From http://events.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/theater/25zino.html February 25, 2007 The Listings This Just In, via London, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh By JASON ZINOMAN Dates are subject to change. February HOWARD KATZ Patrick Marber ("Closer") has written about themes of money, intimacy and the battle of the sexes, but he might be at his funniest and most scabrous when sending up the absurdity of show business. Early in his career he co-wrote and starred in "Knowing Me, Knowing You ... With Alan Partridge," Steve Coogan's inspired satire of television talk shows that was broadcast by the BBC. And this play, his third, which had its premiere in London in 2001, is about a talent agent who realizes that he has sold his soul to the entertainment industry. The estimable cast of the Roundabout Theater Company production includes Alvin Epstein, Elizabeth Franz, Alfred Molina in the title role and Euan Morton. Doug Hughes ("Doubt") directs. In previews. Opens Thursday. Laura Pels Theater, 111 West 46th Street, Manhattan. (212) 719-1300. roundabouttheatre.org. LOS ANGELES A young woman tries to navigate her way through the smog, sex and swimming pools of this glamorous city in a new work by the promising writer Julian Sheppard ("Buicks"). Katherine Waterston, daughter of Sam, makes her stage debut. Adam Rapp ("Red Light Winter") takes a break from his other spring project, "Essential Self-Defense" at Playwrights Horizons, to direct. In previews. Opens Saturday. Flea Theater, 41 White Street, Lower Manhattan. (212) 352-3101. theflea.org. THE ATTIC When American teenagers rebel, they might steal the car and come home late. But in Japan, apparently, they take the opposite approach. The English-language premiere of Yoji Sakate's play, with an American cast, examines a bizarre phenomenon called hikikomori, in which young people withdraw into their rooms and refuse any contact with the world for months or years. In the play a man with a personal interest investigates a company that sells attics to anyone antisocial enough to be interested in this kind of alternative lifestyle. Ari Edelson, who became the producing artistic director of the Jean Cocteau Repertory in January, directs. In previews. Opens March 4. 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, Manhattan. Ticket Central. 59e59.org. THE CAVE DWELLERS William Saroyan might be known best for his early works, including "The Time of Your life" (1939), which earned him a Pulitzer Prize, an honor he refused in protest of artistic awards. But the Pearl Theater Company presents a rare revival of one of his last works, a fairy tale set in a crumbling Lower East Side theater filled with struggling underdogs. In previews. Opens March 4. Pearl Theater, 80 St. Marks Place, East Village. (212) 598-9802. pearltheatre.org DYING CITY Lincoln Center Theater presents a new drama by Christopher Shinn ("Four") about a therapist whose husband dies in Iraq while on military duty. One year later his identical twin pays a visit, seeking answers to how his brother died. James Macdonald ("A Number") directs. In previews. Opens March 4. Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Lincoln Center. Telecharge. lct.org. BILL W. AND DR. BOB An often drunk stockbroker was introduced to a frequently tipsy surgeon in an Akron, Ohio, living room in 1935, and history was made. Their six-hour chat became the basis for one of the most influential organizations of the 20th century, Alcoholics Anonymous. Stephen Bergman and Janet Surrey (a married couple, both doctors), wrote the play about these little-known pioneers and their relationships with their wives. In previews. Opens March 5. New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton. Telecharge. billwanddrbob.com. SPALDING GRAY: STORIES LEFT TO TELL Fascination with Spalding Gray, perhaps the most influential solo performer of the last half-century, has only increased since his suicide in 2004, and this show, which includes famous as well as never-before-seen material of Mr. Gray's, should appeal to fans and those looking for an introduction. Created by Kathleen Russo, his widow, and Lucy Sexton, it is organized chronologically and includes recollections of swimming trips with his mother as well as excerpts from his solo show "Swimming to Cambodia." Performers include Kathleen Chalfant ("Wit") and Frank Wood ("Side Man"). In previews. Opens March 6. Minetta Lane Theater, 18 Minetta Lane, Greenwich Village. Ticketmaster. PRELUDE TO A KISS When it first opened in 1990, Craig Lucas's unusual romance, about a man whose love is tested by an awfully dramatic change in his new wife, was seen by some as an AIDS play, even though the disease was never mentioned. But its themes -- grief, the loss of a loved one, the power of empathy -- are certainly