5 Must-See Broadway Shows for the Holidays

New York City during the holidays. Thoughts fall to the timeless traditions of ice skating in Central Park, viewing extravagantly decorated department store windows along Fifth Avenue, the Nutcracker, and the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Hall.

If you’re dreading the traditional holiday offerings, there is, however, still plenty to do in the Big Apple.

FBT Editorial Director Jonathan Spira, who serves as the magazine’s chief theater critic, looks at five shows you should not miss, ranging from an immersive experience in a Russian nightclub to two crazy old men kvetching and giving a crash course in Manhattan life on the Upper West Side.

‘Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812’ at the Imperial Theater

The Imperial Theater, home to “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” which opened with a bang last Monday, never looked quite this imperial before, a re-imagined Russian supper club with an entryway that resembles a Cold War bunker’s. Welcome to “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” a decidedly lavish and immersive production that is so complex and with so many characters that a tutorial – in the form of a song – is necessary to set the scene. The pageantry is simply spectacular, the pirogi you’ll get to snack on are delicious, and it will all make sense in the end as long as you remember that “Andrey is not here.”

‘Falsettos’ at the Walter Kerr Theater

This lively and heartbreaking show first opened on Broadway in 1992 and consists of two one-act musicals, “March of the Falsettos” and “Falsettoland,” which were first presented individually. The story, set in 1979, centers around Marvin and his lover, Whizzer who along with Marvin’s ex-wife, Trina, and their ten-year-old neurotic and precocious son, Jason, form what was at the time an unconventional family unit. The somewhat nebbishy Marvin repeatedly proclaims he wants “a tight-knit family” despite being thwarted by his desire for a monogamous relationship with the eternally boyish Whizzer. They take us on an emotional rollercoaster as the story unfolds. Have handkerchiefs ready.

Click here to continue to Page 2 – “Holiday Inn,” “The Front Page,” and “Oh, Hello”

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