4 Holiday Plays & Stage Shows for the Whole Family

from the Chippewa Valley’s local theater groups and more, take your pick from a plethora of shows this season

McKenna Scherer

COME ONE, COME ALL. The Chippewa Valley is home to several theater groups and performing arts orgs, so take advantage of the proximity of talent this holiday season! (Nutcracker tour pictured)
COME ONE, COME ALL. The Chippewa Valley is home to several theater groups and performing arts orgs, so take advantage of the proximity of talent this holiday season! (Nutcracker! tour pictured)

Nutcracker! Magical Christmas Ballet
Thursday, Dec. 5 | 7pm | $41-$200+ | Pablo Center at the Confluence (128 Graham Ave., Eau Claire)

Bring the whole family to this classic holiday show, promising a breathtaking performance that blends world-class ballet with whimsical puppets and Broadway-level sets, lavish costumes, stunning acrobatics and choreography, and the timeless music from Tchaikovsky. Now in its 32nd annual tour, this show has become a holiday tradition for families across the country – don’t miss out on this critically-acclaimed experience!

Purchase your tickets online.


Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild: ‘A Christmas Story’
Dec. 6-8, Dec. 13-15 | $28 for adults, $15 for youth/students | Various times | Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild (102 W. Grand Ave., Eau Claire)

A classic holiday tale brought to life on a local stage, this show brings all the elements from the beloved movie we all know: Scut Marcus, the frozen lamppost, and of course, the leg lamp. Inspired by Jean Shepherd’s memoir of growing up in the Midwest in the 1940s, the story follows 9-year-old Ralphie Parker in his quest to get a genuine Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas – to which everyone, including the store Santa Claus, tells him, “You’ll shoot your eye out!”

Purchase your tickets online.


Menomonie Theater Guild: ‘Annie’
Dec. 6-8, Dec. 13-15 | $25 for adults, $23 for students/seniors/military | Various times | Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts (205 Main St. E, Menomonie)

Catch this beloved classic in the incredible historic setting of Menomonie’s Mabel Tainter! Fit for all ages, Annie delivers equal measures of pluck and positivity as Little Orphan Annie charms everyone despite a hard start in Depression-era New York City. The tale follows Annie as her determination drives her to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a NYC Orphanage – run by the cruel Miss Hannigan.

Purchase your tickets online.


Eau Claire Children’s Theatre:  ‘A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas’
Dec. 13-15, Dec. 20-22 | $18 for adults/seniors, $12 for youth/students | Various times | The Oxford (1814 Oxford Ave., Eau Claire)

In the family’s poorest winter ever, set in Burr Oak, Iowa, the Ingalls family backtracks to take over the running of a hotel. Celebrating the importance of enduring family ties during the holiday season, the audience will follow the Ingalls family during a particularly interesting time: the “missing” two-year period that Laura Ingalls did not write about.

Purchase your tickets online.