universal enough. John Mahoney ("Frasier"), Annie Parisse ("The Internationalist") and Alan Tudyk ("Serenity") star in the Roundabout Theater Company production. Daniel Sullivan directs. In previews. Opens March 8. American Airlines Theater, 227 West 42nd Street, Manhattan. (212) 719-1300. roundabouttheatre.org. KING HEDLEY II An operatic example of August Wilson's late period, this poetic drama, his take on the 1980s, is about a man who returns home after serving time for a murder. Set in the familiar Hill District of Pittsburgh, the work, whose tragic scale puts one in mind of Greek drama, portrays the urban decay of the crack era. Lynda Gravátt ("Intimate Apparel"), Stephen McKinley Henderson ("Seven Guitars") and Russell Hornsby ("Jitney") are among the stars of this production by the Signature Theater, which has devoted its season to the work of Mr. Wilson, who died in 2005. In previews. Opens March 11. Peter Norton Space, 555 West 42nd Street, Clinton. (212) 244-7529. signaturetheatre.org. TALK RADIO "This decadent country needs a loud voice -- and that's me," the shock-jock Barry Champlain said back in 1987. Two decades later the country is more decadent, and the number of loud voices has multiplied significantly. All of which should make the first major revival of this raging portrait of a fearmonger, which represented Eric Bogosian's jump from solo shows to more conventional dramas, an interesting test of the play's relevance. The superb Liev Schreiber, who recently earned acclaim as Ricky Roma in "Glengarry Glen Ross" on Broadway, takes on another great 1980s talker in this revival, staged by Robert Falls ("Shining City"). In previews. Opens March 11. Longacre Theater, 220 West 48th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge. talkradioonbroadway.com. BE Hoping to follow in the footsteps of "Stomp," "De La Guarda" and other hard-to-describe spectacles, this performance piece without dialogue, by the Tel Aviv company Mayumana, has been presented in more than 30 countries. Expect a high-energy evening that includes 14 good-looking actors banging on hollow tubes, dancing hip-hop and ballet, dressing in revealing outfits and doing a variety of other eye-catching stunts. In previews. Opens March 13. Union Square Theater, 100 East 17th Street, Flatiron district. Ticketmaster. beoffbroadway.com. OUR LEADING LADY We all know what happened to Lincoln on that night in 1865 at Ford's Theater, but what about those actors? Were they scarred for life? Did they reassure the audience? Did the show, "Our American Cousin," continue? These are the kinds of questions that might have inspired Charles Busch ("The Tale of the Allergist's Wife") to write this play about the celebrated 19th-century actress and company manager Laura Keene, who was appearing on the Ford stage that night. Kate Mulgrew ("Star Trek: Voyager") stars, and Lynne Meadow directs. In previews. Opens March 20. Manhattan Theater Club, at City Center Stage II, 131 West 55th Street, Manhattan. Citytix. manhattantheatreclub.com. JACK GOES BOATING It seems like just yesterday that the Labyrinth Theater Company was everyone's favorite "emerging" troupe. Well, the plucky, talent-rich company that specializes in gritty, poetic dramas with multicultural casts, is now turning 15 (feel old yet?), and to celebrate, its most famous star, Philip Seymour Hoffman, headlines an excellent cast in Bob Glaudini's New York story about dating panic and marital meltdown. Jack and Connie hit it off after meeting at the house of mutual friends. They all make a date to go boating. John Ortiz and Daphne Rubin-Vega also star. Peter DuBois directs. Previews begin Tuesday. Opens March 18. Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village. (212) 967-7555. publictheater.org. HAMLET The Wooster Group, among the gods of experimental theater, channels a 1964 version of the tragedy that starred Richard Burton, which was staged on Broadway in the style of a dress rehearsal. It was released as a film in 2000. In its inimitable style, the Wooster Group plans on turning the film back into a play. Scott Shepherd ("Poor Theater") portrays the title character and the mesmerizing Wooster veteran Kate Valk plays both Gertrude and Ophelia. The company's artistic director, Elizabeth LeCompte, directs as usual. The production is being presented as a workshop and will open next fall at the Public Theater. Performances begin Tuesday. Through April 2. St. Ann's Warehouse, 38 Water Street, at Dock Street, Brooklyn. (718) 254-8779. thewoostergroup.org. CURTAINS In this new backstage musical comedy, which features one of the last scores from the legendary songwriting team of Kander and Ebb -- Fred Ebb died in 2004 before the show was finished -- the leading lady was murdered on opening night. But whodunit? A detective arrives and, naturally, romance