The McAninch Arts Center (MAC), located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of the College of DuPage, offers a joyful mix of holiday music, dance and comedy events this holiday season. For tickets or more information, visit www.AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000. Box Office hours are Tuesday – Saturday, noon – 6 p.m. and three hours prior to performance.
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble: “Season’s Greetings” by Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by Connie Canaday Howard
Nov. 17 – Dec. 18 (no performance Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 24);
Preview: 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 17; Press Opening 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 18
Performances Thursday-Saturday 8 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m.
Playhouse Theatre
Tickets: $42
Friends and family gather at Neville and Belinda’s home to celebrate the holidays. Hilarious mayhem is quickly unleashed due to a tryst under the Christmas tree, an unforgettable puppet show, and maybe even a murder. “Season’s Greetings” offers a seriously entertaining look at the anxiety and high jinks of an average family during the holidays.
Pre-show discussion with the director and designers 6:45 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 17
Post-show discussion with director, actors and crew Friday, Nov. 25
Please note: This show contains adult language and themes.
College of DuPage Theater: Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” Adapted by William J. Norris
Directed by Amelia Barrett
7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 25; 3 and 7 p.m., Saturday Nov. 26; 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27
Tickets: $16 Adult | $14 Youth
In this 70-minute adaptation, the treasured tale of Ebenezer Scrooge is brought to life by a cast of 50 local actors and children creating the perfect family event to usher in the holiday season.
The Second City: “Jingle Bell Ruckus”
5 and 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 10
Tickets: $30 – $48
The Second City’s “Jingle Bell Ruckus” delivers a generous serving of seasonal satire that is a perfect alternative to those same old holiday shows. Nothing is sacred. Even Rudolph gets a wicked holiday slant in this fast-paced, interactive comedy revue filled with style wit, and plenty of that famous Second City improv.
Please note: This show may contain adult language and themes.
Voctave: “The Spirit of the Season”
7 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 11
Tickets: $65 – $75
Voctave lights up the holiday season with their incredible a capella harmonies and a program filled with holiday favorites. Voctave brings vocal magic,” says the Orlando Sentinel and Lemon Wire says, “With only 11 voices, Voctave fills a room and makes hearts soar.”
Salt Creek Ballet: “The Nutcracker” With New Philharmonic
2 and 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 17; 1 and 5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 18
Tickets: $46 Adult | $36 Youth
The MAC welcomes back Salt Creek Ballet for their traditional staging of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” This magical full-scale production with 80 dancers, including guest artists, features live accompaniment from New Philharmonic – a rare opportunity to see this magnificent ballet performed to live music.
Attendees can have their photo taken with Santa in the lobby prior to both matinee performances.
New Philharmonic: New Year’s Eve Pops & Viennese Celebration
1:30, 5 and 8:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 31
Featuring Guest Baritone Mischa Bouvier and Members of The CoverGirls
Tickets: $67 – $77
New Philharmonic and Maestro Muspratt ring in the New Year with a celebratory program of Pops and Viennese works, a champagne toast and more. The concert features guest baritone Mischa Bouvier hailed by Opera News for his “soothing, cavernous baritone that can soar to heights of lyric beauty;” and members of the pop/rock violin ensemble, The CoverGirls.
Sharing the Spirit of the Season (Nov. 24-Dec. 18)
MAC Giving Tree is accepting non-perishable food items for the COD Fuel Pantry and People’s Resource Center. The Fuel Pantry is for all students facing food insecurity and in need of assistance. For more information, visit www.cod.edu/pantry. The People’s Resource Center food pantry serves more than 3,000 families from across DuPage County each month. For more information about the People’s Resource Center visit peoplesrc.org. Also being accepted: books and board games for children and adults for Metropolitan Family Services DuPage. For more information about Metropolitan Family Services, visit www.metrofamily.org/community-centers/dupage.
About the MAC
McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355 at 425 Fawell Blvd. It houses three indoor performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), an outdoor venue, the Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 2 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, visit www.AtTheMAC.org, @AtTheMAC on Facebook and Instagram.
Support for the McAninch Arts Center is provided in part by the DoubleTree by Hilton Lisle/Naperville; Follett, WDCB 90.9 FM, a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the College of DuPage Foundation.
Established as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit www.foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462.