Seasonal tidings

’Tis the season for holiday words and sounds. This year, most local theater companies are going with shows they’ve done before, the tried-and-true crowd-pleasers, if you will. If words and thoughts are too much to take in during this craziest time of the year, there are also plenty of concert options. Following is a quick guide to where to find some onstage cheer, be it theatrical or musical.

B Street Theatre: This year, B Street is reviving Buck Busfield’s irreverent spoof of A Christmas Carol, with Greg Alexander as Scrooge. 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 5 p.m. and 9 p.m Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m Wednesday; $26-$38; 2711 B Street; (916) 443-5300; www.bstreettheatre.org. Through December 31.

Sacramento Theatre Company: Kids and family alike should enjoy this take on Cinderella; here the fairy tale is reimagined as a British-style panto featuring Michael R.J. Campbell in drag as Mrs. Baden-Rotten. 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, 7 p.m. Wednesday; $17- $27; 1419 H Street; (916) 443-6722; www.sactheatre.org. Through January 1.

Capital Stage: David Sedaris’ modern classic The Santaland Diaries is a one-man show about a disgruntled temp worker doing seasonal work as a department store elf. Opens December 7. 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; $33-$38; 2215 J Street; (916) 995-6464; www.capstage.org. Through December 31.

Broadway Sacramento: It doesn’t get much more classic than Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. C’mon, you know all the songs, right? The show opens December 27. 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; $25-$82; Sacramento Community Center Theatre, 1301 L Street; (916) 557-1999; www.californiamusicaltheatre.com. Through January 1.

Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra: Go “Home for the Holidays” with this large local chorus (100-plus voices) conducted by Donald Kendrick, with the Sacramento Children’s Chorus and puppets from the Green Valley Theatre. It’s a mainstream tinsel-and-reindeer-type show. 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 10; $35-$50; Memorial Auditorium, 1515 J Street; http://sacramentochoral.com.

American Bach Soloists: This top-notch baroque Bay Area orchestra and choir performs “Handel’s Messiah.” Under conductor Jeffrey Thomas, the ensemble has mastered Handel’s famous oratorio, which sounds fresh and vigorous. 7 p.m., Saturday, December 10; $13.50-$51; The Mondavi Center, 1 Shields Avenue in Davis; (530) 754-5000; www.mondaviarts.org.

Chanticleer: This polished, professional 12-voice male vocal ensemble tours nationally with “A Chanticleer Christmas” each year, singing everything from medieval chants to modern jazz. 8 p.m., Thursday, December 15; $35-$75; Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, 1017 11th Street. www.chanticleer.org.

Sacramento Master Singers: This 40-voice chamber choir will be joined by a string quartet for a multidate production of “Angels We Have Heard On High.” 7 p.m. Thursday, December 15; 8 p.m. Saturday, December 17; 3 p.m. Sunday, December 18; 7 p.m. Wednesday, December 21; $22; St. Francis of Assiosi Parish, 1066 26th Street; 7 p.m. Sunday, December 11, at Harris Center at Folsom Lake College, 10 College Parkway in Folsom; www.MasterSingers.org.