By Chuck Darrow
While it may seem like July 4 was only about a week-and-a-half ago, the sad truth is we are officially into the 2023 holiday season. As such, it’s the time of year when the sights and sounds of said season inside Atlantic City’s gaming halls are as ubiquitous as the beeps, bloops and burps of slot machines and casino video games.
So, in the spirit of this time of year, here’s a rundown of the Yuletide offerings in AyCee’s gambling dens (tickets for all shows are available at www.ticketmaster.com except where noted):
‘Christmas In the Air’ (Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa; Nov. 24-Dec. 24)
This musicale is apparently inspired by the annual Radio City Music Hall holiday extravaganza—complete with what is described as “a cast of high-kicking Rockette-style dancers performing alongside magical holiday characters.”
‘Sarah Brightman: A Christmas Symphony’ (Ocean Casino-Resort;Nov. 25)
The globally celebrated soprano, who created the role of Christine in her ex-husband Andrew Lloyd Webber’s version of “The Phantom Of the Opera,” returns for another seasonal program of non-secular and secular songs including “Silent Night” and the late Greg Lake’s modern classic, “I Believe In Father Christmas.”
Atlantic City Ballet Presents: ‘It’s A Shore Holiday’ (Caesars Atlantic City; Nov. 25)
This family-focused presentation creates a fantasy wonderland that has singers and dancers joined by the likes of dancing chipmunks and snowmen to create a winter fantasy filled with holiday favorites.
The Sharpe Family Singers (Resorts Casino-Hotel; Nov. 25)
The vocal troupe from Basking Ridge in North Jersey (featuring parents Ron & Barbara, their two adult children, Samantha & Logan and twin boys Connor and Aidan) have stormed the social-mediaverse with their harmony-filled versions of show tunes (especially those from the Disney canon) and other pop material (as in more than one billion TikTok views). The unit’s local debut will include a number of holiday favorites.
‘Doo Wop Christmas’ starring The Doo Wop Project (Tropicana Atlantic City; Nov. 30)
The six-member Doo Wop Project will serve up a slew of seasonal numbers in classic 1950s harmony style. Expect to hear the likes of The Drifters’ iconic version of “White Christmas,” The Temptations’ take on “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons’ rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”
‘Santa’s Christmas Wonderland’ (Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City; Dec. 7-10)
This is another “Radio City”-inspired revuesical boasting colorful staging, high-kicking choreography and a sleigh-full of beloved holiday numbers.
Il Divo: ‘A New Day Holiday Tour’ (Ocean; Dec. 9)
The internationally acclaimed quartet of classically based singers checks into Ocean for an evening of seasonal songs.
‘Holiday Dreams Cirque’(Golden Nugget Atlantic City; Dec. 9)
Holiday festivities are given the “Cirque” treatment, which means plenty of you-gotta-see-‘em-to-believe-‘em acrobats, aerialists and the like to go along with familiar melodies.
‘A Dickens Of A Murder’ (Resorts; Dec. 9)
The latest in Resorts’ ongoing series of interactive murder-mystery presentations has audience members solving a homicide involving the characters from Charles’ Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”
Tickets: www.resortsac.com
‘Cirque Musica: Holiday Wonderland’ (Tropicana; Dec. 9 and 10)
The second of two Cirque do Soleil-inspired holiday celebrations.
Lindsey Stirling—‘Snow Waltz Tour’ (Caesars; Dec. 15)
The social-media luminary combines her talents as a violinist, dancer and aerialist for a somewhat different kind of holiday celebration, but one which includes season-appropriate tuneage.
Atlantic City Ballet Presents ‘The Nutcracker’ (Caesars, Dec. 16)
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a production of Tchaikovsky’s timeless piece about a young girl’s journey into a Christmas gift-inspired fantasy world.
The Modern Gentlemen: ‘You Make It Feel Like Christmas (Resorts; Dec. 16)
An evening of holiday favorites performed by the vocal quartet.
‘My Big Gay Italian Christmas (Ocean; Dec. 16)
The 20th anniversary edition of this comedic, holiday-themed cult favorite from three-time Daytime Emmy Award winner Anthony Wilkinson (for his directing work on the ABC soaper, “One Life to Live”) examines, among other things, sexual identity and family dynamics. Fun fact: It’s Ocean’s first theatrical booking.
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.
