The Dandelion Chandelier Entertainment Calendar highlights notable new events and releases in theater, film, popular music, television and podcasting. Here are our picks for the best new events in the world of entertainment this December. For the rest of the Luxury Calendar, click here. And for a list of fantastic new books being published this month, click here.
headlines from the world of entertainment this month
No one will bored this December. There are feel-good films like Mary Poppins Returns and the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg biopic On the Basis of Sex. Plus dramas like Ben is Back starring Julia Roberts, and Mary Queen of Scots with Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie.
On the small screen there are holiday specials a-plenty. And the return of some fan favorites, most notably The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
There are also some big openings on the stage this month: The Jungle at St. Anne’s Warehouse; and the revival of True West. But the biggest opening of the month is undoubtedly the Aaron Sorkin reboot of To Kill a Mockingbird on Broadway.
Mariah Carey, John Legend and Rufus Wainwright will be singing Christmas tunes in concert. And there are also some dramatic new podcasts to keep you busy too.
Here’s to an entertaining December!
top films this month
1. Julia Roberts stars in Ben is Back playing a mother to 19-year-old Ben Burns, a struggling addict who unexpectedly returns home to his family on Christmas Eve morning – Dec 7
2. Mary Queen of Scots explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart (played by Saoirse Ronan). Margot Robbie is her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I – Dec 7
Saoirse Ronan in Mary Queen Of Scots
3. In the movie The Mule, Earl Stone (Clint Eastwood) is broke, alone and facing foreclosure of his business when he’s offered a job that simply requires him to drive. Unbeknownst to Earl, he’s just signed on as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel – Dec 14
4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse follows the superhero as he mentors a teenager from Brooklyn – Dec 14
5. Set in early-1970’s Harlem, If Beale Street Could Talk is Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins’ adaption of a love story based on a short story by James Baldwin – Dec 14
6. A Disney classic gets the reboot treatment this month: Emily Blunt stars as Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins Returns. Also starring Emily Mortimer, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Meryl Streep – Dec 19
Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins Returns
7. Aquaman gets his own feature film this month, with Jason Momoa playing the title role – Dec 21
8. Steve Carell stars in Welcome To Marwen as Mark Hogancamp. After a devastating attack causes him to lose his memory, he meticulously creates a wondrous town where he can heal and become a hero – Dec 21
9. Second Act is a comedy in the vein of Working Girl and Maid in Manhattan. Jennifer Lopez stars as Maya, a 40-year-old woman struggling with frustrations from her unfulfilled dreams – Dec 21
10. The Polish film Cold War is a passionate love story between a man and a woman who meet in the ruins of post-war Poland – Dec 21
11. Young lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg works with her husband to bring a groundbreaking case of gender discrimination before the Supreme Court in On the Basis of Sex. Starring Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux and Kathy Bates – Dec 25
Felicity Jones in On the Basis of Sex
major television debuts, specials and new seasons
1. The Freeform premiere of Tyra Banks’ Life-Size 2: A Christmas Eve is the sequel to the 2000 movie about a doll who comes to life – Dec 2
2. Deal or No Deal returns on CNBC – Dec 5
3. The award winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel returns to Amazon Prime for season 2 – Dec 5
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon returns for Season 2
4. On Netflix, Dogs of Berlin follows two cops investigating the murder of a famous Turkish-German soccer player – Dec 7
5. Icebox on HBO follows the story of Óscar, a 12-year-old Honduran boy, forced to flee his home and seek asylum in the United States – only to find himself trapped in the U.S. immigration system – Dec 7
6. The 9th annual CMA Country Christmas airs live on ABC, hosted by Reba McIntyre – Dec 10
7. Sunderland ‘Til I Die is a Netflix documentary series following English soccer club Sunderland through its 2017-18 season – Dec 14
8. Bruce Springsteen‘s one-man show moves from Broadway to a global audience when Netflix streams Springsteen on Broadway – Dec 15
Springsteen on Broadway streams on Netflix this month
9. Cult favorite Schitt’s Creek releases its annual holiday episode – Dec 19
10. Season 2 of Marvel’s Runaways premiers on Hulu. The series follows a group of teenagers who discover that their parents are supervillains, and hit the road in an act of rebellion – Dec 21
11. CBS airs it’s 20th annual A Home for the Holidays, hosted this year by Josh Groban; the special mixes music with heart-warming stories about adoption – Dec 21
12. The Smithsonian Channel’s Marilyn Monroe For Sale tells the Hollywood movie star’s story via some of her most recognizable costumes, letters and clothes – Dec 23
13. Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade airs Christmas morning, featuring music from Gwen Stefani, Andrea Bocelli and Aloe Blacc, among others – Dec 25
