Fiddler on the Roof is one of those musicals that virtually everyone knows of, perhaps through the stage version, but more likely through its film. Regardless of the medium, it’s the story that resonates, one of loss, oppression, family, tradition, love, and hope, things that have been part of our everyday lives no matter what generation we’re part of. The Tacoma Little Theatre production of Fiddler, under the direction of Melanie Gladstone, has everything a good version of this story needs to be successful, a talented cast, led by the stellar Jonathan Bill as Tevye, the familiar and classic songs that are impeccably performed, and staging that is creative and memorable. The show misses nary a step, and though our own lives may be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof, this is a show that most certainly is anything but, a delightful telling of a classic.

The Night Before The Night Before Christmas, the lighthearted holiday play from Cricket Daniel, is chock full of one-liners, jabs, jokes, and holiday spirit, which is a good thing because it’s all about its main character trying to rediscover his own. The Phoenix Theatre production isn’t going to change the world, but with a cast that delivers laugh after laugh, and at the same time understands the heart behind the jokes, The Night Before The Night Before Christmas will help even the grinchiest of grinches find their spirit this season.

Bake to Alaska is a lot of things. The new play from David A. Natale, which is having its world premiere at Key City Public Theatre in Port Townsend, and running on stage through December 29 in a production directed by Brendan Chambers, is a crazy panto that is a tribute to the silliness of 1970s television, bringing together three teams charged with baking and assembling a gingerbread house while sailing to Alaska. As with any bake, this comedy has many layers, and in order to make this holiday production work, it needs capable bakers, and with a more than capable cast and creative team under the direction of Brendan Chambers, this group has produced an irreverent and funny play and has surely earned itself the theatre equivalent of the holiday Paul Hollywood handshake.

As we enter the heart of the holiday season, we look for stories of magic to bring us closer to each other and to the hopes we have for the world around us. But sometimes, it’s a story with real people, where hope, love, and forgiveness are front and center that we look to in order to make our own magic. Anastasia is such a story and while the musical version on stage at Bainbridge Performing Arts may not be precisely up to the exacting standards we’ve come to expect from a BPA production, overall, it is a well produced and performed piece and it most definitely captures the heart of the story and provides the kind of magic we can all use this holiday season.

You probably never thought of associating Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit with the holiday season, but sometimes you don’t need a play that screams “Christmas” to be a wintertime hit, maybe you just need something that can be an escape from the stress of the world we live in, so that for a few hours, we can be immersed in a world of laughter, joy, and fun. That’s exactly what Blithe Spirit is, and with a play like this one, the better the cast, the better, and funnier, the story. When a cast is in sync, the result is a total performance, but add to that a creative team that is also working together on all cylinders, and you’ve got magic, and that’s what this production of Blithe Spirit is. And maybe that’s it, if this is the time of year for magic, the Seattle Rep production of Blithe Spirit is the perfect gift for all of us.

Mary Poppins is a undoubtedly a classic, and as a follow-up to last year’s award winning White Christmas, The 5th Avenue Theatre is hoping that by staging it this holiday season that lightning can strike twice in two years at Christmastime. Thanks to amazing choreography from director Denis Jones, and a cast that is superb in its execution, and supremely talented all the way from the leads to the ensemble, they have, in fact, delivered another stupendous, exhilarating, and wholly entertaining holiday show. It’s not just fun for the whole family, it’s an example of the high level of musical theatre that Seattle has proven time and again that it is capable of delivering. Bravo, you’ve done it again.

The Centerstage Holiday Panto version of Beauty and the Beast is unlike any version of the story that you’ve ever seen. Sure, many of the familiar characters are there, and the plot generally weaves back and forth along that well known arc, but with a drag queen, dad jokes aplenty, and music that more resembles a top 40 radio station than a Broadway stage, it’s clear that this is not your average fairy tale, and when it comes to delivering a story in the style of the English pantomime, Centerstage has it dialed in. Cast not simply with actors, singers, or dancers, director Trista Duvall has put together a group of multi-dimensional performers, who know how to bring this fairy tale to life in a most unique way, and while it’s cheesy and it’s campy, it’s also hysterical and delightful. There’s a little something for everyone of any age, and I can’t think of a better way to spend a few hours than in the company of this group immersed in their skill as entertainers.

Happy Christmas, Jeeves, is the latest chapter in the story of Bertie Wooster and his incomparable valet. Written by local playwrights Heidi McElrath and Nathan Kessler-Jeffrey, this hilarious farce of a holiday adventure fits the Jeeves canon like a glove, with characters both familiar and new that carry the heart of PG Wodehouse’s work to a new generation. With Calder Jameson Shilling and Richard Nguyen Sloniker reprising their roles from 2023’s Jeeves Takes a Bow, Happy Christmas, Jeeves is a winner, a new holiday classic with enough laughs to fill Santa’s sleigh, and enough heart to carry us through the darkest winter night.

Anastasia is a princess story rooted in a little bit of reality and a little bit of folklore, and because of that it resonates with those who are familiar with it in ways that few others do. And while there’s no magic in this story of transformation, hope, and love, there is plenty of magic in the Tacoma Musical Theatre production of Anastasia the Musical. Under the direction of Lexi Barnett and Jon Douglas Rake, this production is chock full of superb individual performances and spectacular ensemble numbers. It’s a show with a story that is enjoyable for the whole family, and it’s a production that is one of the best from this theatre over the past two seasons.

