Holiday Shows In NYC: A Complete 2025 Guide
Enjoy holiday theatre, concerts, dance events, and more in 2025.
By: Sidney Paterra Dec. 07, 2025
It's Christmastime in the city and with all of the holiday hustle and bustle comes a whole bunch of yuletide cheer at the theater! Check out a complete list of where you can find holiday entertainment in New York City in 2025!
.png?format=auto&width=1400 "Holiday Shows In NYC: A Complete 2025 Guide")
This feature is sponsored by The Shops at Columbus Circle. Situated in the heart of Manhattan, The Shops at Columbus Circle is an iconic destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment-loved by locals and visitors alike. With over 40 specialty retailers, including J.Crew and Hugo Boss, and more than 10 restaurants and bars ranging from casual Parisian-style cafes, to acclaimed Michelin-starred dining, the center offers something for every taste. LEARN MORE!
The Radio City Christmas Spectacular
Running at Radio City Music Hall
Through January 5, 2025
The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes returns to the Great Stage at Radio City Music Hall taking place during the Rockettes milestone 100th anniversary.
A staple of the holidays in New York City, the awe-inspiring Christmas Spectacular features intricate choreography performed by the incomparable Radio City Rockettes throughout nine show-stopping numbers. The production, which can only be seen at Radio City Music Hall, blends classic numbers that audiences know and love, such as “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers,” with innovative technology that extends the show beyond the stage, including expansive digital projections. In 2024, the production introduced cutting-edge holographic technology in a new scene starring Santa Claus and set to the holiday classic “We Need A Little Christmas.” Paired with the digital projections, the holographic animations in this scene immerse audiences in holiday wonder while referencing classic Rockettes numbers with images of a double decker bus, wooden solders, rag dolls, and more. Since it opened at Radio City in 1933, the Christmas Spectacular has brought holiday joy to more than 72 million people from around the world.
A Christmas Carol
Running at Perelman Performing Arts Center
Through January 4, 2026
Matthew Warchus’ production of Charles Dickens’ immortal classic, returns to NYC, adapted for the stage by Jack Thorne. The production is co-directed for PAC NYC by Thomas Caruso. A Christmas Carol fills the auditorium to the brim with holiday treats, music, and merriment. A unique staging immerses the audience in London’s longest running adaptation of this beloved festive favorite.
On a bitter Christmas Eve night, a cold-hearted miser is visited by four ghosts. Transported to worlds past, present and future, Ebenezer Scrooge witnesses what a lifetime of fear and selfishness has led to and sees with fresh eyes the lonely life he has built for himself. Can Ebenezer be saved before it’s too late? An uplifting story for families, this essential festive treat is vividly brought to the stage in a big-hearted production full of music and cheer.
It's a Wonderful Life
Running at hte Irish Rep, Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage
Through December 31, 2025
Irish Repertory Theatre will present It’s A Wonderful Life!, adapted for radio from Frank Capra's 1946 film by Anthony E. Palermo and directed by Charlotte Moore. Step back in time to radio station W.I.R.T. on Christmas Eve, 1946, where Frank Capra’s holiday classic It’s A Wonderful Life comes thrillingly to life before your eyes—and ears! Irish Rep’s celebrated production of It’s A Wonderful Life!, adapted by Anthony E. Palermo and directed by Charlotte Moore, reimagines the beloved film as a live radio broadcast filled with nostalgic songs, vintage commercials, and delightful handmade sound effects.
George Bailey, the kindest man in Bedford Falls, has always put others first—until one fateful night when he begins to doubt if his life has made a difference. Enter Clarence, a guardian angel still waiting to earn his wings, who shows George how the world would look if he had never been born. With six actors portraying more than two dozen unforgettable characters, this heartwarming production captures the magic of the Golden Age of Radio. It reminds us that “no one is a failure who has friends.” And yes—Clarence finally gets his wings.
George Balanchine's The Nutcracker
Running at the David H. Koch Theater
Through January 4, 2025
New York City Ballet opens the 2025–26 season of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. Since premiering in 1954, NYCB’s staging of Balanchine’s holiday work has become one of the most widely attended versions of The Nutcracker in the United States, drawing more than 100,000 audience members each year.
Set to Tchaikovsky’s score, the production features choreography by Balanchine, scenery by Rouben Ter-Arutunian, costumes by Karinska, and lighting by Mark Stanley after the original design by Ronald Bates. The staging includes more than 150 NYCB dancers and musicians and more than 120 students from the School of American Ballet performing in alternating casts. Notable production elements include a Christmas tree that expands from 16 to 41 feet, a staged snowstorm, a nine-foot-wide Mother Ginger costume weighing 85 pounds, and a finale requiring one million watts of lighting.
The New York Pops: A Place Called Home
Running at Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
December 19-20, 2025
Celebrate the season with a festive holiday concert featuring the New York Pops, Broadway and television sensation Megan Hilty, and the acclaimed Essential Voices USA choir. This joyous evening will enchant audiences with holiday classics, spirited carols, and heartwarming performances that capture the magic of the holidays.
Holidays with the NY Phil
Handel’s Messiah
Running at David Geffen Hall
December 10-13, 2025
Join us a favorite holiday tradition! Handel’s setting of Biblical texts reaches operatic heights and is full of iconic melodies. A stellar cast of soloists and the chorus of Music of the Baroque are conducted by Jane Glover, whose previous Messiah with the NY Phil was lauded as "superb” (The New York Times).
