Top theatre to see in New York in December

Read our picks for must-see Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre in December 2022.

2022 is drawing to a close, but plenty of New York shows are opening in December before the year is up. The last shows of the fall season make their debuts just in time for the holiday season, when tons of visitors flood New York to see the decorations and, of course, see shows. And with the holidays in full swing, December is filled with Broadway and Off-Broadway shows that celebrate the magic of the winter season. Check out all the top holiday shows in New York here.

Whether you're planning your holiday vacation to the city or are a local looking to squeeze in some more theatregoing before the year ends, check out our list of Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre to see in December 2022.

Julianne Hough in Concert

Emmy Award-winning dancer, actress, and singer Julianne Hough is ringing in the holidays in style. In her four-night-only concert series at the upscale Paradise Club, right in the heart of Times Square, Hough will incorporate song, dance, and stories into a love letter to New York during the holiday season. Food and drink are also on offer at this unique event, presented as part of the Broadway Speakeasy series by TodayTix.

Get Julianne Hough in Concert tickets now.

A Christmas Carol

God bless us, everyone! It wouldn't be Christmas without A Christmas Carol, and this year's production features Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays as every character in Dickens's classic. As Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and everyone in between, Mays tells the story of how a miser changes his ways after some otherworldly visits on Christmas Eve. Don't be a humbug — see A Christmas Carol before it closes January 1.

Get A Christmas Carol tickets now.

The Music Man

Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster lead the big parade that is The Music Man — but only until January 15, when they skip town and the show leaves Broadway. Meredith Willson's classic musical centers on a con man, Professor Harold Hill (Jackman), who poses as a music instructor. He sells uniforms and instruments to local bands and promises them music lessons, but disappears from town the minute he gets paid without teaching a single note. When he arrives in River City to enact his con, the local librarian, Marian Paroo (Foster), finds him out. Her plans to stop Harold, however, are thrown off when she starts to fall for him.

Get The Music Man tickets now.

The Collaboration

Following an acclaimed run in London, four-time Oscar nominee Anthony McCarten's The Collaboration now makes Broadway its canvas. The Bohemian Rhapsody screenwriter dramatizes the infamous artistic partnership between Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol, imagining the explosive conversations they had in the studio while preparing their joint exhibit. Two-time Tony Award nominee Jeremy Pope and Marvel film star Paul Bettany reprise their celebrated roles as these artistic icons.

Get The Collaboration tickets now.

Between Riverside and Crazy

Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy winner Common joins the celebrated Off-Broadway cast of Between Riverside and Crazy, making its Broadway debut five years after winning the Pulitzer Prize. In a rent-controlled apartment on the Upper West Side, a found family is chasing survival and redemption: the embattled ex-cop Pops, his paroled son Junior, and more. With the apartment and their livelihoods on the line, can they overcome their struggles?

Get Between Riverside and Crazy tickets now.

A Sherlock Carol

Deck the halls with Dickens and Doyle! Two classic tales collide in A Sherlock Carol, back off Broadway for another holiday season. This time, it's Sherlock Holmes who gets haunted by Christmas ghosts, and undergoes his own kind of transformation, as he investigates the sudden death of Ebenezer Scrooge (whose ghost also makes an appearance).

Get A Sherlock Carol tickets now.

Nutcracker Rouge

This 21+ Christmas show is more naughty than nice. Nutcracker Rouge puts a sexy spin on the beloved Nutcracker tale, with the wonders of the Land of Sweets unfolding through burlesque dance, acrobatics, music, and more. Watch the spectacle unfold all around you as the actors perform on and above the stage, and indulge in themed sweet treats and drinks fit for a sugar plum fairy.

Get Nutcracker Rouge tickets now.

The Magic Flute

The Magic Flute continues The Metropolitan Opera's annual tradition of presenting abridged, English-language operas around the holidays to bring in family audiences. The opera starts off like many classic fairytales, with a prince sent by a queen to rescue a princess in distress. He's helped along in his quest by the titular charmed instrument, which turns sadness into joy when he plays it. Once he rescues the princess, however, the two realize her captor is actually kind and wise, and it's the queen that needs to be defeated.

Get The Magic Flute tickets now.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

See the classic Peanuts TV special come to life in A Charlie Brown Christmas. From December 22 - 24, see Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Sally, and the rest of the gang discover the true meaning of Christmas. The show includes all the original dialogue from the TV show and all its famous moments, including Charlie Brown's Christmas tree search, Snoopy's decorated doghouse, and the Christmas play the Peanuts put on. At the end, the audience gets to join the cast in singing classic Christmas carols.

Get A Charlie Brown Christmas tickets now.

Becky Nurse of Salem

If you don't know "witch" show to see this December, consider Becky Nurse of Salem, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl and starring Tony Award winner Deirdre O'Connell. O'Connell plays Becky, a modern-day descendant of a woman hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. After going through a bad-luck spell, Becky turns to witchcraft of her own to try and reverse it.

Get Becky Nurse of Salem tickets now.

Your Own Personal Exegesis

This heavenly new play from Julia May Jonas takes place where coming-of-age meets church and religious ecstasy meets eroticism. More literally, the show takes place in the rooms of a progressive parish, where the congregants and even the youth pastor all go on their own journeys of discovery.

Get Your Own Personal Exegesis tickets now.

The Far Country

Take a journey with Lloyd Suh's newest play, The Far Country. The acclaimed playwright of The Chinese Lady returns with a story of a family traveling from Taishan, China to California. With the Chinese Exclusion Act having just been passed, legally barring them from entering the United States, their trek gets riskier with every step.

Get The Far Country tickets now.