Seasons are in full swing at the area’s regional and community theaters. Here are the productions coming soon to a theater near you.
McCarter Theater
91 University Place, Princeton. www.mccarter.org
In “Dreamgirls,” a 1960s Motown girl group catches their big break in an amateur competition and rises from obscurity to superstardom. But will their friendship — and their music — survive the rapid rise from obscurity to pop super stardom? A six-time Tony Award-winner and Grammy Award-winner, Dreamgirls followed a path from long-running hit on Broadway, to London’s West End, to a movie musical starring Beyoncé. $25 and up. March 6 through 24.
In “Choice,” a comic and surreal play by Winnie Holzman, journalist Zipporah Zunder has landed the story of her life — investigating a controversial social phenomenon that could reframe the way we think about the right to choose. $25 and up. May 8 through June 2.
Kelsey Theater
Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor. kelsey.mccc.edu
The Reock & Roll Revue, known for its presentations of full classic rock albums, returns with “The Ladies of Rock,” a tribute to Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow. Lisa Bouchelle, Lindsay Jordan, and Sandy Zio will be singing songs from Raitt’s 1991 album “Luck of the Draw” and Crow’s 1993 debut album “Tuesday Night Music Club.” $30. February 23 through 25.
The Virginia-based Underground Performing Arts Collective presents the special event “Black Girl Magic.” The show combines poetry, monologues, and conventional drama with film to tell the tale of Sister, a young Black woman struggling to find a place of acceptance in the world. Guided by the Ancestors, African Warrior Queens, Sister comes to a place of self-reconciliation and acceptance as she is given a glimpse into the lives and legacy of Black women, past and present. $22. March 1 through 3.
Written by New Jersey playwright Joe DiPietro, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” is the second longest-running Off-Broadway musical in history. This comedic revue presented by Theater To Go pays tribute to those who have loved and lost, to those who have fallen on their face at the portal of romance, and to those who have dared to ask, “Say, what are you doing Saturday night?” $26. March 15 through 24.
MCCC’s Academic Theater and Dance Department presents a musical to be announced about a year in the life and love of New York friends based on an opera by Puccini. $26. April 5 through 14.
After a bad batch of vichyssoise killed off 52 of the Little Sisters of Hoboken, the survivors emptied the coffers to bury the deceased, but ran out of cash before the last few bodies could be laid to rest. To raise funds they decide to put on a variety show. Will their prayers be answered before the health department discovers their secret? MTM Players brings “Nunsense” to the Kelsey stage. $26. April 19 through May 5.
Broken Legs Productions & Tomato Patch, Jr. bring to life the magical adventures of the boy-cub Mowgli, whose friends in the Indian jungle work to protect from Shere Khan the great tiger, in “The Jungle Book.” $16. May 18 through 26.
Inspired by a true story and featuring the Tony & Grammy nominated score by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, “Bright Star” follows the life of Alice Murphy and tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption, set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and ’40s. Presented by Maurer Productions On Stage. $26. May 31 through June 9.
Shakespeare ‘70 presents “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the bard’s funny, sexy, goofy comedy full of mistaken identities, love potions, mayhem, magical mystical creatures, ass-headed weavers and nature gone mad. $22. June 14 through 23.
The Yardley Players present the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic “The Sound of Music,” telling the story of Maria, who is dispatched to serve as governess for the seven children of a widowed naval officer, Captain Von Trapp. $26. June 28 through July 7.
Thank You Five Company presents the musical “School of Rock,” based on the film of the same name about Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. $26. July 12 through 21.
Actors Net of Bucks County
635 North Delmorr Avenue, Morrisville, Pennsylvania. www.actorsnetbucks.org
There are three shows left in the Bucks County theater’s 27th season.
Up next is “Over the River and Through the Woods” by New Jersey playwright Joe DiPietro. The play tells the story of single, Italian American Jersey boy Nick, whose grandparents conspire to keep him from moving away to Seattle for his dream job. $24. March 8 through 24.
