Holiday shows sparkle with sights and sounds of the season

METRO DETROIT — With all of shopping, cooking, card writing, decorating and gift wrapping, the hustle and bustle of the holiday season can leave people more exhausted than excited.

Thankfully, holiday shows are here to bring a few hours of relaxation and remind audiences that this is a time of joy, love and togetherness.

Detroit’s own Karen Newman — who sang the national anthem before Detroit Red Wings games for about 30 years and has toured with Bob Seger and Kid Rock — will bring her show, “Christmas Eve on Woodward Avenue,” to Andiamo Celebrity Showroom in Warren Dec. 11. Newman will debut a new holiday song, along with performing the show’s title track. Tickets: www.andiamoshowroom.com, www.ticketmaster.com or (586) 268-3200.

“Karen Newman brings such joy and magic to the holiday season at Andiamo,” said Joe Vicari, the founder and CEO of Joe Vicari Restaurant Group, via email. “We are thrilled to have her share some of the most time-honored holiday classics and hope to hear her newest original holiday song, ‘Motor City Christmas,’ when she celebrates with us.”

Meadow Brook Theatre, on the Oakland University campus in Rochester, will perform its 40th annual production of “A Christmas Carol” Nov. 18-Dec. 24. Thomas D. Mahard returns as Scrooge, while two young actors — Ben Ellison, of Rochester, and Conrad Nichols, of Shelby Township — alternate as Tiny Tim. Tickets: (248) 377-3300, www.ticketmaster.com or www.mbtheatre.com.

“We truly love ‘A Christmas Carol,’” MBT Managing Director Cheryl Marshall said in a press release. “We’re happy to be presenting it for the 40th year and look forward to seeing familiar faces both on stage and in the audience.”

The Fox Theatre in Detroit will host “ELF The Musical” Nov. 22-27, “Baby Shark Live!: The Christmas Show” Dec. 2, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” Dec. 4, Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith in a Christmas concert Dec. 8, “Mannheim Steamroller Christmas” by Chip Davis Dec. 10, “NUTCRACKER! Magic of Christmas Ballet” Dec. 11, and “’Twas the Night Before…” by Cirque du Soleil Dec. 15-26. At Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Trans-Siberian Orchestra will perform “The Ghost of Christmas Eve — the Best of TSO and More” Dec. 29, while Channel 95.5’s Jingle Ball — with The Kid LAROI, AJR, Backstreet Boys, Khalid, Macklemore, Tate McRae, Ava Max, Nicky Youre, Jax and Armani White — will be Dec. 6. Tickets: (800) 745-3000 or www.313presents.com.

In Clarkston, see the Magic of Lights drive-through display at Pine Knob Music Theatre Nov. 18-Dec. 31. Tickets: www.magicoflights.com.

“313 Presents is thrilled to host a variety of holiday programming this season that invites families to create those one-of-a-kind treasured memories that they look forward to year after year,” said President of 313 Presents Howard Handler by email. “Classics such as ‘ELF The Musical’ and ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ offer nostalgic fun while ‘NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet’ and our new production, ‘’Twas The Night Before…’ by Cirque du Soleil showcase eye-popping artistic expression at the Fox, which will be decorated in celebration of the season. Jingle Ball and Trans-Siberian Orchestra will bring the energy to Little Caesars Arena with their larger-than-life productions, and we’ve got our annual light show, Magic of Lights at Pine Knob. There is something for everyone this year.”

Holiday concerts inside Orchestra Hall at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center in Detroit — home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra — include “A Charlie Brown Christmas — Cyrus Chestnut & Friends” Dec. 9, “Home Alone in Concert” Dec. 14 and “Home for the Holidays,” conducted by Michelle Merrill, Dec. 16-18. During Noel Night Dec. 3, Detroit Latin jazz group Aguankó will perform music from their album, “Latin Jazz Christmas in Havana,” followed by a performance from the Brubeck Brothers. The flutists of the DSO — Hannah Hammel Maser, Sharon Sparrow, Amanda Blaikie and Shantanique Moore — will perform holiday favorites including “Deck the Halls” and “The Holly and the Ivy” Dec. 5 at First Christian Reformed Church of Detroit in Grosse Pointe Park. Tickets: (313) 576-5111 or www.detroitsymphony.com.

The Macomb Center for the Performing Arts, located on the main campus of Macomb Community College in Clinton Township, will offer John Denver tribute artist Ted Vigil in “A Rocky Mountain Christmas” Nov. 27, Macomb Ballet Company performing “The Nutcracker” Dec. 2-4, Macomb Youth Chorus’ Winter Concert Dec. 5, Sandy Hackett’s “Rat Pack Christmas!” Dec. 10, Macomb Symphony Orchestra’s “Holiday Pops by the Fireside” with the Macomb Ballet Company Dec. 11 and Prism Men’s Chorus’ “Celebrate the Season” Dec. 17. Tickets: (586) 286-2222 or www.macombcenter.com.

“There’s something for everyone this Christmas at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts, and there’s the added convenience of free and easy parking!” said Macomb Center House Manager Marissa Lane by email. “Seeing these shows is a great way to sneak away from the hustle and bustle to spend quality time with friends and family. Whether you see a unique holiday favorite like ‘A Rocky Mountain Christmas’ or ‘Rat Pack Christmas!’ or a nostalgic classic like ‘The Nutcracker’ or the Macomb Symphony Orchestra concert, everyone is sure to leave the theater full of holiday spirit.”

The Motor City Brass Band will perform “Sounds of the Season” Dec. 18 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts in Dearborn. Tickets or more information: www.mcbb.org, www.dearborntheater.com or (313) 943-2354.

“Motor City Brass Band looks forward to getting you in the holiday spirit with music for every age, including favorites ‘Sleigh Ride,’ ‘Ukrainian Bell Carol’ (a.k.a. ‘Carol of the Bells’), ‘Frosty the Snowman’ and many more,” MCBB Music Director and Conductor Gordon Ward said by email. “Our special guests, euphonium virtuosi Steven and Misa Mead, will join us from the U.K. for featured selections, including ‘Carnival of Venice,’ ‘Christmas Flourishes’ and a special performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘Flight of the Bumblebee.’”