A John Waters Christmas

John Waters brings his spoken-word show to The Heights Theater on Tuesday, December 15, as A John Waters Christmas. It's a new, fast-moving, radically religious Christmas revival comedy, and Waters is the only one on the bill.

If you know Waters, you know the vibe. He's the filmmaker behind Pink Flamingos and Hairspray, and he's spent decades earning titles like the "Pope of Trash" and the "Pope of Camp." For this show, he's leaning into the religious angle, framing himself as "Father Fistmas" — topping Santa and bottoming for Krampus — and inviting the audience onto a "non-binary bobsled" toward a "batshit Bethlehem" where even peace needs a little grease. It's a spoken-word set, not a movie screening, so it's just him on stage with a microphone.

From there, he works his way through the absurdities of the season: gift-giving, family traditions, and his own take on Christmas films and music. He's known for being unvarnished, humorous, and often shocking, and the holiday theme gives him plenty of room to play. There's a line in the description that sums up the whole thing: people who don't like Christmas make John Waters sick, but sick people like his comedy and movies. It's a show for all ages, so you can bring the whole family if yours is the kind of family that gets the joke.

The Heights Theater is at 339 W 19th St in Houston. Doors open at 7 PM, and the show starts at 8 PM on Tuesday, December 15.