Mae West’s “The Drag” follows. The funny and flamboyant play creates an unusual love triangle and features a decadent parade and celebration of drag. $24. April 26 through May 12.
William Shakespeare’s comedy “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” featuring true love and a forest adventure, closes out the season. $24. June 14 through 30.
George Street Playhouse
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, 11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick. www.georgestreetplayhouse.org
“The Club,” which takes place as three married couples seek refuge from the rock ‘n’ roll turbulence outside in a suburban living room on a Sunday in 1968, is getting its world premiere at the New Brunswick theater. The play is based on the work by bestselling novelist Chris Bohjalian, whose novel “Midwives” was also adapted for the stage and premiered at George Street in 2020. $25 and up. February 27 to March 17.
“Tick, Tick…Boom” is a musical masterpiece by the late Jonathan Larson of “Rent” fame. Set in the bustling streets of New York City, this production follows the journey of Jon, a struggling composer on the brink of turning 30, as he wrestles with the haunting pressures of artistic ambition and the relentless ticking of time. $25 and up. April 23 through May 19.
State Theater of New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick. www.stnj.org
There are five shows remaining in the theater’s annual Broadway series. They are:
“Menopause the Musical 2: Cruising Through the Change,” which is set on the high seas five years after the ladies’ chance encounter in a department store. $29 to $69. Thursday, February 15.
“Clue,” a comedy based on the 1985 movie and classic board game featuring murder and blackmail at the Boddy Manor. $40 to $105. April 27 and 28.
“The Kite Runner,” a new play about boyhood friends in war torn Afghanistan based on Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel. $40 to $105. May 3 and 4.
“Mean Girls,” the hit musical comedy about Cady Heron’s adjustment to high school life in suburban Illinois. $40 to $115. May 11 and 12.
“Alan Cumming: Uncut” is the award-winning performer’s new cabaret show. $39 to $129. June 22.
Music Mountain Theater
1483 NJ-179, Lambertville. www.musicmountaintheatre.org
The Lambertville theater keeps its stage full year-round and has six productions lined up heading into the summer.
“City of Angels” takes place in the late 1940s, when Stine, a bookish writer of detective stories, struggles to adapt his crime novel into a workable screenplay. As Stine tries to maintain some integrity in the backstabbing world of Hollywood, his protagonist, a hardboiled private eye named Stone, fights for survival in a city full of criminals and opportunists. $32. Through February 18.
“Fun Home” is a wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes adapted from Alison Bechtel’s groundbreaking graphic novel. $32. February 23 through March 10.
“Hello Dolly” is a legendary musical that follows the romantic and comedic exploits of Dolly Gallagher Levi, turn-of-the-century meddlesome matchmaker, as she brings together the young clerk of a wealthy Yonkers merchant and his assistant with a widowed milliner and her assistant, while making sure she herself gets to marry the merchant. $32. March 15 through April 7.
“Murder on the Orient Express” is the stage adaptation of one of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot mysteries as he solves the murder of an American tycoon stabbed eight times aboard the luxury train. $32. April 12 through 28.
“Tuck Everlasting” is an inspiring tale about 11-year-old Winnie Foster, who yearns for a life of adventure beyond her white picket fence. $32. May 3 through 19.
“Sweet Charity,” with a book by Neil Simon, follows the romantic trials and tribulations of Charity Hope Valentine, “a girl who wanted to be loved.” $32. May 24 through June 9.
Bristol Riverside Theater
120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, Pennsylvania. www.brtstage.org
“A Raisin in the Sun” is Lorraine Hansberry’s celebrated work about a Black family trying to follow their dreams in the 1950s. Through February 18.
“Big The Musical,” based on the 1988 film “Big,” tells the story of scrawny 12-year-old Josh Baskin, who learns that adulthood is more than he bargained for when a rusty arcade machine magically grants his wish to be grown up. $55 to $65. March 19 through April 14.
“The Second City: Comedian Rhapsody” is a brand-new revue featuring their best sketch comedy, songs and, of course, their trademark improvisation. $55 to $65. May 14 to June 2.