blooms. David Hyde Pierce ("Frasier") and Debra Monk ("Chicago") star in this satire of the theater and detective stories. Scott Ellis directs. Rupert Holmes and John Kander provided additional lyrics. At the Center Theater Group in Los Angeles last year it won mixed to favorable reviews. Previews begin Tuesday. Opens March 22. Al Hirschfeld Theater, 302 West 45th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge. curtainsthemusical.com. SHAKESPEARE IN WASHINGTON The capital, home to one of the better theater scenes in the country, is being inundated by all things Shakespeare. A citywide festival, developed by Michael M. Kaiser (Kennedy Center) and Michael Kahn (Shakespeare Theater), involves more than 100 presentations, including "Titus Andronicus," at the Shakespeare Theater, and the Royal Shakespeare Company's "Coriolanus," at the Kennedy Center. Justice Anthony Kennedy will preside over a mock trial of Hamlet, who is pleading insanity, and Dov Weinstein will revive his "Tiny Ninja Hamlet" at the Kennedy Center. If that's not enough, there will be a "Hamlet" in Hebrew, by a company from Tel Aviv, at the Signature Theater, and a new version of Tom Stoppard's celebration of the tragedy's bit players, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," at the Studio Theater. Through June. Kennedy Center: (202) 467-4600; Shakespeare Theater: (202) 547-1122. shakespeareinwashington.org. March GOODNESS A critically acclaimed work from the 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, about responsibility in the face of genocide, Michael Redhill's time-traveling drama is about a writer paying a visit to Poland to explore the loss of his family in the Holocaust. Performances begin Thursday. Through March 11. Performance Space 122, 150 First Avenue, at Ninth Street, East Village. (212) 352-3103. ps122.org. MY TRIP TO AL-QAEDA Based on Lawrence Wright's recent best seller, "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11." Mr. Wright presents -- Al Gore style -- a story of the rise of this group. Gregory Mosher directs. Previews begin Thursday. Opens March 6. Culture Project, 55 Mercer Street, at Broome Street, SoHo. (212) 352-3101. cultureproject.org. SOME MEN This Terrence McNally play began as an attempt to write something about popular music's influence on gay men but morphed into something broader. Starting at a gay marriage ceremony, the series of vignettes, set in a variety of periods, including the Harlem Renaissance and a bathhouse of the 1970s, tells a story of gay history through a collection of personal tales. The large cast includes David Greenspan, Michael McElroy and Frederick Weller. Trip Cullman directs. Previews begin Friday. Opens March 26. Second Stage Theater, 307 West 43rd Street, Clinton. (212) 246-4422. secondstagetheatre.com. TEA AND SYMPATHY The Keen Company is presenting the first major New York revival of Robert Anderson's 1953 play about a lonely teenager at a boarding school who is presumed to be gay by his peers and teachers. Mr. Anderson wrote the play as an attack on McCarthyism, but it has also been considered notable because of its early portrayal of homophobia. Previews begin March 6. Opens March 15. Clurman Theater at Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Ticket Central. keencompany.org. THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING This may be the most unusual drama of the Broadway season. It is the unlikely adaptation by Joan Didion of her candid and acclaimed memoir of one terrible year in her brilliant life when her husband, John Gregory Dunne, died suddenly after a heart attack at the dinner table in 2003. Ms. Didion's play includes her daughter's death in 2005. Vanessa Redgrave, an actress who has proven her capacity for portraying harrowing tragedy in grand performances of masterworks like "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and "Hecuba," stars in this solo show. The British playwright David Hare directs. Previews begin March 6. Opens March 29. Booth Theater, 222 West 45th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge. magicalthinkingonbroadway.com. THE PIRATE QUEEN They wrote soaring melodies for 19th-century Paris in "Les Misérables" and operatic ballads for 1970s-era Vietnam in "Miss Saigon." Now Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg lend their dramatic style to an Irish world in this story about the 16th-century Irish pirate Grace O'Malley. Directed by Frank Galati. Previews begin March 6. Opens April 5. Hilton Theater, 213 West 42nd Street. Ticketmaster. thepiratequeen.com. MY FAIR LADY Kelsey Grammer puts his plummy voice to the test as Professor Henry Higgins in this semi-staged New York Philharmonic version of the Lerner and Loewe classic, with Kelli O'Hara ("The Pajama Game") as Eliza. March 7-10. Avery Fisher Hall. (212) 721-6500. newyorkphilharmonic.org. MOBY DICK -- REHEARSED This long-neglected Orson Welles adaptation of Melville's novel boils the story down to its bare bones and adds a play-within-a-play narrative to the mix. March 7-25. Richmond Shepard Theater, 309 East 26th Street, Manhattan. (212) 868-4444. twentyfeetproductions.org STAY A young writer fallen on hard times is visited by an angel (the flying kind) in this new play by Lucy Thurber ("Where We're Born"). Jackson Gay ("The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow") directs. Previews begin March 9. Opens March 19. Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place, West Village. Smarttix. rattlestick.org. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS The director and choreographer Matthew Bourne's latest spectacle, a colorful reimagining of Tim Burton's film, about a sweetly innocent outcast, arrives from London. Which means you can expect to hear another round of the "Is it dance or theater?" debate that accompanied Mr. Bourne's elegant productions of "Swan Lake" and "Play Without Words." March 14-31. Howard Gilman Opera House, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Avenue, at Ashland Place, Fort Greene. (718) 636-4100. bam.org. ESSENTIAL SELF-DEFENSE Love hurts in Adam Rapp's new fairy-tale romance set in the Midwest. A misfit takes a job as an attack dummy in a women's self-defense class, only to fall in love with a bookworm who is beating the hell out of him. Carolyn Cantor of the Edge Theater, who worked with Mr. Rapp on "Stone Cold Dead Serious," directs. A co-production by Playwrights Horizons and the Edge. Previews begin March 15. Opens March 28. Playwrights Horizons, Peter Jay Sharp Theater, 416 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Ticket Central. playwrightshorizons.org. BLACKBIRD Acclaimed when it opened in London, this button-pushing drama by the Scottish playwright David Harrower describes a reunion between a young woman and the older man with whom she once had a sexual relationship. Pedophilia and sexual power issues are raised; expect no easy answers. Joe Mantello, whose diverse résumé ("Wicked," "Love! Valour! Compassion!" ) makes him one of the most unpredictable directors in New York, directs this Manhattan Theater Club production starring Jeff Daniels ("The Squid and the Whale") and Alison Pill ("The Lieutenant of Inishmore"). Previews begin March 15. Opens April 10. Manhattan Theater Club, at City Center Stage I, 131 West 55th Street, Manhattan. Citytix. manhattantheatreclub.com. THE TAMING OF THE SHREW AND TWELFTH NIGHT Edward Hall, the son of Peter and the director of popular and playful versions of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Winter's Tale," once again brings his all-male ensemble, Propeller, to Brooklyn to mount two more Shakespeare plays that examine romantic love. The productions will alternate performances. Produced by Watermill Theater and the Old Vic. March 17-April 1. Harvey Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 651 Fulton Street, Fort Greene. (718) 636-4100. bam.org. INHERIT THE WIND Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's 1955 courtroom drama, a fictionalized version of the famous 1925 "monkey trial," in which John Scopes was tried for teaching the theory of evolution, receives a new revival with two formidable actors -- Christopher Plummer and Brian Dennehy -- facing off as opposing lawyers. Doug Hughes directs. Previews begin March 19. Opens April 12. Lyceum Theater, 149 West 45th Street. Telecharge. inheritthewindonbroadway.com. EXITS AND ENTRANCES The esteemed South African playwright Athol Fugard veers toward the personal in this autobiographical two-character drama presented by Primary Stages. Set in 1956 and 1961, the play is based on his friendship as a young man with an illustrious older actor, André Huguenet. Previews begin March 20. Opens March 28. 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, Manhattan. Ticket Central. 59e59.org. ACCOMPLICES When he asks for aid from the Roosevelt administration in 1940 to help rescue European Jews from the Nazis, Hillel Kook is surprised to find resistance. The New Group is presenting this first play by Bernard Weinraub, a former reporter for The New York Times. Ian Morgan directs. Previews begin March 20. Opens April 9. Acorn Theater, Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Ticket Central. thenewgroup.org. THE EXILES The puppeteer Theodora Skipitares has adapted, designed and directed this take on Euripides' "Orestes" with contemporary political overtones. March 22-April 8. La Mama Experimental Theater Club, 74A East Fourth Street, East Village. (212) 475-7710. lamama.org ALL THE WRONG REASONS: A TRUE STORY OF NEO-NAZIS, DRUG SMUGGLING AND UNDYING LOVE In this solo drama by John Fugelsand, a nun runs away with a Franciscan brother in order