Come From Away
2025-11-30 14:00 - 16:00, 2025-11-30 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-12-03 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-12-04 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-12-05 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-12-06 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-12-06 20:00 - 22:00 (America/Chicago) | Checota Powerhouse Theater, 108 E Wells St, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53202, United States
Book, Music and Lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein
Directed by Mark Clements
A Breathtaking Tale of Triumph
This exhilarating Tony Award-winning musical shares the remarkable true story of nearly 7,000 airline passengers from all over the world who were grounded in the small Canadian town of Gander during the wake of 9/11. Experience this joyous story, with a dynamic score and a vibrant, fast-paced narrative, as spirited locals and global passengers come together to forge friendships that will stay with them forever. This breathtaking production opens the new Checota Powerhouse Theater and will leave you cheering for the power of community.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York - In Concert
2025-11-30 14:30 - 16:30 | Bradley Symphony Center, 212 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, 53203, United States
Experience the outlandish holiday adventures of Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) as he finds himself alone in New York City, thwarting the plans of bumbling Wet Bandits (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) with a series of ingenious traps. This beloved film features the full spectrum of John Williams’ delightful score – from the whimsical and playful themes to the dramatic, action-packed pieces that perfectly complement Kevin’s clever escapades. Home Alone 2 combines the timeless charm of the classic film with a vibrant, live orchestral performance for a hilarious, heart-warming festive outing for the entire family! Performed live by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

The Pigeon Gets a Big Time Holiday Extravaganza!
2025-11-30 15:30 - 17:00, 2025-12-05 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-12-06 13:00 - 14:30, 2025-12-06 15:30 - 17:00, 2025-12-07 13:00 - 14:30 | Todd Wehr Theater, 121 E State St, Milwaukee, 53202, United States
Based on Books & Characters by Mo Willems
Script and Lyrics by Mo Willems & Adam Tobin
Music by Deborah Wicks La Puma
Dramaturgy by Megan Alrutz
Directed by Michelle LoRicco
When Mo Willems’ characters get together for the holidays, it’s bound to be the biggest extravaganza ever! The Unlimited Squirrels deck the halls and Elephant and Piggie come ready to celebrate! But will The Pigeon join in the festivities, or will he run all the way to the North Pole in search of the greatest gift ever? Catchy tunes, silly stories, goofy gifts, audience antics: it’s all in this brand-new musical party that sleighs!

A Christmas Carol at the Milwaukee Rep
2025-11-30 16:30 - 19:00, 2025-12-03 19:00 - 21:30, 2025-12-04 19:00 - 21:30, 2025-12-05 19:00 - 21:30, 2025-12-06 14:00 - 16:30, 2025-12-06 19:00 - 21:30, 2025-12-07 12:00 - 14:30 | Pabst Theater, 144 E Wells St, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53203, United States
By Charles Dickens
Adapted and Directed by Mark Clements
Milwaukee’s favorite holiday tradition
For decades Wisconsinites have enjoyed A Christmas Carol as their favorite holiday tradition. Now join us as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary production of this Dickens’ classic. Experience the magic of this beloved tale as Ebenezer Scrooge’s heartwarming transformation inspires holiday cheer with the timeless message of peace, hope and joy. With beautiful music, lively dancing, stunning sets and eye-popping special effects, it’s a dazzling Christmas feast with enough theatrical goodies to fill any sized stocking hung by the chimney with care. Rep favorite Matt Daniels returns as Scrooge.

Celebrating the Season in Song with The Florentine Opera
2025-12-03 17:30 - 19:30 | The Milwaukee Club, 706 N Jefferson St, Milwaukee, 53202, United States
Step inside the historic Milwaukee Club for a night of music, cocktails, and easy elegance. It’s the perfect blend of festive cheer and a touch of fancy-without the fuss.

