John Simm as “A Christmas Carol”‘s Ebenezer Scrooge; Georgie Buckland as Andy in “The Devil Wears Prada”; Sigourney Weaver in rehearsal as “The Tempest”‘s Prospero (Photos: Manuel Harlan; Matt Crockett; Marc Brenner)

December may be the time of year when people switch off and embrace the holidays. But there’s very little rest in the ever-busy world of London theater, which is more crowded this year than ever. For more on Santa’s theatrical treats, read on.

Vanessa Williams, Matt Henry and the cast of “The Devil Wears Prada” (Photo: Matt Crockett)

DEVILISH FUN
The West End needs a splashy new musical and looks set to have one in The Devil Wears Prada, which has undergone a full-sale reboot since its unsuccessful tryout in Chicago in August 2022. The Elton John/Shaina Taub adaptation of the beloved Meryl Streep film set in the hard-scrabble world of fashion journalism now stars Vanessa Williams in Streep’s part as Miranda Priestly and 2016 Olivier winner Matt Henry (Kinky Boots) inheriting Stanley Tucci’s scene-stealing role as Nigel; Jerry Mitchell directs, with an opening scheduled for December 5 at the Dominion Theatre.

“If you have an amazing experience working with a team of people, it’s a no-brainer when that team comes back and asks to work with you again,” Henry told Broadway.com of his decision to collaborate afresh with Mitchell, who also directed him in the London production of Kinky Boots. Elton John was an attraction, too: “The Lion King was my first job, 25 years ago right now, so I feel as if my bingo card is filling up with all these great legends.” Will he be surrounded once more by fancy footwear? “There are no boots,” said a mock-wistful Henry. “There were some Gucci boots but they were cut.”

Playwright Kendall Feaver in rehearsals for “Ballet Shoes” at the National Theatre
(Photo: Cameron Slater Photography)

COME DANCING
Noel Streatfeild’s 1930s children’s novel Ballet Shoes remains much-loved, especially in Britain, and is now a festive-season entertainment at the National Theatre, adapted by Kendall Feaver and directed by Katy Rudd (The Ocean at the End of the Lane). The tale of three adopted sisters who follow separate career callings, the story, says Pearl Mackie, who plays the children’s kindly caretaker, Sylvia, “is about found families and finding your destiny and carving out the life you want for yourself against the odds—and that’s something I think we can all relate to.” Mackie has found celluloid renown as Bill Potts on the enduringly popular TV series Dr. Who, but remains wedded to live performance: “There’s something magical about putting your screen down and seeing stories being played out in front of you.” Ballet Shoes opens December 5 in the Olivier auditorium.

John Simm (Ebenezer Scrooge) and the cast of “A Christmas Carol” at the Old Vic
(Photo: Manuel Harlan)

HOORAY, HUMBUG!
The Old Vic’s glorious production of Jack Thorne’s A Christmas Carol was first seen in 2017, starring Rhys Ifans, and surfaced memorably online during lockdown with Andrew Lincoln as Scrooge; its 2019 Broadway premiere garnered five Tony Awards. Here it is back this year, with John Simm as Scrooge and with an awareness that its director, Matthew Warchus, will soon be leaving his post running the Old Vic to be replaced by Rupert Goold. Does that mean no more seasonal magic at this address? “I sort of hope there might be one more final fling,” says Christopher Nightingale, whose score accounted for one of the production’s handful of Tonys. “It would be lovely to round it off.” As for this Dickens adaptation’s perennial airing, Nightingale has a theory, too, as to its appeal: “Redemption is such a wonderful, universal story. No matter how bad you have got yourself, you can find a way out—and that’s got to resonate.”

Declan Bennett in rehearsals for “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” (Photo: Johan Persson)

MAKING “PEACE”
Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 garnered 12 Tony nominations in 2017 and has resurfaced in an entirely new production opening December 16 at the Donmar Warehouse, where it marks the directing debut at that address of its new artistic director, Timothy Sheader. Josh Groban’s Broadway assignment as Pierre is this time given to Declan Bennett, a West End alumnus of Once who knows a thing or two about fashioning New York hits anew in London. “Tim [Sheader] is a complete visionary, and he’s not going to do anything with this show that’s happened before; that’s not how he operates.” But did Bennett think it crucial to read War and Peace, this musical’s source, by way of preparation? “I picked it up and put it down within five minutes. You don’t need to sit and read the book; Dave [Malloy, the show’s creator] has essentially given me the book in the libretto; that’s the cool thing about his writing.”

Sigourney Weaver (Prospero) and Mason Alexander Park (Ariel) in rehearsals for “The Tempest”
(Photo: Marc Brenner)

THE AISLE IS FULL OF NOISES
The legendary John Gielgud played Prospero in The Tempest in the 1957-58 season, since which time London’s vast Theatre Royal, Drury Lane has played home to such musicals as 42nd Street, Miss Saigon and Frozen, to name but a few. But here it is hosting two Shakespeare plays in a row: Much Ado About Nothing coming in February, preceded this month by the West End debut of Sigourney Weaver as, yes, Prospero in a new Tempest directed by Jamie Lloyd, of Sunset Boulevard renown; opening night is December 19. Weaver’s Ariel—Prospero’s indispensable sidekick—is the brilliant nonbinary performer Mason Alexander Park, who was a scorching Emcee in the West End’s ongoing Cabaret some 18 months ago. “I hoped I would be back [in London] and had been trying to find every excuse I possibly could to return,” Park told Broadway.com. And what of once again playing a character who, like the Emcee, eludes definition? “I’ve played a lot of ethereal beings and Ariel is incredibly in line with that,” said Park, adding with a laugh, “I don’t know what that says about me.”