Every winter the Guthrie Theater turns Ebenezer Scrooge loose on Minneapolis, and every winter the city turns out to watch him get his comeuppance. A Christmas Carol returns to the Wurtele Thrust Stage from November 11 through December 27, 2026, nearly seven weeks of performances, and if you are planning a night at the show the sensible question is where to sleep afterward. Our answer, naturally, is a 1906 mansion on the edge of Loring Park, with a hot tub steaming under the winter sky and a speakeasy waiting in the cellar.
A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie: the 2026 details
This year’s production is Lavina Jadhwani’s adaptation of the Dickens novella, directed by Addie Gorlin-Han and based on the original direction by Joseph Haj. The Guthrie describes it as a faithful telling, with original music, Victorian London brought to life on the thrust stage, and roughly 315 props in the show, among them 15 lanterns, 10 tombstones and 37 wrapped presents. The run time is about 1 hour 45 minutes including intermission, and the theater recommends it for ages 8 and up. It contains loud noises, strobe lights, haze and fog, so families with younger children may want to call the box office first.
Tickets range from $36 to $161 with handling fees included, and the Guthrie’s own advice for the budget-conscious is to come early in the run: preview performances on November 11, 12 and 13 start at $36. Discounts are offered for seniors, students 18 and over, children 5 to 17 and groups of 15 or more. Access performances are scheduled too: ASL-interpreted and audio-described shows on Saturday, November 28 at 1 p.m. and Thursday, December 3 at 7:30 p.m.; open-captioned shows on Friday, November 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 6 at 1 p.m.; and a relaxed performance on Sunday, November 29 at 6 p.m.
Two details worth planning around. Fezziwig’s Holiday Party returns to the Target Lounge on Level Four, a family-friendly pop-up bar with seasonal drinks and snacks, open from 90 minutes before showtime through intermission. And Indígena by Owamni, Chef Sean Sherman’s restaurant inside the Guthrie, takes walk-ins but encourages reservations if you want dinner before the curtain.
Why stay in Loring Park for a Guthrie night?
The Guthrie stands on the riverfront in the Mill District, next door to the Mill City Museum, on the east edge of downtown. 300 Clifton sits on the west edge, on a quiet avenue beside Loring Park. Between them is the whole of downtown Minneapolis, which means a short cab or rideshare across town after the show, or a bus if you would rather plan it with Metro Transit’s trip planner. What you get in exchange for not sleeping in a hotel tower above the theater is a house: carved fireplaces, hand-painted murals, English gardens, and a street that goes silent after dark.
Loring Park in late November and December is also the right neighborhood for the rest of a holiday weekend. Our November guide to Hennepin Avenue covers the Orpheum, State and Pantages a few blocks away, and the Minnesota Orchestra’s fall and holiday season plays at Orchestra Hall on Nicollet Mall, under a mile from our door.
The mansion after the show: a hot tub, a haunted cellar and four ghosts of our own
Scrooge is visited by four spirits in one night. So, some guests insist, is this house. 300 Clifton is the Eugene J. Carpenter Mansion, built in 1906 and listed on the National Register, and its hauntings page tells the stories we have collected over the years. The practical after-theater pleasures are less spectral. The garden hot tub runs in all four seasons, and a December soak with snow on the hedges and steam rising into the dark is the single best thing we offer. Below the house is Gertrude’s Cistern, our speakeasy and haunted video lounge with heated reclining seats, where you can put on a ghost story of your own choosing once you have had your fill of Marley’s.
Rooms are spread across the Main Mansion and the Carriage House. The Georgian Room has an en-suite king, a large sitting area and an electric fireplace, which is about as Dickensian as central heating gets. The Grand Edwardian is the top-floor penthouse room, the Crystal Mansion Room is our most photographed, and the Coachman’s Room in the Carriage House suits couples who want their own front door. The Estate Rooms are the value option, with a bath down the hall. Check-in is at 3 p.m. and check-out at 10 a.m., with early or late options for $25; breakfast is not served on site, but complimentary coffee is set out in the common area each morning; every room has air conditioning, though you will not need it in December; and guest parking is available. See the FAQ for the rest.
Make it a holiday weekend
Book direct and you will also receive a $20 dining voucher for the Pillsbury Club and a $20 Minneapolis Trolley voucher, one of each per stay, as described on our vouchers page. The dining voucher is an easy excuse for a pre-theater cocktail or a late supper at the Pillsbury Club, in the Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion on East 22nd Street. The trolley voucher points you at the Minneapolis Holiday Lights trolley, which boards at the Pillsbury Club and runs a 21-plus Naughty ride and an all-ages Nice ride through the season; we wrote about doing it with three generations if you are bringing grandparents to the Guthrie. And if your Christmas Carol night falls on Thanksgiving weekend, our Thanksgiving guide has the rest of the plan.
When to book
Buy the theater tickets first, then the room; December weekends and the last week before Christmas are the dates that go first at both. If you are flexible, the preview nights of November 11 to 13 are the cheapest seats of the run and fall on quiet midweek evenings here at the house. Either way, a winter night in a Loring Park mansion, a soak under the stars and a ghost story or two is a better ending to A Christmas Carol than Scrooge himself managed. Check availability at 300 Clifton, and God bless us, every one.
Keep reading: Where Should You Stay for The Nutcracker in Minneapolis? Two Nutcrackers on Hennepin Avenue in December 2026