning “orchestra of voices” returns with its signature holiday performance.
Holiday Sing-Along
Saturday, December 16th at 11:30 am and 2:30 pm
Melissa Peterman, host, John Sutton, conductor
Angeles Chorale
Raise your voice and your spirit in this annual holiday tradition that offers fun, cheer, and a whole lot of music.
Home Alone in Concert
December 20th, 21st, and 22nd at 8 pm
Los Angeles Philharmonic David Newman, conductor
John WILLIAMS, Home Alone in Concert
The LA Phil performs John Williams’ score at these special screenings of the holiday classic.
Arturo Sandoval Swinging Holiday
December 23 at 8 pm
Holiday favorites decked out in Latin jazz styling
New Year’s Eve with Pink Martini
December 31st at 7 pm and 10:30 pm
Countdown to 2024 in style with Portland’s celebrated “little orchestra.”
Disney On Ice – Frozen and Encanto
Various locations in SoCal
- Disney on Ice – in Los Angeles – December 9-10th at Crypto.com Arena – 1111 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015
- Disney on Ice – in Anaheim – December 14-18th at Honda Center – 2695 E. Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92806
- Disney on Ice – in Ontario – December 21-24th at Toyota Arena – 4000 Ontario Center Parkway, Ontario, CA 91764
- Disney on Ice – in Long Beach – December 28, 2023 – January 1, 2024 at Long Beach Arena, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802
Disney On Ice 2023: Celebrate the love of family in the new show everyone will be talking about! Join the race to find Elsa and stop the eternal winter, dream about summer with Olaf, and sing-along with Kristoff and Sven. Experience Disney’s Encanto brought to life like never before. Sing and dance with Mirabel, her sisters, Isabela and Luisa, and more!
Holidays at The Music Center
135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles 90012
Michael Feinstein in “Coming Home: The Holiday Celebration”
Sunday, December 3, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.
After almost two decades away from the Mark Taper Forum, the incomparable Michael Feinstein?returns?with a Center Theatre Group residency under the banner of Feinstein’s at the Taper with Coming Home: The Holiday Celebration. This event is a world premiere concert?featuring a talented array of friends and guests performing a mix of?jazz?standards and holiday favorites?from the Great American Songbook, brought to magical life on the Taper stage with a combination of live performance, a multimedia children’s choir and dynamic dance.
Looking for Christmas Events in Los Angeles or Hanukkah Celebrations in SoCal – we’ve got you covered.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts
300 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
There will be many Holiday performances to choose from at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts this season. Please check their website for more information and to get tickets before they sell out.
- Nutcracker for Kids
December 2nd - Handel’s Messiah
December 3rd - Silent Night Silent Disco
December 8th - American Ballet Theater’s The Nutcracker
December 8-17th - Concordia Christmas
December 9th - Holidays Around the World
December 10th - A Merry Little Christmas with Megan Hilty
December 14-16th - Celtic Women Christmas
December 15-16th - ‘Tis the Season!
December 17-18th - Holiday Organ Spectacular
December 19th - Dr Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical
December 19-24th - The Pan American Nutcracker Suite
December 22nd - Fiesta Navidad
December 23rd
Related: Holiday Boat Parades in SoCal
The Soraya
18111 Nordhoff St, Northridge, CA 91330
Enjoy these wonderful holiday shows at the Soraya this season. Please check their website for more information and to get tickets.
- Mannheim Steamroller Christmas
December 3rd - Samara Joy – A Joyful Holiday
December 7th - Trinity Irish Dance Company: A Very Irish Christmas
December 9th - Nochebuena: a Christmas Spectacular
December 16-17th
LA Master Chorale Festival of Carols
Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Enjoy the sounds of the season at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on December 2nd. Our popular Festival of Carols returns with a fresh spin for 2022. Indulge in the delights of the holiday season with traditional Christmas carols and festive folksongs from around the world.
The LA Master Chorale will also be hosting their annual “Carols on the Plaza” event on December 18th at the Jerry Moss Plaza. All are welcome to this Free community event, and joining in the chorus is encouraged!
See Christmas Lights and Holiday Light Displays in Los Angeles
Angel City Chorale’s “Holiday Homecoming” Concert
Royce Hall, UCLA Campus, 10745 Dickson Ct, Los Angeles, CA 90095
America’s Got Talent’s Golden Buzzer-winning vocal sensation and Los Angeles’ premier community choir Angel City Chorale (ACC), led by Sue Fink, Artistic Director, will be putting on their Holiday Homecoming concert on Saturday, December 2nd and Sunday, December 3rd at UCLA’s famed Royce Hall. ACC is overjoyed to bring people together again to feel the community spirit of the holidays. For guests that are not able to attend in person, ACC will also livestream the Sunday concert. The merry festivities will feature a selection of old and new seasonal songs that capture the joyful spirit of the yuletide as the chorale continues to celebrate their 30th anniversary year.
The electrifying 180-voice Angel City Chorale along with the ACC Orchestra, will raise the spirits of everyone from Holiday-Stans to Bah-Humbugs with fresh, new orchestrated arrangements of familiar titles like God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Hark the Herald Angels Sing and I’ll Be Home for Christmas. More than just Hanukkah celebrants will delight in the rousing Judah and His Maccabees and the moving Hine Ma Tov. The lively gospel of Children, Go Where I Send Thee will have listeners on their feet. Other songs include Arbolito de Navidad (Little Christmas Tree), a heartwarming holiday story wrapped in an energetic mariachi arrangement and the inspirational The Light of Hope, an original song from Fink and longtime choir soloist standout Dr. Reverend Donald Paredes.
Holiday Concert on the Pier
Redondo Pier, 100 Fisherman’s Wharf, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Redondo Beach invites families to a free special holiday concert on Saturday, December 9th from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. This free event features live holiday music and you may even see Santa arriving on his surfboard! A free holiday activity book will be presented to the first 150 children in attendance. And don’t forget to bring a new, unwrapped toy (valued at $5 or more).
Holiday Shows at Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts
Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 9026
Celebrate the season with The Queen’s Cartoonist: Holiday Hurrah on Sunday, December 3rd. Or come to Malibu for the Pepperdine Choir and Orchestra Christmas Concert on December 7th.
Cirque Dreams Holidaze
Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green Street, Pasadena 91101
From the company behind Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Dreams Holidaze brings a Broadway-style production infused with contemporary circus arts. Enjoy the magic of the holiday season with a world-renowned cast of performers accompanied by an ensemble of aerial circus acts, sleight-of-hand jugglers, fun-loving skippers, breath-catching acrobatics, and much more. (Showtimes: Tuesday, December 12 at 7:30 pm; Wednesday, December 13 at 7:30 pm)
Pasadena Playhouse Holiday Spectacular
Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Avenue, Pasadena 91101
Tony nominee Sam Pinkerton returns to the Pasadena Playhouse to sleigh audiences with a brand-new holiday spectacular. Savor the holiday spirit in the historic Playhouse Village in Pasadena, which comes alive with twinkling lights, leaving you feeling merry and bright. (Production runs December 7 – 23, 2023)
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