Holiday Happenings: Lights, music, and performances kick off the festive season

The holiday season will be in full swing starting this month with concerts, plays, opera, visits with Santa, and illuminated landscapes.

Atlanta Opera
Pulitzer Prize-winning “Silent Night” will run from Nov. 7 to Nov. 15. Based on the film “Joyeux Noël,” the story takes place during World War I on Christmas Eve, when opposing forces lay down weapons, come together around a makeshift tree to sing carols, and play soccer matches. Later in the year, the Opera will host “All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914” from Dec. 2 to Dec. 27. Get tickets for both shows at atlantaopera.org. 

Garden Lights, Holiday Nights
The Atlanta Botanical Garden is hosting the 16th annual “Garden Lights, Holiday Nights” Nov. 14 to Jan. 10. The grounds will be illuminated with thousands of lights, with expanded displays along Flower Walk, and new choreography for Nature’s Wonders, the world’s largest curtain of light and sound. Tickets usually sell out fast, so get yours at atlantabg.org. 

Center for Puppetry Arts
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” soars back into the Midtown venue from Nov. 11 to Dec. 27 with a puppet version of the classic stop-motion animation TV special from 1964. Tickets can be purchased at puppet.org.

Atlanta Shakespeare Company
A tradition at the Atlanta Shakespeare Company for more than 20 years, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” will run from Dec. 5 to Dec. 23. The cast and crew will also host a free post-show Q&A on Dec.13. Find tickets at shakespearetavern.com.

“The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show”
Comedians, writers, actors, and drag queens BenDeLaCreme & Jinkx Monsoon are coming back to town with the internationally acclaimed “The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show.” Playing Nov. 11 at the Eastern, get tickets at jinkxanddela.com. 

Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus
The Chorus will perform its 46th annual holiday show on Dec. 4 and Dec. 5 at the Cathedral of St. Phillip. This year, 165 AGMC singers will be joined by a live orchestra. Get tickets at voicesofnote.org.

The Nutcracker in Shared Reality at Cosm Atlanta
Cosm Atlanta has collaborated with the New York City Ballet to show “The Nutcracker” in its Shared Reality technology. The show will run from Nov. 6 to Dec. 29, and viewers will be transported inside Lincoln Center through Cosm’s LED dome technology. Get tickets at this link.

Cirque du Soleil: `Twas the Night Before
The company’s first holiday show will run from Dec. 2 to Dec. 13 at the Fox Theater. This aerial acrobatic performance follows a jaded young girl as she rediscovers the magic of the holiday. Get tickets here. 

“Liza’s Chistmaz with a Z” at Out Front Theater 
The new holiday show from Blake Fountain, the writer of “Mamma Dearest: Here We Joan Again!,” will run from Dec. 3 to Dec. 19. Madcap shenanigans, a lot of sequins (HALSTON!) and a visit from the Jolly man in red himself will leave heads spinning and hearts full. Get tickets at outfronttheater.com. 

Fox Theater
The Fox Theatre is hosting a slate of holiday performances. In Addition to Cirque du Soleil, the theater will host a traditional and hip-hop version of “The Nutcracker” and the acapella group Straight No Chaser on their “Making Spirits Bright” tour. Find tickets at foxtheatre.org.

Santa at Rhodes Hall
The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation will be hosting Santa at historic Rhodes Hall in Midtown from Nov. 21 to Dec. 13. Tickets are $60 and include a photo with Santa. Reservations are filling up fast! Make yours at georgiatrust.org.

Atlantic Station
The Midtown live-work-play destination will host “Holiday Lights” on Nov. 5 at Ellipse Park from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The event is free and visitors can stroll the illuminated paths, snap photos with the lights and take in glowing displays and holiday decor. More details at atlanticstation.com.

Alliance Theater
The theater will stage the classic production of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” on the Coca-Cola stage from Nov. 14 to Dec. 27. “Knock Knock” will run in the Selig Family Black Box Theatre from Nov. 14 to Dec. 23. Get tickets for both at alliancetheatre.org.  

ILLUMINIGHTS at Zoo Atlanta
Hundreds of wildlife-inspired lanterns will decorate Zoo Atlanta for its annual holiday light display Nov. 21 to Jan. 17. Santa will also visit the Zoo on Dec. 5 and Dec. 6. Tickets do sell out, so reserve in advance at zooatlanta.org. 

Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center
A combination of acrobatics, displays of strength and agility, comedy and magic takes to the stage in “A Magical Cirque Christmas.” Playing Nov. 21, get tickets at sandyspringspac.com. 

Atlanta Christkindl Market
Experience a hybrid modern-day Christmas celebration and German festivities at the annual market moves on the Lawrenceville Lawn from Nov. 20 to Dec. 24. There are handcrafted goods, entertainment, food and more. Admission is free, and more information can be found at christkindlmarket.org.

Christmas with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra 
The ASO is kicking off the holidays with Elf in Concert on Nov. 28 and Nov. 29. A winter wonderland family concert will take place on Dec. 6 and on Dec. 9, a live stage version of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The signature “Christmas with the ASO” will run Dec. 10 to Dec. 13. Get tickets and information at aso.org.

The Atlanta Ballet
From Dec. 5 to Dec. 26, “The Nutcracker” will run at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center with a score played live by the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra. Get tickets at cobbenergycentre.com.

The post Holiday Happenings: Lights, music, and performances kick off the festive season appeared first on Rough Draft®.