We’ve come to expect that our holiday entertainment be either sickly sweet or garishly bright in depictions of the Christmas season. Sugarplum fairies dance, eyes twinkle merrily and bells ring out in our viewing traditions, while strife is neatly resolved with a healthy helping of the Christmas spirit. A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration is not that kind of play — but that doesn’t mean the interwoven tales of Christmas Eve 1864 don’t have something to say about hope and light. In a sprawling tale that visits troops on the battlefield, a burdened president of the United States and a grieving mother and her ghosts, Paula Vogel’s play is, on its surface, a real contrast to our usual lighthearted holiday fare. However, its heart is evident in period carols and hymns and in the warm characters that subtly radiate the hopes and fears that embody everything we love about any Christmas story. A Civil War Christmas is presented by Theatre Three, 2800 Routh St., beginning on Thursday, November 20 and running through Sunday, December 14. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $10 to $50 at theatre3dallas.com/events/civil-war-christmas.
Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Starts: Nov. 21. Continues through Dec. 14, 2014