Tired of the same old Christmas carols? This week in CT arts features a wide variety of musical stylings

Tired of Yuletide carols? This week on Connecticut stages you can hear musical stylings as diverse as The Mountain Goats, John Tesh, the jazz show tunes of the Kander/Ebb classic “Chicago” plus Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, a band that specializes in repurposing familiar pop melodies in unexpected genres.If you still can’t get enough of holiday tunes, there’s the annual tour of the stage version “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (which augments the Johnny Marks score with one of the composer’s earlier hits, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”), the traditional Holiday Pops concert at UConn’s Jorgensen Center and the Hartford Gay Men’s Chorus returning to the Wadsworth. Whatever you choose, it won’t be a silent night. Here are some of the top things to do this week in Connecticut. It’s Nutcracker madness in CT. Take your pick of some of the must-see performances Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern JukeboxFoxwoods Resort Casino, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket A Postmodern Jukebox show is a sort of music time machine where today’s hits are filtered through jazz and pop styles of other eras. It is also a snappily dressed visual spectacle. The current tour is called “Life in the Past Lane.” Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at Foxwoods’ Great Cedar Showroom. $49-$62. foxwoods.com. ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’The Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic St., Stamford Spoiler alert: He has a very shiny nose. The long-running stage version of the classic animated TV Christmas special has two shows at the Stamford Palace on Dec. 3 at 2 and 6 p.m. It is humans in deer costumes now, not cartoons. $25-$55. palacestamford.org. Las Chicas de la CulpaInfinity Hall, 32 Front St., Hartford The famous Argentinian comedy troupe Las Chicas de la Culpa (“The girls of guilt”) is touring the U.S., minus one member (Constanza Ballarini) but featuring Malena Guinzburg, Fernanda Metilli and Natalia Carulias. Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. at Hartford’s Infinity Hall. $45-$55. infinityhall.com. John TeshKatharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook When John Tesh first became an internationally known composer and New Age pianist, he was also the well-known co-anchor of the inescapable syndicated TV show “Entertainment Tonight.” That show is still on the air, but Tesh left it in 1996, so younger fans of his music can take his concert performances at face value and won’t be thinking of him spewing celebrity gossip. Good, because his playing style is calming and comforting. Tesh is at The Kate in Old Saybrook for two nights, Dec. 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m. $75-$126. thekate.org. Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/APDarren Criss arrives at the 75th annual Tony Awards on June 12, 2022, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. He will be performing a holiday concert at the Ridgefield Playhouse on Dec. 6. Darren Criss: A Very Darren CrissmasRidgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge, Ridgefield As a teen, Darren Criss co-wrote and starred in his own Harry Potter-themed musical. He became a TV star on “Glee,” a Broadway star in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and won an Emmy playing real-life murderer Andrew Cunanan on “American Crime Story.” You could also find him in the underrated miniseries “Hollywood” or leading an indie rock band or voicing Superman in DC animated features. Of course, Criss also has a holiday concert act. He brings it back to the Ridgefield Playhouse on Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. $95-$135. ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Mountain Goats and Stephen SteinbrinkInfinity Hall, 32 Front St., Hartford Few bands have spoken for the depressed, disaffected and disillusioned as articulately as The Mountain Goats. They are a reminder that Christmas joy is not for everyone. The highly influential indie band plays Infinity Hall in Hartford on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. Thirtysomething California singer/songwriter Stephen Steinbrink opens. $39. infinityhall.com. ‘Chicago’Shubert Theatre, 247 College St., New Haven The musical “Chicago” had a more-than-respectable two-year run on Broadway from 1975 to 1977, then had over 600 performances on London’s West End, but the show’s real success came with its Broadway revival. Restaged in a relatively sparse style for the “Encores” series in 1996, “Chicago” earned a second Broadway run and is still running. National tours of the show have visited Connecticut umpteen times, returning to the Shubert in New Haven Dec. 7-10. Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m. $58.30-$128. shubert.com. ‘4 X’Mas’ and ‘The First Night of Chanukah’Mapleton Hall, 1305 Mapleton Ave., Suffield The Suffield Players’ holiday show sets itself apart from all the “A Christmas Carol” and “It’s a Wonderful Life” plays out there. The community-based company is revisiting an evening of five one-act plays that it previously produced in 2015. Four of the plays are Christmas-themed and written by George Cameron Grant. The other is “The First Night of Chanukah” by Sheri Wilner. Dec. 8-10. Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. $15 recommended donation. ctvisit.com. Holiday PopsJorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, 2132 Hillside Road, Storrs Every year the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra pays a special visit to UConn’s Jorgensen Center. So does its famed conductor Keith Lockhart. So does Santa Claus. Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. $76-$91. jorgensen.uconn.edu. Cirque Dreams HolidazeOakdale Theatre, 95 S. Turnpike Road, Wallingford Cirque Dreams Holidaze rocks around the Christmas tree in the acrobatic sense of the word “rock.” It’s a seasonal spectacle that features as many dream fantasy elements as a “Nutcracker,” plus clowning toys. Dec. 8 and 9. Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at noon and 4 p.m. concerts.livenation.com. ‘A Merry Mulberry Street Musical’Curtain Call, 1349 Newfield Ave., Stamford Stamford’s Curtain Call community theater company has made a tradition out of performing this holiday musical based on characters from Don Nigro’s play “Mulberry Street,” which is about Italian immigrant families in New York City but has become the most produced play in the history of Stamford. Dec. 7-17 in Curtain Call’s Kweskin Theatre space. Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. $35, $31 seniors, $23 children. curtaincallinc.com. Hartford Gay Men’s ChorusWadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 600 Main St., Hartford TheaterWorks Hartford’s “Christmas on the Rocks” isn’t the only local show evoking classic Christmas TV specials this season. The Hartford Gay Men’s Chorus is making joyful channel surfing a section of its annual Christmas concert, Dec. 9 at 2 and 8 p.m. and Dec. 10 at 3 p.m. in the theater space at the Wadsworth Atheneum. $30 and $45. hgmc.org.