Featuring
Head of Music: Aurelia Andrews
Soprano: Jamila Drecker-Waxman
Mezzo-Soprano: Lauryn Nelson
Tenor: Zach Taylor
Baritone: David Drettwan
Piano: Daniel Weber
5:30 PM – Cocktail Hour
6:30 PM – Performance
Run Time – 1 hour, no intermission

Pint-Sized Concert at the Milwaukee Art Museum
2025-12-04 17:00 - 19:00 | Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 N. Art Museum Dr, Milwaukee, 53202
Join WPR for live classical music by Peter J. Thomas at the Milwaukee Art Museum! Enjoy an evening of timeless classics, reimagined pop favorites, and great company amidst the Museum’s iconic architecture, with a pop-up bar open before and during the performance. This unique celebration of art and music is brought to the community by WPR and the Museum as part of Thursday Nights at MAM, the Museum’s weekly evening of art, music, and pay-what-you-wish admission. Bring a friend or the whole family and celebrate local music while supporting two of Wisconsin’s cultural institutions.
Peter J. Thomas is a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and has performed around the world as a multi-genre soloist, clinician, educator, and chamber musician. Peter enjoys the life of being a music ambassador and strives to spread awareness of the arts in the community through his many outlets. Peter performs on a fine English cello, circa 1813, by maker Thomas Kennedy. Also performing on an electric cello, playing pop covers along with vocals, Peter regularly performs a wide range of music outside of the symphony at solo shows or alongside various bands around the city of Milwaukee.
The Art Museum opens at 4 p.m. with live music starting at 5 p.m.

Winter Fantasia:Reimagined
2025-12-04 19:00 - 2025-12-05 21:00 | Overture Center for the Arts, 201 State Street, Madison, Wisconsin, 53703, United States
Winter Fantasia: Reimagined
A Multi-Cultural Celebration
Told Through the Magic of Dance

Travel the Globe with 41 Kanopy Company and Kanopy Academy Dancers and Delight in Enchanting Nordic Legends and a
Festive South Asian Ritual Dance… Performed in Stunning Jewelry and Lavish Costumes… Then Return Stateside for Amazing Footwork in the Joyful and Sassy “Winter in the City”, based on Leonard Bernstein’s beloved “On the Town”.
December 4-7, 2025, at the Overture Center for the Arts

Madison, WI- November 3, 2025… Join Kanopy’s guest artist Udbhav Desai (Desai) for Winter Fantasia: Reimagined, a multicultural holiday celebration of light told through the magic of dance at the Overture Center for the Arts, December 4-7,2025.
At the heart of Winter Fantasia: Reimagined is “Chalo Ramiye”, (or “let’s play in Gujarati”), an epic 25-minute-long community circle dance, known as “Garba”, choreographed by Desai who also performs a principal role in this festive ritual. This season, Desai has extended the story with a segment danced to a piece of music called “Chandaliyo Ugyo Re”, which translates to the “moon has risen in Gujarat”.
The “Garba” dance originated in the Indian state of Gujarat and is performed during Navratri, the longest and largest dance festival in the world, honoring the Hindu goddess Durga during the festival of Sharad Navratri, or nine nights. Each night of Navratri represents one of the nine forms of Durga, with the tenth day celebrated as the day the goddess slew the demon king, Mahishasura.
Passed down through generations, “Garba” shares many parallels with modern dance and ballet techniques. “Chalo Ramiye” will be a visual feast with highly expressive dance and dazzling traditional costumes and jewelry crafted in a genuine Gujarati style. Dancing the “Chalo Ramiye” choreography demands a spirited bounce in the movement, nuanced head and hand gestures, grounded weighted movement, and a special bond among the performers. Garba is rarely, if ever, performed on a big stage in the United States- outside of cultural celebrations.
In Garba music, you can hear instruments such as dakla, a drum bound with leather on two ends and a thin waist; sundari, a double-reed instrument; manjira, small brass cymbals; and surando, a stringed instrument. The music is paired with poems often about the Goddess and festivities. In essence, the song, music and dance of Garba give it its unique devotional, playful and celebratory character.
Costumes and jewelry worn by dancers in “Chalo Ramiye”, originate from a collection curated by the late Bijalben Patel (Patel), a lifelong “Garba” choreographer and dancer. They were donated to Kanopy Dance in Patel’s memory by the guest artist’s mother, Raxitaben Desai.

In addition to “Chalo Ramiye”, two cherished and enchanting winter stories rooted in Scandinavian folklore : “Once Upon a Winter’s Eve” and “The Norse Tree of Life” — that are magical journeys into the lives of the mythological creatures including fairies and elves—continue to be a treasured part of the concert program.

