Holiday Extravaganza

When: Fri., Nov. 30, 8 p.m., Sat., Dec. 1, 8 p.m., Sun., Dec. 2, 2 p.m., Wed., Dec. 5, 8 p.m., Thu., Dec. 6, 8 p.m., Fri., Dec. 7, 8 & 10:30 p.m. and Sat., Dec. 8, 8 & 10:30 p.m. 2018

St. Louis' Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre company ends every one of its gloriously cheap and howlingly funny plays with a free gift for one lucky audience member. This year, the company subverts that tradition entirely with its Holiday Extravaganza. The group will perform rapid-fire adaptations of the beloved Rankin/Bass Productions stop-motion Christmas specials Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Year Without a Santa Claus, which is essentially a gift to every person who goes. A live-action Heat Miser and Snow Miser singing their ultra-catchy songs? Come on! In the spirit of the holiday and the Rudolph special, the company asks that you bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to the Misfit Toy Drive. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (November 30 through December 2) and then at 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and at 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday (December 5 to 8), and tickets are $10 to $15. It all takes place at the Regional Arts Commission (6128 Delmar Boulevard; www.stlshakespeare.org).

— Paul Friswold