Sounds of the Season
Running at David Geffen Hall
December 13- 14, 2025
Celebrate the season with a festive matinee concert of joyous holiday music. The entire family will love the jingling bells of Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride, the Sugar Plum Fairy’s delicate dance from The Nutcracker, Vince Guaraldi’s beloved music for A Charlie Brown Christmas, Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, and some seasonal surprises that are sure to warm your heart on a cold winter’s day.
Home Alone In Concert
Running at David Geffen Hall
December 17-20, 2025
A true holiday favorite that’s fun for the entire family, this beloved comedy classic features renowned composer John Williams’s delightful score performed live to picture by the NY Phil. Macaulay Culkin stars as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old boy who’s accidentally left behind when his family leaves for Christmas vacation, and who must defend his home against two bungling thieves.
Cirque du Soleil's 'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE…
Running at the Theatre at MSG
Through December 28, 2025
The celebrated holiday theatrical ‘Twas the Night Before… by Cirque du Soleil is returning to The Theater at Madison Square Garden for a limited engagement this holiday season. ‘Twas the Night Before… marks the company’s first and only holiday show from Cirque du Soleil. Inspired by the classic poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” by Clement Clarke Moore, memorable lines from the cherished tale sparked Cirque’s story about a jaded young girl who rediscovers the magic of the holidays.
Directed by James Hadley, a 25-year veteran of circus productions and live theater, ‘Twas the Night Before… features Cirque du Soleil acrobatics, from an aerial straps duo and daring hoop diving, to gravity-defying hair suspension and high-energy dancing, performed by a cast of 26 artists from all over the world. The show also features characters and a soundtrack that includes Christmas favorites reimagined by Cirque du Soleil.
Christamas Time in the City
Running at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle
December 11, 2025
Tony nominees Betsy Wolfe, Ephraim Sykes, Derek Klena, and Emily Skinner headline the third annual Christmas Time in the City concert on December 11 at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle. They are joined by Tally Sessions, Christian Mark Gibbs, J. Antonio Rodriguez, Natalie Toro, Sally Wilfert, and Anna Zavelson for a night of Broadway-style holiday arrangements performed with a 25-piece orchestra and a 70-voice cross-borough community chorus.
Candlelight: Christmas Carols on Strings
Running at Sony Hall
December 21, 2025
Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations like never seen before in New York. Get your tickets now to discover the music of Christmas Carols on Strings at Sony Hall under the gentle glow of candlelight.
Taylor Mac’S Holiday Sauce
Running at Town Hall
December 19 -20, 2025
Christmas as Calamity! Taylor Mac’s beloved annual holiday extravaganza, Holiday Sauce blends music, film, burlesque and random acts of fabulousness in the most subversive and cathartic event of the season. Ibsen Award winner and MacArthur Fellow Taylor Mac (who uses “judy” as a gender pronoun) invites long-time collaborators (including Matt Ray as music director with looks and appearances from Machine Dazzle) and surprise special guests to celebrate the holidays in all of their dysfunction. There is more to the holidays than rampant gift giving— in Taylor’s world, creativity and imagination are their own spirituality. Taylor Mac reminds us of the collective power of our chosen families, a message that rings true in spite of capitalism’s attempt to hijack the holidays.
Christine Ebersole with Billy Stritch: I’ll Be Home For Christmas
Running at 54 Below
November 29- December 6, 2025
Join legendary two-time Tony Award® winner Christine Ebersole and musical icon Billy Stritch at the piano, as they celebrate the holidays together. I’ll Be Home For Christmas will feature the greatest hits of their twenty year partnership, going all the way back to 42nd Street on Broadway when they first met!
Alton Fitzgerald White: Christmas Is Here
Running at Chelsea Table + Stage
December 19, 2025
After a record-breaking 4,308 performances as King Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway, Alton added author and in-demand keynote speaker to his list of titles. His critically acclaimed book, My Pride: Mastering the Challenge of Daily Performance, filled with secrets to fulfillment and joy in work and life, is published by Disney Editions.
The 15th Annual Joe Iconis Christmas Extravaganza
Running at 54 Below
December 12-14, 2025
Joe and his merry band of musical theater punks descend on every square inch of 54 Below with their legendary holiday tradition that brings their insane celebration of all things red and green back to the heart of the theater district. Written by Joe Iconis, directed by John Simpkins, and produced by Jennifer Ashley Tepper, this wild yuletide explosion is part rock concert, part theater piece, and part theme park attraction come to life. Featuring brand new holiday songs, old favorites, a huge cast of musical theater all-stars, feisty elves, emotional reindeer, an inebriated Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and more whiskey-fueled shenanigans than you can shake a candy cane at, it promises to be the hap-hap-happiest holiday hoedown ever seen on stage.
Norm Lewis: Christmas Lives Here
Running 54 Below
December 18-24, 2025
Norm Lewis is returning to 54 Below for an 11th season of his Christmas and Holiday residency, right back where it all began, here in Broadway’s Living Room. It can easily be stated that the Tony® and Emmy-nominated Broadway, film, and television star is a holiday time attraction and must-see, adding him and 54 Below to your lists of Rockefeller Center, Macy’s, the windows at Saks Fifth Avenue, the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, and any other beloved New York City tradition you cherish at Christmastime. And because it all started right here at 54 Below, Mr. Lewis is calling this year’s edition, Norm Lewis: Christmas Lives Here. On board, once again, are his director Richard Jay-Alexander and his musical director Joseph Joubert, as well as the hottest holiday band, featuring Joubert on the keys, Michael Olatuja on bass, and Perry Cavari on drums and percussion. There’s plenty of new material and annual favorites and, as usual, Norm always has some surprises and tricks up his sleeve.
Videos