2With "Black Nativity," director Lou Bellamy has brought the church to Penumbra Theatre. The holiday tradition brims with righteous zeal and deep faith. Singers Greta Oglesby, Dennis Spears (pictured above), Yolande Bruce and Deborah Finney deliver music that is transporting as the show re-enacts the story of Jesus' birth as his pregnant mother and her husband seek a place of shelter. The hymns and spirituals, arranged as jazz, blues and R&B, show that the rejection Mary, Joseph and Jesus faced would not become their ultimate destiny. penumbratheatre.org

3 "The Babadook" is unnerving, uncanny and entirely disturbing. An allegory of horror and parenthood as powerful as "The Shining" or "Rosemary's Baby," it tells the story of a widowed Aussie mother (Essie Davis, a stunning performer) and her emotionally troubled 7-year-old son (Noah Wiseman, equally good) who share a peculiar bedtime storybook. Once the ghoul has been introduced, it aims to rip ever deeper into its victims' minds. Most fright films ask us to identify with the victims. "The Babadook" reverses that rule. It is a phenomenally eerie experience — and a standout in any genre.

1 With Sam Smith and Amy Winehouse among the hottest purveyors of classic soul music in recent years, it made sense for Mary J. Blige to cross the pond to make what should be her comeback album, "The London Sessions." The record strips away the dated hip-hop elements of Blige's latest discs for warm, piano-laden ballads and a few tastefully modernized dance numbers. Smith himself co-wrote some of the most inspirational tunes, but it's Blige's inspired delivery that counts most.

4 "A Christmas Story: The Musical," the Ordway's adaptation of the classic holiday movie, is a good old-fashioned crowd pleaser that reminds musical aficionados of two things: There can never be too many song-and-dance numbers, and talented child performers sustain momentum like nobody's business. The kids electrify the stage — especially Jake Goodman as Ralphie, with a believable boyish vulnerability and a jaw-dropping singing voice. Despite the 1940s setting, this show truly offers something for every generation. ordway.org

5 Gordie Howe's memoir "Mr. Hockey: My Story" is, in its purest form, a love letter to family — his hockey family and his own family. Considered to be one of the greatest players of all time, Howe has crafted an eminently easy read, with colorful tales of growing up one of nine children during the Great Depression. Although he was known for an aggressive, elbows-up style on the ice, he comes across as a family-focused softy on the page.