MUSIC
Pop & Rock
WINGTIPS This Chicago duo makes high-gloss, chilly synthpop — but the lyrics on their latest album, “Cutting Room Floor,” belie the emotions that give their music an urgent pulse. Dec. 10, 8 p.m. ZuZu, Cambridge. 617-864-3278, mideastoffers.com
JOSH KANTOR’S 7TH INNING STRETCH HOMETOWN HOLIDAY For 120 consecutive days during the pandemic, the Red Sox organist did a daily livestream from home where he’d take viewer requests (and raise money for local food banks); he still does it weekly. This festive in-person edition will be a collaboration between Kantor and “The Worst Talk Show” hosts DJAngieC and Handsome Boyfriend Dave. Dec. 10, 8 p.m. City Winery. 617-933-8047, citywinery.com/boston
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GENESIS Tony Banks, Phil Collins, and Mike Rutherford come to town on their first North American tour in 14 years, blowing the dust off era-dominating songs like the claustrophobic “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” and the simmering “That’s All.” Dec. 15-16, 8 p.m. TD Garden. 617-624-1000, tdgarden.com
MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk, World & Country
JESSE DAYTON With this show you’ll get both music and words, from a man who’s never at a loss for ‘em: Beaumont, Texas, native Jesse Dayton will talk about his new memoir, “Beaumonster,” and play some tunes from the companion album of the same name. Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles open. Dec. 10, 7 p.m. $20. City Winery, 80 Beverly St. 617-933-8047, www.citywinery.com/boston
STEVE GUNN/JEFF PARKER My recommendation is never miss a Steve Gunn show. This time through, he’s supporting his latest release, the laid-back, buoyant “Other You.” Jeff Parker co-headlines and will feature his album of solo guitar works, “Forfolks,” which is out this week. Dec. 14, 8 p.m. $23. The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge. 888-929-7849, www.axs.com
CHERISH THE LADIES The iconic Irish-American group (and Scottish in its current membership as well) will celebrate the season Wednesday with its “Celtic Christmas” performance of singing, playing, and step-dancing. Dec. 15, 7:30 p.m. $42. Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley. 978-425-4311, www.bullrunrestaurant.com
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STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
EDDIE PALMIERI Two nights and four shows featuring NEA Jazz Master and multiple Grammy-winning pianist and bandleader Palmieri, among the greatest Latin jazz artists to ever grace a stage or recording studio. Dec. 10-11, 8 and 10 p.m. $40-$120. Scullers, 400 Soldiers Field Road. 866-777-8932, www.scullersjazz.com
JASON PALMER QUINTET: HOLIDAY FAVORITES INSPIRED BY DUKE ELLINGTON & THAD JONES Trumpeter Jason Palmer returns to Boston to lead his quintet in a free concert of seasonal standards, inspired by trumpeter and composer Jones (brother of pianist Hank and drummer Elvin) and the magisterial pianist, composer, and bandleader Ellington. Family-friendly music at a family-friendly hour! Presented by Celebrity Series of Boston. Dec. 11, 3 p.m. Free admission. Arlington Street Church, 25 Arlington St. www.celebrityseries.org/live-performances/neighborhood-arts/jason-palmer-quintet
CHERYL ARENA Area native Arena, a masterful blues harmonica player and fine singer-songwriter, has shared stages with a panoply of blues greats for three decades to great acclaim. Dec. 11, 6 p.m. The Porch Southern Fare and Juke Joint, 175 Rivers Edge Drive, Medford. 781-874-9357, www.theporchsouthern.com
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
BOSTON BAROQUE This year’s rendition of the beloved holiday classic “Messiah” features soloists Maya Kherani, Christopher Lowrey, Aaron Sheehan, and Kevin Deas. Martin Pearlman conducts. Dec. 10-12. GBH Calderwood Studio. https://baroque.boston
JUVENTAS NEW MUSIC In “Source Code,” the contemporary chamber group pulls together pieces by five living composers inspired by their cultural roots, representing several continents. Music by Jessie Montgomery, J.A.J. Sedarski, Kian Ravasi, Rosśa Crean, and Susan Botti. Dec. 11, 8 p.m. Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge. Livestream also available on YouTube. www.juventasmusic.org
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A.Z. MADONNA
ARTS
Theater
A GRINCHLEY CHRISTMAS CAROL Now in his 26th year as leader of the Gold Dust Orphans, Ryan Landry is that most paradoxical of figures: the iconoclast as institution. Beneath the layers of jokey insouciance, Landry is intensely committed to the art and craft of a good time. That’s doubtless what his audience is looking for after the miserable past year and a half, and they’ll find it at his raunchy musical mashup of Dickens and Dr. Seuss, written by and starring Landry as the green, mean, and utterly obscene Hermione P. Grinchley. Directed by Kiki Samko. Through Dec. 19. Ryan Landry and the Gold Dust Orphans. At Iron Wolf Theatre, South Boston Lithuanian Citizens’ Association, South Boston. https://grinchleycarol.bpt.me or 800-838-3006. For ages 16 and up.
