Broadway Holiday Schedule 2026: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's

How the holiday calendar works

In 2026, Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26. Christmas Day is a Friday, and New Year's Eve is a Thursday. Broadway treats each of these dates differently, and the pattern matters more than the date: a show that goes dark on a holiday usually adds a performance nearby, often on a Monday or as an extra matinee.

The counts in this guide come from the performance calendars on our show pages, which are built from the ticketing data the productions publish. We checked them on November 8, 2026, across the 36 Broadway shows playing between Thanksgiving and early January. Shows can still add or drop holiday performances, so treat the numbers as a map and confirm your date on the show page before you buy. Our December schedule lists every performance by day.

Broadway's two holiday shows

Two Broadway productions in late 2026 exist because of the holidays. Neither one is a conventional musical, which is worth knowing if your group is expecting big production numbers.

It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play

Joe Landry turned Frank Capra's 1946 film into a radio broadcast from the 1940s, performed live in front of you. A small company plays dozens of characters at the microphones, while a foley artist creates the sound effects in full view. Carols fill the breaks. Landry's adaptation first played in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1996, and the production directed by Jerry Zaks is its first time on Broadway. It arrives in the film's 80th anniversary year.

As of November 2026, Andrew Rannells leads the company as George Bailey, with Megan Hilty as Mary. Tituss Burgess takes the angel Clarence and Harry Hamlin the villainous Mr. Potter, while Lisa Rinna is Violet. All three also voice other characters.

The run is limited to nine weeks at the Broadhurst Theatre on West 44th Street, from the first preview on November 4 to the final performance on January 3, 2027. It lasts about 90 minutes without an intermission. The production had not published an age recommendation as of November 2026, and parents should know where the story goes: on Christmas Eve, George is so desperate that he considers ending his life before an angel steps in.

Blue Man Group "A New Holiday Surprise"

For Blue Man Group, this holiday show is a double first: the company's first engagement on Broadway and its first production built around the holidays. Three silent, blue-painted performers take on the customs of the season with live percussion and physical comedy. The music is familiar holiday songs played on instruments the group builds itself. Nobody speaks, so you don't need English to follow it, and the official recommendation is ages 3 and up.

The show lasts about an hour and a half without a break and plays the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on West 46th Street, with tickets on sale through January 3, 2027. Two cautions before you book. The show uses flashing, strobe-like lighting. Audience participation is part of the format too, so someone in your row may end up in a scene.

Holiday shows Off-Broadway

For Dickens at Christmas, Off-Broadway has two very different versions of A Christmas Carol in late 2026. Both are far from the Theater District, so check the address before you set out.

A Christmas Carol at the Perelman Performing Arts Center, 251 Fulton Street in Lower Manhattan, is Jack Thorne's play based on the 1843 novella. Matthew Warchus directs the production, which began at the Old Vic in London. It works 12 carols into the story and plays out around its audience. Previews begin November 20, 2026, the official opening is December 3, and the evening lasts about 2 hours with one intermission.

A Christmas Carol the Musical is a smaller family show at The Players Theatre on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village, back for its 18th holiday season. The words are by Brenda Bell and the music by Michael Sgouros, played live by a trio of percussionists. The company adds Sunday-morning performances aimed at families, and the 2026 run begins on November 29.

Thanksgiving week, November 23 to 29

Thanksgiving is nearly dark on Broadway. As of November 8, 2026, exactly one Broadway show lists a performance on Thursday, November 26: Chicago, at 7 p.m. at the Ambassador Theatre. If you want a show on the holiday itself, that's the list.

The day after makes up for it. In the calendars as of November 2026, the 36 Broadway shows playing that week list 68 performances on Friday, November 27, against 37 on an ordinary Friday such as November 20. Most shows add a Friday matinee, so the day after Thanksgiving is one of the easiest days of the season to fit a show around a family visit.

Thursday morning belongs to the 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon on November 26 along a 2.5-mile route that ends at Macy's Herald Square, and the NYPD manages public viewing along parts of the route. The balloons get ready the day before on the Upper West Side. If you're staying in Midtown, allow extra time for anything you have planned that morning.

Christmas week, December 21 to 27

Christmas shifts the calendar more than it empties it. As of November 8, 2026, 23 Broadway shows list a performance on Monday, December 21, while an ordinary December Monday has five or six. Those extra Mondays make up for the performances that disappear around the holiday itself.

Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24, is a matinee day. In the calendars as of November 2026, 12 Broadway shows play, eight of them at 1 p.m., among them Aladdin, The Lion King and Hadestown. Four more start at 2 p.m. Only Here There Are Blueberries adds an evening performance, at 7 p.m.

Christmas Day is not dark everywhere. As of November 8, 2026, six Broadway shows list evening performances on Friday, December 25:

• 7 p.m.: Wicked, MJ The Musical, Now You See Me Live, Blue Man Group "A New Holiday Surprise"
• 7:30 p.m.: Wanted
• 8 p.m.: Chicago

The weekend after Christmas swings the other way. On Saturday, December 26, and Sunday, December 27, nearly every show plays twice, with 72 and 71 Broadway performances on the calendars as of November 2026.

New Year's week, December 28 to January 3

The week between the holidays is the fullest of the season. As of November 8, 2026, 35 of the 36 Broadway shows playing that week have a performance on Monday, December 28. Tuesday, December 29, has 56 performances, against 32 on an ordinary Tuesday such as December 8. Most of the difference is extra matinees, which makes this the best week of the season to plan around daytime shows.

New Year's Eve looks nothing like it. As of November 8, 2026, the calendars list one Broadway performance on Thursday, December 31: Aladdin at 1 p.m. at the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street. Calendars can still change before then, so check again in December if you hope to see a show that day.

New Year's Day starts slowly and fills up by evening. On Friday, January 1, 2027, 18 Broadway shows are scheduled as of November 2026. Three play in the afternoon: Blue Man Group's holiday show and The Great Gatsby at 2 p.m., and Downstate at 3 p.m. Most of the others start between 7 and 8 p.m., Hamilton and The Outsiders included. By Saturday, January 2, nearly every show is back to two performances.

Times Square on December 31

If your plans put you near Times Square on New Year's Eve, for that matinee or a dinner nearby, read the Times Square Alliance's New Year's Eve FAQ before you go. As of November 2026, the page still describes the most recent celebration, and it explains how access works:

• On the evening of December 31, you can reach the area only from Sixth Avenue or Eighth Avenue, using the cross street nearest your destination.
• Once the streets close, nobody can cross Broadway or Seventh Avenue.
• Police close blocks starting at 43rd Street and Broadway and move north as the crowd arrives; Seventh Avenue is closed to cars between 42nd and 48th Streets from early morning.
• Bags are searched, and the MTA has advised against using the 42nd Street subway station on New Year's Eve because of crowding.

The Alliance asks local businesses to station someone at the nearest corner on Sixth or Eighth Avenue to identify their guests to police, and warns that guests without that help can be delayed or turned away. If you hold a booking near Times Square that day, ask the venue how its guests get in.

Shows ending in early January

Several well-known runs end within two weeks of New Year's Day. As of November 8, 2026, these are the dates on each production's official site:

• & Juliet plays its final Broadway performance on January 3, 2027, at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
• Stranger Things: The First Shadow ends its run at the Marquis Theatre on January 3, 2027.
• In Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Tom Felton's last performance as Draco Malfoy is on January 3. The play itself continues.
• A Few Good Men plays the Vivian Beaumont Theater through January 10, 2027.
• Much Ado About Nothing ends its 10-week run at the Winter Garden Theatre on January 10, 2027.
• Buena Vista Social Club gives its final Broadway performance on January 17, 2027.

Both holiday shows wrap up on January 3 as well. Our closing soon list keeps the whole picture current.

Planning a holiday trip around a show

The busiest stretches of the calendar work in your favor if you're traveling with children or catching a late train home. The Friday after Thanksgiving and the days between Christmas and New Year's carry the most matinees of the season: the week of December 28 has 135 daytime performances on the calendars as of November 2026, against 92 to 96 in an ordinary week.

The holidays themselves are a different story. On those three dates, your choice comes down to the handful of shows named above, so pick the date first and the show second if the date is fixed.

For younger children, Blue Man Group's holiday show is the one with an official age recommendation, ages 3 and up. Our family-friendly list covers the rest of the season, and the guide for first-timers explains how a Broadway night works, from the bag check to the curtain call.

The Rockefeller Center tree arrived on November 7 and stays on view until mid-January 2027, with the lighting ceremony on the evening of Wednesday, December 2. On that night in particular, leave extra time if your theater is on the east side of the district.

Calendars can still change after this guide is published. Check the show page the week you book, and again a few days before you go.