to have a child. Previews begin March 23. Opens April 15. New York Theater Workshop, 79 East Fourth Street, East Village. (212) 460-5475. nytw.org. A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN The last time he came to Broadway, Kevin Spacey electrified audiences with his performance as the fast-talking salesman in "The Iceman Cometh" by Eugene O'Neill. Now he returns playing Jim Tyrone, another persuasive O'Neill character in this acclaimed London production by the Old Vic of the romantic, wrenching drama about grief, longing and unrequited love. The British actress Eve Best portrays the farm woman Josie, a role played by Cherry Jones opposite Gabriel Byrne in the 2000 version on Broadway. Howard Davies ("Iceman") directs. Previews begin March 29. Opens April 8. Brooks Atkinson Theater, 256 West 47th Street, Manhattan. Ticketmaster. THE DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS The Transport Group produces the 50th-anniversary production of this classic William Inge drama about prejudice, family dysfunction and how the automobile will change America. Previews begin March 30. Opens April 5. Connelly Theater, 220 East Fourth Street, East Village. (212) 352-3101. transportgroup.org. SLEEPING BEAUTY WAKES As they did with the well-received musical "Big River" on Broadway in 2003, Deaf West Theater and the director Jeff Calhoun weave spoken English with American Sign Language in an update of a classic. This version of the Grimms' tale tells the story of the pretty character's 100-year sleep with onstage help from members of the rock band Groovelilly. The writing team includes Brendan Milburn, Valerie Vigoda and Rachel Sheinkin (who co-wrote the book for "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"). Previews begin March 31. Opens April 7. A co-production with the Center Theater Group. Kirk Douglas Theater, 9820 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, Calif. (213) 628-2772. centertheatregroup.org. FROST/NIXON Peter Morgan -- the author of this intimate drama and London hit about the series of interviews conducted by David Frost with Richard M. Nixon -- has established himself as the go-to writer for scripts about controversial leaders. He wrote the screenplay for "The Queen" and co-wrote "The Last King of Scotland," both of which are nominated for Academy Awards this year. The heart of this Donmar Warehouse transfer is a chess match between the crafty ex-president and a green television journalist looking to earn his stripes. The cast remains the same: Michael Sheen (Tony Blair in "The Queen") is Frost, and Frank Langella is Nixon. Previews begin March 31. Opens April 22. Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, 242 West 45th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge. frostnixononbroadway.com. April LEGALLY BLONDE It's not exactly the most realistic portrait of Harvard Law School or sorority girls, but that's not really the point. The 2001 Hollywood comedy about a ditsy blonde who conquers the stuffy Ivy League was gleefully silly entertainment embossed with a star performance by Reese Witherspoon. In this new big-budget musical adaptation, which earned glowing reviews during its pre-Broadway run in San Francisco, Laura Bell Bundy (the snooty blond Amber Von Tussle in "Hairspray") stars. The score is by Nell Benjamin and Laurence O'Keefe, a married couple and Broadway novices. Expect kinetic, high-energy dance from the choreographer Jerry Mitchell ("Hairspray"), who is making his directing debut, and candy-colored designs from David Rockwell ("Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"). Previews begin April 3. Opens April 29. Palace Theater, 1564 Broadway, at 47th Street. Ticketmaster. legallyblondethemusical.com. MAKE ME A SONG: THE MUSIC OF WILLIAM FINN A major treat for musical theater fans: a revue featuring the always clever and sweetly sentimental songs of Mr. Finn ("Falsettoland"), the composer responsible for some of the most hummable tunes heard in the theater over the last few decades. Expect lyrics about poor spellers, bad Jewish athletes and a new brain. Rob Ruggiero, who conceived the show, directs. Previews begin April 6. Opens April 19. Zipper Theater, 336 West 37th Street, Manhattan. (212) 352-3101. THE BRIG The old Broadway sneer -- that everything changes, except for the avant-garde -- is a rather cheap joke. But here might be some evidence. The Living Theater, which calls itself the "world's oldest experimental theater" (it was founded in 1947 by Judith Malina and Julian Beck), inaugurates its new permanent home with a revival of this 1963 seminal portrait by Kenneth H. Brown of life in a brutal military prison. Previews begin April 12. Opens April 26. The Living Theater, 21 Clinton Street, Lower East Side. (212) 397-9301. livingtheatre.org LOVEMUSIK The Manhattan Theater Club