14. The 41st-annual Kennedy Center Honors will be aired live on CBS; Cher, Philip Glass, Reba McIntyre and Wayne Shorter are among the honorees – Dec 26
Kennedy Center Honors 2018
theater previews and openings this month
1. Featuring Take That’s biggest hits, The Band is an uplifting new musical opening on the West End at the Theatre Royal Haymarket – Previews Dec 1, opening Dec 5
2. The Jungle opens at St. Ann’s Warehouse. The play tells the story of a short-lived, self-governing society that emerged within a sprawling refugee camp in Calais, France – Previews Dec 4, opening Dec 9
3. Peter Pan is at London’s Park Theatre – Previews Dec 5, opening Dec 7
4. Movie-turned-show Clueless: The Musical opens at the Pershing Square Signature Center starring Disney alum Dove Cameron as Cher – Dec 11
Dave Cameron stars in Clueless the Musical on Broadway
5. The smash-hit National Theatre production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time returns to London’s Piccadilly Theatre for a strictly limited run – Dec 11
6. At the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Builders Association’s Marianne Weems assembles a multimedia stage adaptation of Henry James’s unnerving novella Strange Window: The Turn of the Screw. A governess is alone in a country house with two children, confronting mysterious figures who may or may not be ghosts – Dec 12 – 15
7. The holiday classic Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! is on stage at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden – Dec 13
8. Aaron Sorkin adapts Harper Lee, with Jeff Daniels as Atticus Finch and adults playing the children in To Kill a Mockingbird at the Shubert Theatre – Dec 13
Jeff Daniels is Atticus Finch in the Broadway adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird
9. Ethan Hawke stars opposite Paul Dano in Sam Shepard’s classic play about two brothers, True West at the American Airlines Theater – Previews Dec 27, opening Jan 24
concerts and new releases
1. Yo La Tengo’s annual Hanukkah concert series delivers eight nights of intimate performances and surprise appearances; this year the party moves to the Bowery ballroom – Dec 2 – 9
2. John Legend brings his A Legendary Christmas tour to New York City at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden – Dec 3
3. The Rennes Trans Musical Festival in Brittany, France showcases experimental music – Dec 5 – 9
4. ALT 92.3 brought alt-rock back to NYC’s airwaves last fall and this winter they’re celebrating the season with a party at the Barclays Center. Florence and the Machine, Muse, Deathcab for Cutie, Chvrches, AJR, Mike Shinoda, Foster the People and Bastille take the stage for a Not So Silent Night – Dec 6
5. Gucci Mane drops Evil Genius – Dec 7
6. The Prophet Speaks is Van Morrison’s 40th studio album – Dec 7
7. Method Man drops The Meth Lab II: Lithium. The album will feature guest appearances from Snoop Dogg and Redman, as well as some other Wu-Tang members – Dec 11
8. Christmas comes early to London with the arrival of Mariah Carey and her All I Want For Christmas Is You Tour at the O2 – Dec 11
9. The iHeartRadio Jingle Ball stops in Atlanta; Shawn Mendes headlines – Dec 14
10. The Magnetic Fields Music Festival in India is a unique festival limited to 500 people. It’s held at a restored 17th-century palace hotel in Rajasthan. Attendees can either camp in luxury tents or stay in rooms at the hotel – Dec 14 – 16
11. New York’s Town Hall hosts Rufus and Martha Wainwright’s Noël Nights to benefit Stand Up to Cancer. Carrying on the tradition of their late mother, Kate McGarrigle, the pair will invite Emmylou Harris, Sufjan Stevens and their father, Loudon Wainwright III, to get jolly – Dec 16
12. Rhythm & Vines is New Zealand’s award-winning New Year’s Eve festival, where you can be among the first in the world to welcome the first sunrise of the New Year – Dec 27 – 31
13. For New Year’s Eve in New York, Phish returns to Madison Square Garden, while Post Malone is at the Barclays Center. Meanwhile, indie darlings The Lone Bellow play the Bowery Ballroom – giving New Yorkers and visitors three very different options to ring in the new year – Dec 29 – 31
new podcasts to check out
1. Glossy has debuted the Glossy Beauty Podcast, hosted by beauty editor Priya Rao. Each week she hosts candid conversations with industry change-makers. Guests discuss how today’s trends are shaping and disrupting the future of beauty and wellness.
2. True crime sensation Serial has returned for its third season with a new twist. Instead of focusing on just one case, Serial Season 3 covers a new story at the Justice Center in Cleveland each week. The cases may seem mundane – like a man caught carrying weed – but many stories end in jaw-dropping revelations, exploring the effects of racial bias along the way.
3. The Washington Post is rolling out its most ambitious effort in podcasting yet. The 20-minute Post Reports will go out every weekday at 5 pm Eastern – Dec 3
4. Sports Illustrated True Crime’s first narrative podcast, Steve McNair: Fall of a Titan, will make you re-examine everything you think you know about the quarterback.
5. Pee Cast Blast at the Theater at the Ace Hotel in LA will feature some of funniest folks in podcasting – Dec 15
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see other december 2018 events
— Travel
— The Arts
That’s it – you’re good to go. Have a great month!
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