BLACK NATIVITY There’s not a more stirring and joyful holiday experience on any area stage than this annual treasure, now in its 51st season. A gospel-music telling of the Nativity story, complete with a candlelight procession, African drumming, and the “Dance of Mary and Joseph,” this Boston version of “Black Nativity” was created by Dr. Elma Lewis and John Andrew Ross, inspired by Langston Hughes’s original song-play. With direction by Voncille Ross and choreography by George Howard. Production by National Center of Afro-American Artists. Dec. 10-19 at Robert J. Orchard Stage, Paramount Center. 617-824-8400, www.blacknativity.org
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A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A MUSICAL GHOST STORY Featuring original music as well as seasonal songs, this annual production of North Shore Music Theatre’s adaptation of the Charles Dickens tale about one man’s overnight journey to redemption features the indefatigable David Coffee, returning for his 27th season as Ebenezer Scrooge. Also returning for a 27th season — Cheryl McMahon as Mrs. Dilber and Mrs. Fezziwig. Directed and choreographed by Kevin P. Hill. Through Dec. 23. North Shore Music Theatre, Beverly. 978-232-7200, www.nsmt.org
A CHRISTMAS STORY: THE MUSICAL With a score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (”Dear Evan Hansen”), this charming adaptation stays true to the antic spirit of the 1983 film about the adventures of young Ralphie Parker and to the semi-autobiographical writings of radio humorist Jean Shepherd. When “A Christmas Story: The Musical” came to Boston in 2013, I wrote that it was “consistently enjoyable and sometimes more than that,” with “an overall buoyancy of mood and a fleetness of pace throughout.” Directed by Matt Lenz. Dec. 10-19. Boch Center Wang Theatre, Boston. 800-982-2787, www.bochcenter.org
CIRQUE DREAMS HOLIDAZE Christmas tree ornaments come to life and tell their own stories via performances by more than 20 skilled circus artists, blended with renditions of original music and seasonal songs like “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Deck the Halls.” In reviewing this show five years ago, I called it a “full-on sensory immersion in which Las Vegas meets family entertainment meets musical theater meets acid trip, with elements of Santa’s Workshop and an old-time TV variety show thrown into the mix.” Directed by Rye Mullins and choreographed by Kevin Wilson. Boch Center Shubert Theatre. Dec. 10-12. 866-348-9738, www.bochcenter.org
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DON AUCOIN
Dance
LILITH Anikaya presents this solo performance by Wendy Jehlen, which was inspired by the sculpture of the same name by Kiki Smith and evokes the story of the first woman. Using research dating back to the epic poem “Gilgamesh,” the work’s narrative arc features the poetry of Keith Tornheim. It portrays the woman created from the same clay as Adam but who refused to be subservient to him and abandoned Eden. Dec. 10, $15-$20. Boston Center for the Arts. www.simpletix.com/e/lilith-tickets-81560
SUPERSHAG’S 20TH ANNUAL SNOWMAN’S BALL And now for something completely different. With a live DJ spinning tunes for ballroom, Latin, swing, and salsa, this festive event is both a semi-formal dance party and an exhibition, featuring performances by champion ballroom dancers. Dec. 10, Free-$20. SuperShag Mega Dance Complex, Waltham. www.supershag.com
GUMDROPS & THE FUNNY UNCLE — A CABARET Peter DiMuro/Public Displays of Motion reprises its charmingly offbeat series of holiday stories and dances with an “alternative family” twist as an intimate cabaret. Brian Patton will be the show’s music director, with guest stars to include a variety of song stylists as well as one of the company’s core collaborators, dancer/choreographer Michael Winward. Dec. 10 and 17, $25. Club Café. www.clubcafe.com
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual Arts
DEANA LAWSON “I photograph family, friends, and strangers,” Lawson once said, “and I operate on the belief that my own being is found in union with those I take pictures of.” In this first museum survey of the Brooklyn-based artist, the level of intimacy is frequently disarming: a couple making love while their infant sleeps nearby; three young women, naked and prone on a floral rug. Often meticulously staged, Lawson’s pictures offer a view into “real Black Life,” writes the critic and curator Greg Tate in an essay for the exhibition catalog. “In her relatively brief career, Deana Lawson has become a Diogenes, a signifying truth-seeker of unviolated Black humanity and beauty.” Through Feb. 27. Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, 25 Harbor Shore Drive. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.org
