Theater and comedy events to attend during the holiday season
“Everything Is Illuminated”
Jonathan Safran Foer’s best-selling novel about Jewish identity, belonging and memory gets a stage adaptation at Aurora Theatre, directed by Tom Ross, as the last show he’ll helm while still the company’s artistic director.
Through Dec. 9. $35-$70. Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison St., Berkeley. 510-843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org
“The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley”
When Margot Melcon andLauren Gundersonfirst joined forces to write a holiday-themed sequel to “Pride and Prejudice,” the result was an instant classic, summoning all the witty repartee, complication-strewn plots and foible-ridden characters that Janeites cherish. Two years after “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley,” the pair reunite for a companion piece, set contemporaneously with their first effort, but in the kitchen among the servants.
Thursday, Nov. 15-Dec. 9. $25-$70. Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. 415-388-5208.www.marintheatre.org
“Taylor Mac’s Holiday Sauce”
If you saw Taylor Mac’s expansive yet incisive, unsparing yet compassionate“A 24-Decade History of Popular Music,”你知道没有人是更好的装备——智慧, heart or flair — to dissect the holidays and their music. Mac has been describing the show as “Christmas as calamity”‘; expect equal parts piercing clarity and blinding glitter.
Nov. 21-Dec. 1. $29-$175. Curran theater, 445 Geary St., S.F. 415-358-1220.https://sfcurran.com
“The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes”
In San Francisco, it’s not Christmas until four drag performers don appliqued sweaters and frilly nightgowns; make shocking, shocking insinuations that a side character might be gay or lesbian; and tear each other down and then make right back up in the time it takes to nibble a bite of cheesecake. Heklina, Matthew Martin, D’Arcy Drollinger and Holotta Tymes reincarnate the beloved sitcom about four saucy retirees who room together.
Nov. 29-Dec. 23. $25-$50. Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St., S.F.www.thegoldengirlslive.com
“Vampire Christmas”
For those still mourning the end of Halloween, Exit Theatre keeps the heebie-jeebies alive with Allison Page and Stuart Bousel’s new play, which finally answers an age-old question: What is Christmas to a vampire? “A time to take stock of that which makes us who we are: inhuman beasts who wake in the night to feast upon the lifeblood of our neighbors by the light of the moon.”
Nov. 29-Dec. 15. $20-$30. Exit Theatre, 156 Eddy St., S.F.www.theexit.org
“A Christmas Carol”
American Conservatory Theater remounts its classic production, adapted by Carey Perloff and Paul Walsh from Charles Dickens, that brings together actors at every stage of training: youngsters in its Young Conservatory, the stars of tomorrow in its MFA program and the top-tier talent that routinely graces its main stage. This tradition is the clearest contemporary manifestation of founder William Ball’s vision, which held that actors are lifelong students and teachers.
Dec. 6-29. $10-$120, subject to change. ACT’s Geary Theater, 415 Geary St., S.F. 415-749-2228.www.act-sf.org
“A Noh Christmas Carol”
Traditional Japanese theater and Dickens’ Christmas novella might not seem like the likeliest of marriages, but Theatre of Yugen makes an intriguing case for the blend with Yuriko Doi’s “Carol” adaptation. In both art forms, the living and the dead coexist, and the boundary between death and life is fluid. Director Nick Ishimaru draws on a range of forms — Noh, Kyōgen, Kabuki and butoh — to tell the tale of Ebezo Sukurooji’s redemption.
Dec. 7-30. $35-$45. Nohspace,2840 Mariposa St., S.F. 415-621-0507.www.theatreofyugen.org
Soulful Christmas Gospel Holiday Concert
As part of Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s 2018-19 season, the stentorian-voiced Yvonne Cobbs leads the Lorraine Hansberry Gospel Choir in gospel renditions of both religious and secular holiday tunes.
Dec. 13.-23. $20-$30. African American Art & Culture Complex, 762 Fulton St., S.F. 415-474-8800.www.lhtsf.org
“The Making of the Star Wars Holiday Special: Live!”
In 1978, the holiday spirit flew at the speed of light all the way to a galaxy far, far away, resulting in one of the biggest flops in TV history: “The Star Wars Holiday Special.” Now, the good folks at Dragon Theatre are making comedy out of it, as playwright Donna Northcott envisions what it was like to make the show. Expect appearances from C3PO, Chewbacca, Luke, Leia and more.
Dec. 14-15. $15. Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway, Redwood City. 650-493-2006.https://dragonproductions.net
“Kung Pao Kosher Comedy”
Each year, when the gentiles retreat inside, or all the way to their ancestral homes in flyover country, gobbling down mayonnaise and casseroles, or whatever it is one eats to reify one’s cultural hegemony,Lisa Geduldigtells Jewish jokes in a Chinese restaurant. It’s a 26-year tradition, complete with either a full dinner or vegetarian dim sum, and in 2018 Geduldig is joined by fellow comedians Carol Leifer, Joseph Nguyen and Jordon Ferber.
Dec. 23-25. $52-$72. New Asia Restaurant, 772 Pacific Ave., S.F.www.koshercomedy.com