Welcome to Theater News, a regular column by longtime reviewer Anita W. Harris. Look for it most Thursdays. Or sign up for our Eat See Do newsletter to get it in your inbox.
There’s a holiday show for everyone this year at our neighboring Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts beginning early in December right through Christmas, from R&B to mariachi to country music to comedy and more.
R&B artist Brian McKnight will kick off the month with some warmly voiced “Season’s Greetings” on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter’s hits include “Back at One,” “One Last Cry” and “Love of My Life.”
On a completely different note, José Hernández and the Mariachi Sol de México will then perform holiday classics from the mariachi songbook in a festive “Merry-achi Christmas” Friday through Sunday, Dec. 5 to 7.
For some country-inflected Christmas tunes, singers Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan will team up for a “Merry Gritsmas Tour” on Thursday, Dec. 11. They’ll be followed by pop-country singers Colbie Caillat and Gavin DeGraw on Saturday, Dec. 13 with their “Christmas Tour 2025” that the Center describes as a “heartwarming performance” uniting “two unforgettable voices in a celebration of joy, connection and the magic of the season.”
A nostalgic “Home for the Holidays” follows on Sunday, Dec. 14, featuring no less than four world-renowned performers: Academy Award-winner Peabo Bryson, two-time Grammy Award-winner Sheena Easton, American Idol-winner and Grammy Award-nominee Ruben Studdard, and international trumpet prodigy Ilya Serov.
Jane Lynch, the Emmy Award-winning comedic actress, then takes the stage with “A Swingin’ Little Christmas” on Tuesday, Dec. 16, with fellow comedians Kate Flannery and Tim Davis along with the Tony Guerrero Quintet. The Center describes this show as “a rollicking holiday concert” that’s jazzy and nostalgic with laugh-out-loud comedy.
For an even more jazzy feel, “Dave Koz & Friends Christmas Tour 2025” performs Friday, Dec. 19 and Saturday, Dec. 20, featuring saxophonist Dave Koz with musicians and vocalists Jonathan Butler, Haley Reinhart, Casey Abrams and Kayla Waters. The Center bills this as the longest-running jazz-based Christmas tour at 28 years, playing not only Christmas classics but a Chanukah medley.
The Los Angeles Symphony will then perform a classical Christmas concert on Sunday, Dec. 21, led by conductor Hyunsang Joo, featuring baritone Joseph Lim and soprano Jessica Sandidge, and including works by Verdi, Puccini and Handel.
Festivities continue the day after Christmas on Friday, Dec. 26, with singer and pianist Jim Brickman’s “The Gift of Christmas,” featuring music and stories that the Center describes as celebrating “the gifts of family, friends, peace and love, wrapped in the sweet sounds only he and his piano can provide.”
And wrapping up the Center’s holiday season is the family-friendly “A Magical Cirque Christmas” on Saturday, Dec. 27, “a dazzling variety show filled with nostalgia, charm and awe-inspiring performances for all ages,” according to the Center.
That’s a lot of merriment in one month, and in an architecturally award-winning venue that’s delightful in itself.
For tickets and information on all the above holiday shows at the Cerritos Center, 18000 Park Plaza Dr., Cerritos, call the box office at 562-916-8500 or visit CerritosCenter.com.