The Christmas Caper, the holiday family show that has become a yearly fixture in downtown Hackensack, returns to the Hackensack Performing Arts Center, known as HACPAC, for seven performances between Friday, December 4, and Saturday, December 12. Every seat is $15, and one of the seven, on Sunday, December 6, is a sensory-friendly performance adapted for children and adults with sensory sensitivities.

The story

Mrs. Claus, Jingles, Holly, Sparky and a crew of Santa's elves race the clock to save Christmas, with mishaps at the North Pole, a turn toward teamwork and a musical finale. The show is pitched at the whole family, and HACPAC presents it each December in its main room, the Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre.

Every performance

  • Friday, December 4: 7:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, December 5: 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
  • Sunday, December 6: 3 p.m., sensory-friendly performance
  • Friday, December 11: 7:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, December 12: 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15 for each performance and are sold through Eventbrite, linked from each show's page on the HACPAC site.

The sensory-friendly matinee

The December 6 performance is built for audience members with sensory sensitivities, autism, or other learning, social or cognitive disabilities. HACPAC lowers the lighting, softens the sound and opens a designated quiet zone in its gallery, so anyone who needs a break from the stage can step out and still be close by.

About HACPAC

HACPAC is the City of Hackensack's arts center, at 102 State Street, with a theater and an art gallery in the city's downtown. Its artistic director, Gregory Liosi, grew up in Hackensack, and the center presents theater, music and visual art through the year, along with programming at Atlantic Street Park.

Later in the month, HACPAC's calendar continues with A Night With NéLasheé on Saturday, December 19, in the same theater.

Also in Hackensack before the Caper

The week of Thanksgiving brings a different kind of tribute downtown. On Wednesday, November 25, at 1 p.m., the city dedicates a stretch of Second Street as Gordon "Scooter" Whiting Way, in a ceremony at Hackensack High School. Whiting, a lifelong Comet, spent three decades at the school as a student-athlete, head coach, educator and athletic director. The city says more details on the ceremony are to come on its event calendar.

If you go

What: The Christmas Caper, a holiday family show.
When: December 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12, 2026 (times above).
Where: The Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at HACPAC, 102 State Street, Hackensack, Bergen County.
Tickets: $15, through the HACPAC website.
Questions: HACPAC at (201) 820-3007 or hacpac@hackensack.org.

Sources