Theater

Another Night Before Christmas This home-invasion Christmas story posits a dude who claims to be Santa and is caught in the home of a skeptical, sensible woman. You can bet that, by the 90-minute mark, she will have learned the true reason for the season. This year's American Heartland holiday show, a world premiere, comes somewhat pedigreed, with book and music by Sean Grennan and Leah Okimoto (the duo behind such recent Heartland premieres as Married Alive! and A Dog's Life). Encouraging sign: Instead of a series of vignettes based on a theme, this show actually promises a dramatic structure. Through Dec. 30 at American Heartland Theatre at Crown Center, 2450 Grand, 816-842-2999. (Alan Scherstuhl)

A Christmas Carol Sure, it's by the numbers: one miser, three ghosts, 50 caroling Victorians and every one of us God-blessed by the end. That doesn't mean it's bad — it's just more ritual than drama. A quiet, humanistic parable frequently interrupted for urchin parades, A Christmas Carol sometimes allows its key emotional moments to be swallowed by its cavernous set. Still, strong performances and Dickens' unbreakable story propel this to a satisfying conclusion. Kathleen Warfel and Jim Gall are tremendous fun as the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present (respectively), and Matt Rapport and Kathryn Bartholomew goof winningly as Topper and his betrothed. The key, though, is Scrooge. Gary Neal Johnson is spectacular, crotchety yet dignified, bitterly comic yet recognizably human. Through Dec. 24 at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre's Spencer Theatre, 4949 Cherry, 816-235-2700. (Reviewed in our Nov. 29 issue.) (Alan Scherstuhl)

Christmas in Song After last year's roof-raising, gospel-tinged extravaganza, musical director J. Kent Barnhart tacks back toward the gentle and the soothing. As usual, Barnhart's piano accompanies one opera-trained dazzler (Victoria Botero), one musical-comedy powerhouse (Amy Coady) and one utility guy who doesn't get in the way (Brandon Sollenberger). Botero prizes beauty over booming — as she solos on "The Peace Carol," a mellow awe settles — and Coady belts with poignant humility. Barnhart enlivens the revue with jokes, and Sollenberger quietly distinguishes himself, but this year's Christmas in Song is all about the ladies — and some peace and quiet all too rare this time of year. Through Dec. 24 at Quality Hill Playhouse, 303 W. 10th St., 816-421-1700. (Reviewed in our Nov. 29 issue.) (Alan Scherstuhl)

Goodnight Children, Everywhere With almost every other theater in town gritting its teeth, closing its eyes and taking some Christmas cheer for the sake of the bottom line, it's once again up to UMKC's remarkable graduate theater department to remind us that the stage is just as much a home for daring, engaging, emotional art as it is to seasonal pandering. Its current show, from Madame Melville author Richard Nelson, is a merciless examination of brothers, sisters and bereavement. Four siblings, orphaned and reunited after World War II, take up a life together, all crammed into their childhood apartment. Their bodies have ripened to adulthood, but their minds haven't caught up yet, which is a nice way of saying that this one isn't for the kiddies. Through Dec. 7 at Studio 116 in the UMKC Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry, 816-235-6222. (Alan Scherstuhl)

Inspecting Carol In this popular holiday satire, a Midwestern theater's annual slog through A Christmas Carol is complicated by looming bankruptcy, limited rehearsal time and the presence of Wayne Wellacre, an actor so bad that the producers assume he must be an NEA plant investigating the company's grant money. With a climax consisting of a disastrous run-through of Dickens, and with Wellacre played by Bill Pelletier — a funny guy never funnier than when he's playing clueless — this Barn Players production has a better shot at real laughs than most real Christmas Carols have at genuine feeling. Through Dec. 16 at the Barn Players, 6219 Martway in Mission, 913-432-9100. (Alan Scherstuhl)