MIT LIST VISUAL ARTS CENTER Ending its COVID exile very recently — Oct. 22 — the List Center reopened after a year-and-a-half closure with three new exhibitions: Andrew Norman’s two video pieces “Impersonator” (2021) and “Kodak” (2019); Sreshta Rit Premnath’s sculpture show “Grave/Grove”; and, in this era of stops and starts as we lurch from lockdown to reopening, the serendipitously named “Begin Again, Again,” by the pioneering video artist Leslie Thornton. Norman through Jan. 13; Premnath and Thornton through Feb. 22. MIT List Center for the Visual Arts, 20 Ames St., Cambridge, through Jan. 5. 617-253-4680, listart.mit.edu
DEVOUR THE LAND: WAR AND AMERICAN LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY SINCE 1970 In Harvard Art Museums’s first feature exhibition open in person since the pandemic shutdowns of March 2020 — the building reopened on Sept. 4 — the always timely topic of the military imprint on American life is the subject of the 160-plus photographs on view. Through Jan. 16. Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge. www.harvardartmuseums.org
MURRAY WHYTE
CHRIS FAUST: LUDERE TERRAM: BATTLES AND VIEWS In this allegorical exhibition about growing up in uncertain times, Faust marries the sublime of sky-washed vistas recalling Hudson River School paintings with the threat of the unknown. Paintings and drawings feature a girl in a spacesuit as a young hero exploring other planets, on an epic, science-fiction journey toward adulthood. Through Jan. 15. Laconia Gallery, 433 Harrison Ave. www.laconiagallery.com
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
STAVROS HALKIAS The New York comic likes to explain his prominent missing front tooth by saying he was defending someone on a train, because he doesn’t want to tell the real story. “Actually what happened is, I bit into a chicken wing too hard, but that can’t be my story, right?” he says. “I was eating a wing too excitedly to maintain teeth.” Dec. 10-11, 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. $29. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com
MICHELLE BUTEAU The comedian, actor, and author says her husband likes to do things she likes to do, but she can’t always reciprocate. “He wants to go camping so bad, I was like, ‘No! On purpose? No!’,” she says in her 2020 Netflix special “Welcome to Buteaupia.” “The closest I’ve ever been to camping is eating sushi on a subway. I’m done.” Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m. $30. The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St. 617-248-9700, www.thewilbur.com
WILL SMALLEY’S BIG QUEER COMEDY CHRISTMAS MIRACLE “Old School Game Show” announcer Smalley steps into the spotlight with this holiday-themed LGBTQA+ showcase featuring sketch and stand-up from Connor Doherty, Corey Saunders, Kendra Dawsey, and Chloe Cunha. Dec. 11, 8 p.m. $20. Nick’s Comedy Stop, 100 Warrenton St. www.nickscomedystop.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
KENDALL SQUARE HOLIDAY ICE SHOW Glide onto the ice and watch international, local, and world-class professional skaters do their thing in Kendall Square. Skate rentals are available at the regular rate. Dec. 11, 2-9 p.m. Free. Canal District Kendall, 300 Athenaeum St., Cambridge. facebook.com
CIRQUE DREAM HOLIDAZE The holiday season can be a bit of a circus on its own, but this spectacular show can make it more fun. Storybook characters come to life and leap, tumble, and fly through the air, providing wonder and enchantment to the audience. Through Dec. 12, various times. $49.50-$109.50. Wang Theater, 270 Tremont St. bochcenter.org
MEET & GREET WITH THE GRINCH You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch. This year, take a photo with this Christmas grump and Cindy Lou Who to make his heart (and yours) grow a little bigger this season. Photos are taken on their own, and RSVP is encouraged. Dec. 15, 4-6 p.m. Free. 130 Arsenal Yards Blvd, Watertown. eventbrite.com
GINGERBREAD HOUSE WORKSHOP Tap into your creativity (and your appetite) to make the gingerbread house of your dreams, adorned with chewy gumdrops, candies, and plenty of icy frosting. All materials are included. Dec. 16, 7-10 p.m. $50. K.B.R Events, 11 Perkins Ave., Brockton. eventbrite.com
RIANA BUCHMAN