Holiday theater season isn't over yet! Many of this year's best and most imaginative/strange holiday shows have already closed (farewell, Rudolph, and SANTA, Liminal's tale of Christmas and DEATH). You'll have to wait until next year for delightful stop-motion animation acted out by actual people—and maybe until never for Liminal's next holiday play, if their about-yearly production schedule is any indication. But cheer up! Here are some shows you still have time to see:

The Second City's Twist Your Dickens! at Portland Center Stage: Twist Your Dickens' mean-spirited holiday spirit is completely infectious right up until it isn't. From our review: "Roasted throughout: people who have MFAs (fair game), children with rickets (maybe not so much), overzealous audience members hoping for a Dickensian production free from anachronisms (sure), George Bailey (well deserved), the prevalence of orphaned children in literature and pop culture (seriously WHY), and the strange fact that one of the most celebrated Christmas tales of all time is basically about a huge douchebag who's mean to everyone. There are a handful of clunky missteps—attempts at edgy humor that just come off as callow and odd... Still, if your out-of-town relatives demand some iteration of A Christmas Carol—and you're too (understandably) upset by the uncanny valley residents who make up The Muppets Christmas Carol to go that route—there's a lot about Twist Your Dickens that that will make you forget you're watching one. And that's a thing to celebrate." Tues-Sun, 7:30 pm, through Dec. 24, Gerding Theater at the Armory, 128 NW 11th, $36-69

The Nutcracker at Oregon Ballet Theater: Okay, so OBT does the Balanchine production of the Nutcracker, which is the one every ballet company ever does (including tutu enthusiasts to the North the Pacific Northwest Ballet, now that they've retired one of the most innovative non-Balanchine productions after 31 years, making San Francisco Ballet the only major ballet company on the West Coast to produce a nontraditional version of the cloyingly kid-friendly ballet. NOT THAT I'M BITTER OR ANYTHING). Still, it is a Christmas tradition, and it is amazing to watch ballet dancers perform impossible feats of strength, even if you do come home with new cavities from Balanchine's saccharine tale of sentient candy. Tue Dec 23 through Sat Dec 27, Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay, $27

Golden Girls: Live! Christmas Special Oh, Golden Girls: Live! The conceit is obvious enough: It's two episodes of Blanche, Rose, Sophian, and Dorothy's misadventures, but the Golden Girls are all played by men in drag, to differing degrees of success. (The good: Honey Bea Hart as Blanche is a treasure.) I have a fondness for strange, scrappy adaptations of loved/hated pop culture (see also: Showgirls the Musical), and if you do too, then you'll probably enjoy this Christmas special. Golden Girls faithful will probably love it too. If either of those don't sound like you, though, stay away. Fri and Sat, 7 pm, through Dec. 27, Funhouse Lounge, 2432 SE 11th, $20

The Maid's Tragedy at Northwest Classical: Technically, this is not a Christmas play. It's a Jacobean tragedy where almost everyone dies at the end. HOWEVER, there is a Christmas tree in it, plus Christmas carols, so if all this good cheer is killing you, here's your alternative holiday show. Thurs-Sat, 7:30 pm and Sun 2 pm, through Jan 4, Shoe Box Theatre, 2110 SE 10th, $20-22

Blithe Spirit at Artists Rep: Artists Rep's impulse to go secular with a ghost story for the holidays was right-on. But did it pay off? From our review: "Blithe Spirit has some fun moments, and Artists Rep's production is well appointed, with a beautifully crafted domestic interior for a set, and some tricky (but thoroughly convincing) lighting and sound effects throughout... The actors, too, pull off Coward's quick-witted dialogue, almost comically clipped accents ("veddy artsy-crafty" is used as an insult at one point), and repressed emotional states... But here's the rub: Blithe Spirit was first produced in 1941—and it shows. There are things about it that haven't aged particularly well. For one, it's hard to feel much sympathy for rich people who spend all their time writing hacky novels and relaxing in jodhpurs, elegant though those jodhpurs may be." Wed-Sat, 7:30 pm and Sundays, 2 pm, through Jan. 4, Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison, $25-35