While most folks tune into their holiday music sometime after Thanksgiving, Touchstone Theater Artistic Director JP Jordan has had the merry tunes in his ears since late September.

He has a good excuse, though. He and his cast-mates at Touchstone Theatre have been in rehearsals for the 17th Annual “Christmas City Follies” since September and the music of the season is all part of the show.

“Christmas City Follies XVII” runs Dec. 1-18, Touchstone Theatre, 321 E. Fourth St., Bethlehem.

That’s not to say that the show is all music. Jordan has been a part of “Christmas Follies” for 13 years, three years as music director and the last 10 years as stage director. He says that the show is a variety of different acts.

“We really see it as a vaudevillian experience and not a sketch show,” says Jordan. “We want it to be all kinds of flavors. For us, the best kind of ‘Follies’ is one where we have all kinds of diversity in the content.”

The “Follies” has not only changed through the years, it changes every single year. Audiences who have seen it before will still see something fresh and new because of the efforts of the resident acting ensemble, guest artists and Touchstone graduate apprentices.

“Follies” features Christopher Morris and Ashley Tait Weller, theater teachers from the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, as well as local young actors and siblings, Sarah and Alex Vogelgesang.

There are a lot of performances that returning audiences will recognize. Characters like The Old Guy played by Bill George, Little Red played by Mary Wright and scenes like “The Shopping Cart Ballet” will all make appearances in this year’s performance.

Since Bethlehem is the Christmas City, there’s something special about performances during the holidays. With differing backgrounds and views, Jordan says the troupe brings a new perspective of what the holidays are all about.

“We’re a tight group of artists who have worked together or years and we love finding new ways to honor Christmas,” says Jordan. “The sacred and the secular are fair game for us to lampoon and we try to find the humor while respecting other people.

“There’s a lot of comedy that falls short of that and just goes for the jugular ... but we strive to illuminate the season and we can all still appreciate the spirit of the holidays.”

An opening reception is 5-7 p.m. Dec. 2 in Touchstone Café for an exhibit by Kim Christman, which opens Dec. 1 and continues through Feb. 15, 2017, in the Touchstone Theatre gallery.

Tickets: touchstone.org, 610-867-1689