All year long rumblings about Boston’s theater scene have been predicting upheavals at many of the city’s major entertainment venues. But as 2015 hurtles to a close, local marquees are all lit up with the titles of brand-new productions and nostalgic favorites, which producers hope will pull in spectators before the big changes take effect in 2016.
Whether you’re thinking of heading to an attraction here in Dorchester or to one downtown, the seasonal ticket-bargain website, mayorsholiday.com, can save you 50 percent off the cost of most seats.
Mayorsholiday.com, now in its twelfth season, comes courtesy of ArtsBoston, in partnership with Mayor Martin Walsh and the city of Boston, and is presented by the Highland Street Foundation.
This box office initiative features thousands of discounted admissions to more than 100 shows throughout Boston and beyond, with great deals on theatre, concerts, dance, comedy, and kids/family shows.
If you want to stay close to home, both big shows at the Strand have bargains that come out to a little more than half price. Fiddlehead Theatre Company, in what will probably be its last production at the Strand, presents “The Little Mermaid” on weekends through Dec. 6. Then from Dec. 11th through the 20th, José Mateo Ballet Theatre returns with its festive 30th anniversary staging of “The Nutcracker.”
For those who favor Yuletide shows, Mayor’s Holiday offers perennial crowd-pleasers like Boston Ballet’s “The Nutcracker,” Holiday Pops, “A Christmas Celtic Sojourn” with Brian O’Donovan, Tony William’s eclectic “Urban Nutcracker,” and, at Sanders Theatre, “The Christmas Revels,” which this year celebrates Wales.
Though it has been a Boston tradition for an historic 45 seasons, “Black Nativity,” Langston Hughes’s reworking of Luke’s gospel story, will for the first time showcase the glorious voices of its large cast at the Paramount Theatre near Downtown Crossing.
In the never-before-seen-in-Boston category is “Elf: The Musical,” based on the Will Ferrell movie about one of Santa’s helpers who heads to New York to meet the biological father he never knew.
Probably the hottest tickets of all are the ones to see former “Parks and Recreation” star Nick Offerman (who played Ron Swanson) in the Huntington Theatre Company’s stage adaptation of the surreal novel “A Confederacy of Dunces.”
Half-price ticket quantities are limited, and allotments change daily. Visit early and often, and sign up for email and social media alerts regarding new additions and last-minute special offers. Those who prefer to buy seats in person can go to either of the BosTix booth locations at Copley Square and Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
The site lists restaurants participating in the $10 off program: Spend $40 and you can use your downloadable $10 voucher. Vouchers will be accepted at fine dining locations like Union Oyster House, Liquid Art House, Tapeo, and Tremont 647.
Deals run through the end of the year.
