There may be 14 different productions of “A Christmas Carol” coming to stages near you this holiday season, but don’t be dismayed. During the blustery months ahead, Philadelphia theater offers plenty of non-holiday fare, from recent off-Broadway hits to exciting DIY experiments to rarely seen 19th-century classics. Here are four of the most promising upcoming productions from all corners of the Philly scene (and one unusual holiday play, just for good measure). ‘The Whipping Man’After a New York production starring Andre Braugher, “Whipping Man” has moved on to regional theaters around the country. Written by newcomer Matthew Lopez, it’s a Civil War tale of a Jewish man returning from the battlefield to confront two former slaves. Through Dec. 18Arden Theatre Co.40 N. Second St. $34-$48, 215-922-1122www.ardentheatre.org‘Hershel & The Hanukkah Goblins’Director Lisa Jo Epstein has teamed up with local playwright Jacqueline Goldfinger to adapt this popular 1994 children’s book by Eric A. Kimmel. Dec. 20-31 Gas & Electric Arts Painted Bride Art Center230 Vine St. $16-$25, 215-925-9914www.gasandelectricarts.org‘Marriage’For over six years, Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium has been celebrating absurdity, along with some of history’s most distinguished writers. This time up it’s Nikolai Gogol’s 1833 farce, featuring a bachelor who desperately wants to marry, then even more desperately wants to call it off. Feb. 8-26Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, Walnut Street Studio 5, 825 Walnut St.$15-$20, 215-285-0472www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org‘Gruesome Playground Injuries’A Pulitzer Prize finalist last year, this new play by New York writer Rajiv Joseph features an unusually intimate lifelong relationship between a pair of career misfits. Time bends when the friends reunite, allowing them to relive past traumas and passions. Through Dec. 4. Theatre ExilePhiladelphia Shakespeare Theatre2111 Sansom St. $18-$25, 215-218-4022www.theatreexile.org