If a new tradition was born last season, with ArtsWest’s original holiday show Snowed In, then this year, it has been cemented in the Seattle theatre zeitgeist. This season’s follow-up, Snowed In (Again), features four of Seattle’s top musical theatre talents brought together to develop a Christmas Eve extravaganza, their efforts resulting in a musical menagerie of fun, with songs that are comical and catchy and humor that is delivered expertly by a cast of triple threats under the direction of Kelly Kitchens performing an original work from Corinne Park-Buffelen and David Taylor Gomes. There are going to be a lot of holiday productions in Seattle area theaters over the next month, and if you are looking for the best one to start off your holiday season, Snowed In (Again) is it.

Noel Coward wrote Blithe Spirit during a time of global unrest, at the onset of World War II. As we continue to exist in our own period of unrest, we look to get out of Coward’s story what he put into it, a little distraction from what is happening in the world around us. Thankfully, his story, about an author whose research for his new book goes awry after summoning the spirit of his ex-wife in a séance is a welcome distraction, a well constructed and extremely funny ghost story that in the Bremerton Community Theatre production is delivered by a cast, under the direction of Trina Williamson, that understands how to present this farce in the way the author intended.

How complete is our history when only part of the story is being told? On the other hand, how accurate is our history when we try to tell it in a way that won’t offend anyone? Our history is both multi-sided and offensive, it’s not pretty. The Thanksgiving Play looks at both of these in the context of a group of four teacher/actors trying to develop a play about Thanksgiving to be presented to elementary school students. Told with a ton of humor that uses common stereotypes to highlight the shortcomings in the way we’ve looked at history through the years, this cast of four taught us more than they ever could to an audience of elementary students, about how we look at history, how we consider our conversations, and what the value (or harm) in being so politically correct is.

Legally Blonde the Musical is a pale imitation of its film counterpart. The stage version lacks the substance of the story of female empowerment that made Reese Witherspoon a star, and the songs it replaces that substance with are average at best. But what makes the Village Theatre production of Legally Blonde something worth seeing isn’t the empty calories that make up the plot and music, but rather the production value and performance quality from a talented cast under the direction of Meredith McDonough. With choreography that is exciting, challenging, and fun, and both individual and ensemble performances that are superb, this production of Legally Blonde doesn’t just make this story watchable, but makes it enjoyable, and fun. And at the end of the day, sometimes that’s all we need.

Outside Mullingar has a lot riding on it. Not only is it the first production from Circle of Fire Theatre, but it’s also the inaugural event in the new Studio Series at Bainbridge Performing Arts. Thankfully, this intimate play about family, love, loss, loneliness, hope, and forgiveness, has a small but superb cast under the direction of someone who knows how to get the best out of a cast of any size and knows how to produce a show with enough energy and emotion to exceed the space in which it’s being presented. With some of the best performances of the season, this is a show that is sure to leave an indelible mark on anyone who has the opportunity to see it. The only downside is, that with such a short run, too many are going to miss out on experiencing the wonder that is Outside Mullingar.

The Moors is a true dark comedy, one that looks at the effect that isolation and loneliness has on individuals with different personalities, to see how they react to it and how it informs their behavior as they aim to try and reach their goals or make their dreams come true. The Lesser Known Players are known for putting shows up that dig into the good and bad of our humanity, and have taken on a show here that fits into their wheelhouse, and with a cast that masterfully portrays individuals with dreams of power and desires for a life of purpose, they have produced something that is interesting, thought provoking, and extremely good.

An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf is an interesting one to try and describe. It’s a tragedy, wrapped in a comedy, sort of about food, but with no food. No matter how you slice it, when you do boil it down (points for trying?), “An Empty Plate”, by playwright Michael Hollinger, will make you laugh, while also asking you to contemplate what you would do if your entire world was falling apart. The Saltfire Theatre production is presented at Vintage in Port Townsend, perhaps the perfect place to take this in, where you can relax with a glass of wine and see a play that is well written and superbly performed.

Holmes and Watson might not be the most descriptive title for this play, but like the story itself, not everything you see is as it appears. This unique twist on the Sherlock Holmes genre takes the audience out of London and into the middle of the ocean after the tragic death of the famous detective, where Dr. Watson comes face to face with three unlikely men who claim to be his late partner. With enough twists and turns to make any Sherlock fan smile, this production under director Chris Nardine’s stewardship, will draw you in and keep you guessing until the very end.

Love’s Labor’s Lost is going to seem awfully familiar to any fan of Shakespeare, like bits and pieces of all of his more popular shows stitched together by a plot that might seem thin and with an ending that is abrupt and arguably unsatisfactory. But the plot is not why you should go and see the Seattle Shakespeare production. It’s the combination of a beautiful design, as well as a hilarious, but heartfelt, set of performances by an unforgettable ensemble that should bring you out to this show. Love’s Labor’s Lost may be one of the last times you can see Seattle Shakespeare in this space as they work toward building their partnership with ACT Contemporary Theatre, so come on out and see this group perform this classic Shakespeare comedy in a space where it feels like home.

Primary Trust shows us how we don’t have to handle our loss, hurt, and trauma on our own if we have love and friendship and aren’t afraid to, yes, trust in our relationships. Leaning on each other, we can get through anything, and when a play is this well written, this creatively designed, and this well acted, it’s sure to be something that we can all take something away from. Directed by Kaytlin McIntyre and featuring Stephen Tyrone Williams in an emotionally complex role that is sure to resonate, Primary Trust is short, sweet, and the kind of light that we all need in our lives right now.

There are any number of plays with something to teach us, some with lessons that are hidden among the complex lines of dialogue or iambic pentameter, while others are right up front with what they’re trying to say. An Inspector Calls is of the latter ilk. Playwright J.B. Priestley’s story of an entitled family with ancillary connections to a suicide victim doesn’t just interrogate the suspects, it also examines capitalism, the hypocrisy of power, and reputation. The Dukesbay production’s design and some of the individual performances prove the potential that this play has, and with a little more time to percolate on the ensemble side, this play might just live up to it.