Choreographed by Kanopy’s artistic director, Lisa Thurrell, the dances are performed in elaborately detailed costuming designed by noted New York artist David Quinn (Quinn). Quinn created many of the fabrics for the costumes himself and was inspired by images of folk wear and medieval clothing as well as by the designers Alexander McQueen and Rei Kawakubo, in ornately weaving and detailing his creative collection of gender-fluid costumes for Kanopy’s dancers. A native of Northern Wisconsin whose work has been featured in The New York Times and Art Forum, Quinn has designed dance costumes for countless companies including The Martha Graham Dance Company and Merce Cunningham Dance.

Completing the program—back stateside, is the delightful and sassy, “Winter in the City,” set to the iconic Leonard Bernstein score for “On the Town”, and charged with fancy footwork “On the Town” follows the fun and romantic adventures of three exuberant sailors on 24-hour leave in New York-a wonderful town. Kanopy’s “Winter in the City” is a twist on that iconic tale, with starry eyed dancers taking a city wrapped in the frosty magic of winter by storm.
Winter Fantasia: Reimagined
December 4-7 ,2025,
Overture Center for the Arts Overture.org (608) 258-4141

The Commercialists: Charlie Brown Christmas
2025-12-05 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-12-05 21:00 - 22:30 | Bradley Symphony Center, 212 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, 53203, United States
Good Grief! Local favorites The Commercialists bring their annual holiday tradition back to the Bradley Symphony Center. Sit right on the stage as you experience a live performance of the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas, complete with bar service. Your up-close-and-personal onstage floor ticket includes one drink. The vocal stylings of jazz singer Faith Hatch usher in the holiday season.
Please note: Table service is available on floor only. All guests will receive one drink voucher per eligible ticket upon arrival, before the performance.
*The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra will not perform at this event.*

Milwaukee Community Orchestra - Winter Concert
2025-12-05 19:00 - 21:00 | Shattuck Auditorium – Carroll University, 218 N East Ave, Waukesha, 53186, United States
Founded in 2024, the Milwaukee Community Orchestra (MCO) is a dynamic organization designed to foster a lifelong love of music. Our mission is to enrich Milwaukee’s cultural landscape by offering a welcoming space where musicians of all ages,
backgrounds, and skill levels can come together to make music.
Program
Zampa Overture, Ferdinand Herold
O Holy Night, Adolphe Adam/arr. Custer
In the Bleak Midwinter, Gustav Holst/R.W. Smith
The Bells of Christmas, arr. Bob Krogstad (Carol of the Bells; Ding Dong Merrily on High; Jingle Bells; I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day; Silver Bells)
Festive Overture, Dmitri Shostakovich
Music from “Frozen”, Lopez/arr. Krogstad (Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?; For the First Time in Forever; Frozen Heart; In Summer; Let It Go)
Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Suite for Orchestra, George Gershwin/Bennett (Summertime; I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’; Bess, You is My Woman Now; There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New York; It Ain’t Necessarily So; Oh, Lawd, I’m On My Way)

Milwaukee Community Orchestra Winter Concert
2025-12-05 19:30 - 21:00 | Shattuck Auditorium – Carroll University, 218 N East Ave, Waukesha, 53186, United States
Performing works by Shostakovich, Herold, Gershwin, Holst, the music from Frozen, and holiday medleys.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - In Concert
2025-12-05 19:30 - 22:00, 2025-12-06 19:30 - 22:00 | The Riverside Theater, 116 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53203, United States
Learning on his 11th birthday that he is a wizard destined for greatness, Harry leaves for wizarding school for the first time in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone™. This concert presents the first movie of the unforgettable series while a live orchestra
performs John Williams’s enchanting score. Join us for an evening of music and magic. Performed live by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
*At the Riverside Theater*

The Nutcracker with the Milwaukee Ballet
2025-12-06 19:30 - 21:30 | Marcus Performing Arts Center, 929 N Water Street, Milwaukee, 53202, United States
Adventure into the dreamlike world of Drosselmeyer’s Imaginarium! Hailed as “equal parts smart and magical” (Milwaukee Magazine), this fantastical production invites you to let your imagination run free for the holidays.
As one of Milwaukee’s favorite holiday traditions, The Nutcracker guarantees an enchanting evening of festive fun for all ages. Nearly 200 dancers, including students of Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy, will illuminate the incredible artistic talent found right here in our city.