assembles a top-shelf collection of musical-theater talents who, if they pooled their resources, could fill a walk-in closet with their awards. Michael Cerveris and Donna Murphy star as Kurt Weill and his muse and wife, Lotte Lenya, in a globetrotting romance with songs by Weill. Harold Prince directs. Alfred Uhry wrote the book. Previews begin April 12. Opens May 3. Biltmore Theater, 261 West 47th Street. Telecharge. manhattantheatreclub.com. 110 IN THE SHADE The artistic brass at the Roundabout Theater Company must really like "The Rainmaker" by N. Richard Nash, since less than seven years after the group revived the play, it is mounting this musical version of that romantic drama about a mysterious stranger who promises to bring rain to a drought-stricken farm town. Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones wrote the music and lyrics to the show, which opened in 1963, soon after their success with that long-running juggernaut "The Fantasticks." Audra McDonald and John Cullum star, with Steve Kazee as the stranger, Starbuck. Lonny Price directs. Previews begin April 13. Opens May 9. Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, Manhattan. (212) 719-1300. roundabouttheatre.org. CORAM BOY It's got incest, slavery, infanticide and, for good measure, a hanging. In other words, it's perfect for children. Just leave the tiniest tots at home. (The age-appropriate range, according to the producers, is 12 and up.) This latest raved-about transfer from the National Theater in London is based on a children's book by Jamila Gavin about two boys in 18th-century England who live at the Coram Hospital for Deserted Children. Directed by Melly Still. Previews begin April 16. Opens May 2. Imperial Theater, 249 West 45th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge. DEUCE The remarkable Angela Lansbury, the four-time Tony winner, returns to the Broadway stage in her first New York show since "Mame" in 1983. Her regal co-star, Marian Seldes, by contrast, seems to steal scenes in a new production every year. They play former tennis doubles champions in this new comedy by Terrence McNally. Michael Blakemore, a seasoned hand ("Copenhagen"), directs. Previews begin April 16. Opens May 6. Music Box Theater, 239 West 45th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge. THE GLORIOUS ONES The musical-making duo of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, who have collaborated on their fair share of hits ("Ragtime") and misses ("Seussical"), returns to what might be the theater's most reliable subject matter: itself. Based on a novel by Francine Prose, this world-premiere musical, set in 16th-century Italy and performed in a commedia dell'arte style, is an ode to actors. Graciela Daniele directs. Previews begin April 19. Opens April 27. Pittsburgh Public Theater, 622 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh. (412) 316-1600. ppt.org RADIO GOLF Some audience members might have a tear in their eye when leaving the theater, since for many it will be the last time they will see a new August Wilson play. Set in the 1990s, it is the final installment in his epic 10-play cycle portraying the 20th-century African-American experience. "Radio Golf" is about a charming politician on the rise and two real estate developers who want to tear down the house of Aunt Ester, the ancient woman whose story is woven through several previous works. Tonya Pinkins stars. Kenny Leon directs. Previews begin April 20. Opens May 8. Cort Theater, 138 West 48th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge. CHURCH An experimental playwright, Young Jean Lee, turns her lifelong struggle with faith and Christianity into a church service of sorts. Apparently Reverend Billy has some competition. Ms. Lee also directs. April 26-May 13. Performance Space 122, 150 First Avenue, at Ninth Street, East Village. (212) 352-3101. ps122.org. DIXIE'S TUPPERWARE PARTY Dixie Longate, a blowsy Alabama housewife, fills you in on her failed marriages and miserable children while hawking fine Tupperware for your kitchen. Kris Andersson, who stars in drag, and Elizabeth Meriwether ("The Mistakes Madeleine Made") wrote the script. Alex Timbers ("Gutenberg! The Musical!") directs. Previews begin April 26. Opens May 10. Ars Nova, 511 West 54th Street, Clinton. Smarttix. arsnova.com. XANADU Turning the flop Olivia Newton-John film into a Broadway musical is not as terrible an idea as it sounds. The film has become a cult hit -- it even inspired an Off Broadway show, "Zanna, Don't!" -- and the best thing about it is the soundtrack, which includes disco hits like "I'm Alive." And Douglas Carter Beane ("The Little Dog Laughed"), a theater person quite savvy about pop culture, has written the book. The cast is still to be announced, although Jane Krakowski, who was in the workshop, will not star. Christopher Ashley directs. Previews begin in April. Opens May 7. Helen Hayes Theater, 240 West 44th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge. May PASSING STRANGE A rock musical about a young African-American bohemian whose search to find out who he really is sends him all over the globe. The score is by Stew, the singer and popular Joe's Pub performer, and the singer and composer Heidi Rodewald. Previews begin May 1. Opens May 14. Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village. (212) 967-7555. publictheater.org. CYMBELINE One of Shakespeare's last plays, this fantastical, often confusing drama has not always been well received. George Bernard Shaw, never one to mince words, called it "trash." Samuel Johnson said it was so terrible that pointing out its errors would be to "waste criticism upon unresisting imbecility, upon faults too evident for detection." Credit the director Declan Donnellan and his acclaimed company Cheek by Jowl with some gumption in taking on the play, which is about, among other things, Imogen's marriage to a commoner in defiance of her royal father. May 2-12. Harvey Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 651 Fulton Street, Fort Greene. (718) 636-4100. bam.org. 10 MILLION MILES Patty Griffin, a folksy singer who has written for everyone from Linda Ronstadt to the Dixie Chicks, has worked in country, rock and even gospel. Her versatility should come in handy in this new musical road trip about a couple traveling across the country in a beat-up Chevy. Keith Bunin ("The Credeaux Canvas") wrote the book, and Michael Mayer ("Spring Awakening") directs. Previews of the Atlantic Theater Company show begin May 9. Opens in June. Atlantic Theater, 336 West 20th Street, Chelsea. Telecharge. atlantictheater.com. STAIRWAY TO PARADISE: AN ORIGINAL ENCORES! PRODUCTION: 50 YEARS OF REVUES IN REVIEW Kristin Chenoweth and Roger Bart sing a greatest-hits collection of songs from revues of the first half of the 20th century. The two starred on Broadway in the musical "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" in 1999. This is the third and final Encores! show of the season. May 10-14. (The second in the series is "Face the Music," the 1932 Irving Berlin and Moss Hart musical about a producer desperately trying to raise money for a new revue. March 29-April 1.) City Center, 131 West 55th Street, Manhattan. Citytix. nycitycenter.org. CRAZY MARY Sigourney Weaver, who starred in A. R. Gurney's "Mrs. Farnsworth," reunites with the prolific playwright in this new drama about a mother and son who visit their cousin Mary to find out about an inheritance. There's only one problem: Mary hasn't spoken in years. Jim Simpson, who directed "Mrs. Farnsworth" and is married to Ms. Weaver, directs. Previews begin May 11. Opens June 3. Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Ticket Central. playwrightshorizons.org. IN A DARK, DARK HOUSE One of these days Neil LaBute is going to figure out that all he has to do to cause a real stir is write a highly sentimental romantic comedy with a happy ending. Until then we have what sounds like another dark drama from the author of taut works like "The Shape of Things" and "Fat Pig." A man asks his brother to corroborate claims of childhood sexual abuse, dredging up old memories and gloomy secrets. Previews begin May 16. Opens June 7. Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, West Village. Ticket Central. EURYDICE Sarah Ruhl inspired much acclaim (and a healthy amount of jealousy) with her New York debut at Lincoln Center Theater, "The Clean House." Now she brings a modern drama about a woman who dies on her wedding day and reunites with her father in the underworld, and it has already received glowing notices in an earlier production at Yale Repertory Theater. In his review in The New York Times, Charles Isherwood wrote that it "may just be the most moving exploration of the theme of loss that the American theater has produced since the events of Sept. 11, 2001." But still, there is the sophomore jinx to consider. Les Waters directs. Previews begin May 30. Opens June 18. Second Stage Theater, 307 West 43rd Street, Clinton. (212) 246-4422. secondstagetheatre.com. INTIMATE EXCHANGES One marriage, 8 plays and 16 endings. The prolific and playful Alan Ayckbourn ("House" and "Garden") is tinkering with form again in this unusual 1984 work that will be different every night of the week. What stays the same, however, is that there will always be a bad marriage, busybody neighbors, mad relatives and one character's attempt to stop smoking. Mr. Ayckbourn directs. Previews begin May 31. Opens June 7 as part of the Brits Off Broadway festival. 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, Manhattan. Ticket Central. 59e59.org. Compiled with the assistance of Suzanne O'Connor.