The holiday season is the best time to revel in your favorite holiday traditions. From gift-wrapping rituals and meaningful home decorations to all the delicious food being served, this special time with loved ones should be cherished every single time. These actors and show producers may be working up until Christmas Eve, but they’ll still carve out a few precious moments on December 25 to spend some much-deserved quality time with their friends and families. Here are the holiday traditions of Broadway’s shining stars.
Jeremy Pope, The Collaboration
Jeremy Pope. Image: courtesy of Jeremy Pope.
“I gotta eat, so I am where the plate is at. Normally, when you’re working on Broadway, it’s the opposite of a normal holiday schedule; but we’re off, and it’s worth the flight to know that I’m gonna get my ham, greens, mac and cheese and sweet potato pie, the things that are gonna get me to the New Year. I think as we’ve gotten older, it’s become less about the gifts and more about, ‘Well, who’s cooking the meat and sides?’”
Joaquina Kalukango, Into The Woods
Joaquina Kalukango. Image: courtesy of Joaquina Kalukango.
“My 6-year-old son and I build gingerbread houses together. We’re going to decorate our house some more. We’ve been really getting into The Grinch this season, so we’ll be doing lots of Grinchy things: Grinch drinks and cookies—it’ll be on that kind of level. And being in New York City, you want to go ice-skating, visit Rockefeller Center for the tree, and of course, see what’s on Broadway.”
Khris Davis, Death of a Salesman
Khris Davis. Image: Atisha Paulson.
“Christmas is the holiday season that I love the most. I love to decorate and get a tree. I got a Fraser in the house called Franklin Fraser. I’m from the Northeast and there’s something about the Christmas holiday in the cold that makes it extra special because it forces you to find the warmth in your experiences. But our main tradition is that my mother has demanded that we all show up for Christmas at home, so that’s where I’ll be with many nieces and nephews. Christmas is about watching them open their gifts—a swarm of babies screaming and wrapping paper flying everywhere—and it’s a beautiful thing.”
Adrianna Hicks, Some Like It Hot
Adrianna Hicks. Image: Yvonne Clark from Y.E.C Creations
“Living back in Texas, we used to go to our little celebration recital at the church a few days before Christmas. I would learn my lines and say, “Unto us, a child is born,” when I was younger. We would get gifts at the end and it was so much fun putting on a show for the congregation. My mom would have a Christmas party and we’d invite everybody from the church and her job. Now as an adult, after putting on my new show, I get to create traditions on my own.”
Jason Veasey, A Strange Loop
Jason Veasey. Image: Blue Photography.
“One tradition that stands out for me is that every year my parents, or Santa, would leave little notes made from scrap wrapping paper. When we’d come down on Christmas morning, whichever gifts matched the pattern on the note to us, that gift was ours!”
Crystal Lucas-Perry, Ain’t No Mo’
Crystal Lucas-Perry. Image: Grace Stockdale for Songbird Studio Photography.
“My holiday tradition is to be surrounded by as much family as I possibly can. Whether it be my chosen family here in New York City or my blood relatives back home in Detroit, I always take advantage of the holidays to reconnect, reflect and refuel with my loved ones. Their love and support are what keep me going and I’m so blessed to have them in my life.”
Brian Anthony Moreland (producer), The Piano Lesson
Brian Anthony Moreland. Image: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images.
“The holidays are always spent the same way for my family. The tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving and my family begins the process: trimming, lights and decorations. I love this time of year for the giving of gifts, the decor and the spirit of togetherness that it brings. Most of all, on Christmas day, we will cook a big family meal complete with the adult version of egg nog!”
McKinley Belcher, Death of a Salesman
McKinley Belcher. Image: courtesy of McKinley Belcher.
“My biggest memory around the holidays growing up is food. So, the holidays for me is getting somewhere and sitting down. We always try to make whatever we eat during the holiday something special. We usually have a little half tree, but we have these special ornaments that we’ve accrued from experiences. It’s about creating memories and taking time to enjoy each other and the peace.”
Lana Gordon, Chicago
Lana Gordon. Image: Michael Hull photography.
“My favorite holiday tradition was when my mother and I closed the stores down on Christmas Eve. She is no longer here but I continue to keep the tradition alive with my new family and, of course, when I have the time off!”
Marchánt Davis, Ain’t No Mo’
Marchánt Davis. Image: Dana Ferraro.
“My family and I typically go shopping after Christmas. My mom would never miss a good sale. And then it’s about getting ready for the New Year. My advice for this one is to be louder than your fear, faster than your worry and move at the speed of fun.”
James Jackson Jr., A Strange Loop
James Jackson Jr. Image: L Morgan Lee.
“The holidays make me think of my mom. She was a scientist and she cooked like one. I am not a scientist, but oh, how I try. From Thanksgiving straight through the New Year, I am constantly trying to recreate my mom’s recipes. She passed away five years ago and during this time of year, I make it a point to spend plenty of time in the kitchen trying to bake her ginger-molasses cookies or anything else that reminds me of her. Sometimes I get it right and always, she’s with me.”
Brandon J. Dirden, Take Me Out
Brandon J. Dirden. Image: courtesy of Take Me Out.
“While I love performing on Broadway during the holidays, it makes it very difficult to be with my family outside of New York. So my favorite holiday tradition is the Dirden Family Zoom Secret Santa Reveal. My brother, actor Jason Dirden, started this a few years back and it’s a great way to get the whole family involved since we are pretty spread out from coast to coast. We use Drawnames.com to secretly select a family member and create a gift guide. We all write a cryptic poem or phrase to the person we have drawn. On Christmas Day, we zoom in together and try to guess our Secret Santa based on the gift and poem, guaranteed laughs! It also keeps us from spending a fortune buying everyone gifts. My close second favorite Christmas tradition is the waffle and ice cream breakfast bar!”
Justin Cooley, Kimberly Akimbo
J.Cooley. Image: courtesy Kimberly Akimbo.
“One of my family’s yearly Christmas traditions is lugging the storage bins full of decorations up from the basement and decorating the whole house together for hours! Now being on my own, I wanted to recreate the feeling and had a TJ Maxx shopping spree and decorated my apartment full of holiday cheer. I even got a little tree to put the Christmas gifts that I bought for myself under!”
