What’s on stage in December

Performances coming to San Diego this month include Scrooge in Rouge, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and Dear Evan Hansen.

12.5-29: Festival of Christmas

Lamb’s rolls out a fresh script every holiday season for this long-running, family-minded yuletide tradition; for 2019, it’s an encore of the radio-minded “It’s Christmas and It’s Live!”

Lamb’s Players Theatre, Coronado, lambsplayers.org

12.6: ¡Vívelo! with Son Luna y Jóvenes Zapateadores

The Mexican musical ensemble Son Luna teams with the dancers of Jóvenes Zapateadores for a large-scale show that delves into folkloric dance, African-inspired movement and more.

California Center for the Arts, Escondido, artcenter.org

12.6-22: Scrooge in Rouge

This comically bawdy take on the saga of Ebenezer Scrooge draws on British music-hall tropes to tell the story of a hapless three-member troupe (led by a male impersonator) trying to enact all 20-plus parts in an adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

OB Playhouse & Theatre Co., Ocean Beach, obplayhouse.com

12.7: San Diego Opera’s One Amazing Night

The opera’s popular annual event returns, and this time around it boasts the much-admired soprano Ailyn Pérez and the Grammy Award-winning tenor Joshua Guerrero, who will team for a recital with a Spanish theme.

Balboa Theatre, downtown, sdopera.org

12.8: Latin History for Morons

Born at La Jolla Playhouse and a hit on Broadway, John Leguizamo’s Tony Award-nominated solo piece returns to town, with “Johnny Legs” offering a spirited, satirical take on the forgotten history of Latinos and Latinas in the Americas.

San Diego Civic Theatre, downtown, ticketmaster.com

12.9: Musical Monday

“Holiday Hullabaloo” is the theme for Cygnet’s latest Monday showcase; the show (hosted by Melissa Fernandes) will feature Manny Fernandes, Zack Wolfe, Colleen Kollar Smith and Amy Perkins interpreting holiday tunes to Terry O’Donnell’s piano accompaniment.

Cygnet Theatre, Old Town, cygnettheatre.com

12.12-22: Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Angels

The great detective clearly doesn’t take a break for the holidays; this story (presented by a cast of 20) puts Holmes at the center of a mystery that echoes other favorite tales of the season.

California Center for the Arts, Escondido, artcenter.org

12.16-17: Dickens UnScripted

The works of that other Chuck D. get the improv treatment in this ever-unpredictable show from the L.A.-based Impro Theatre, who’ve made the piece a seasonal favorite at NCRT.

Impro Theatre at North Coast Rep, Solana Beach, northcoastrep.org

12.20-22: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

A church Christmas pageant runs up against the mayhem created by a crew of young hellions in this stage adaptation of Barbara Robinson’s 1971 novel for kids.

Trinity Theatre at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center, downtown, trinityttc.org

Through 12.29: Welkome Home for the Holidays

The theater that Lawrence Welk built puts its name behind (or, actually, in) this musical celebration of the season — a variety show set to sounds both traditional and contemporary.

Welk Resorts Theatre, Escondido, sandiegotickets.welkresorts.com

12.31-1.12: Dear Evan Hansen

The hot songwriting team of Pasek & Paul (La La Land and more) scored this still-running Broadway hit about a struggling high-school kid who gets caught up in a whirl of difficult and life-changing events over a misunderstood letter.

San Diego Civic Theatre, downtown, broadwaysd.com