Santa has come down with the flu on Christmas Eve, and Mrs. Claus is refusing to let him anywhere near the sleigh. That is the setup for Up on the Housetop, a new holiday musical premiering at Pines Dinner Theatre in Allentown, which runs from Saturday through Dec. 27.
The show is built around an original story from Oliver Blatt, identified as Pines’ artistic director, according to WFMZ. In the musical’s plot, as described by Pines Dinner Theatre, “For the first time in forever, Santa has the flu, and Mrs. Claus is not about to let him leave the house!” That leaves the North Pole scrambling, since, as the theatre puts it on its Thanksgiving event page, “Someone has to stand in for Santa to deliver all those presents.”
WFMZ reports that Pines, located at 315 S. Cedar Crest Blvd. in Allentown, will stage the production from Saturday through Dec. 27, though the station’s report does not specify the exact Saturday date tied to the run. As first noted by the Lehigh Valley Press, the production marks the latest holiday show at the venue's Shops at Cedar Point location.
A Theatre With a Recent History of Holiday Shows
This is not Pines’ first swing at a Christmas production in its current home. Back in November 2024, the Lehigh Valley Press reported that Pines reopened at the Shops at Cedar Point with a staging of “White Christmas,” an engagement that ran from Nov. 8 to Dec. 29 with daytime and evening performances scheduled through the holidays, per the outlet's report. That 2024 piece also quoted Blatt describing the venue's new location as including a kitchen and what he called a state-of-the-art stage area.
Ticketing details for the new musical carry a warning from the theatre itself: tickets purchased from third-party sites, including StubHub, Vivid Seats, and UNation, are often fraudulent and may not be accepted for admittance, the venue states on its show page. Pines’ box office can be reached directly at 610-433-2333.
Conflicting Performance Schedules
Exactly which days the show runs as a matinee depends on which listing a theatergoer checks. Pines’ own show page lists Thursday, Saturday and Sunday matinees along with Friday and Saturday evening performances, while Discover Lehigh Valley’s directory listing for the venue includes Wednesday matinees in addition to Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, with the same Friday and Saturday evening slots. The discrepancy between the two listings was not resolved in the available materials, so patrons may want to confirm showtimes directly with the box office before planning a visit.
Thanksgiving Day Dinner and Show
Ahead of the new musical's run, Pines is also hosting a Thanksgiving Day event on Nov. 26, with performances at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., according to the theatre’s event page. The Thanksgiving ticket includes a plated Thanksgiving dinner, the show, and taxes, though gratuity for the server is not included, the venue states. Pines’ policy for that event is also explicit about refunds: “All ticket sales are final. No refunds.”
For families looking ahead to the new Santa-centered musical itself, the North Pole setting and the hunt for someone to fill in on the sleigh give Up on the Housetop its central holiday hook. The show joins a run of recent Christmas productions at the Allentown venue, continuing a tradition the theatre has leaned into since relocating to the Shops at Cedar Point.
