Curtains rising!
Theatergoers will warm to splendid lineup of shows
It’s going to be a long, cold winter. Art will keep your spirit warm. Oh, you’ll still need to spend a fortune on your heating bills of course. But experimental theater and tried-and-true musicals will light a fire in your soul. Well, at least we hope they will. We will need all the fire, joy and artistic triumphs we can get to make it through this season.
“Shakespeare in Love,” through Feb. 10, Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, 527 Tremont St., speakeasystage.com — Young Will Shakespeare is battling a bad case of writer’s block (as illustrated by the working title of his new play, “Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter”). Thankfully, love, as it tends to do, inspires young Will to write a masterpiece. Based on the Academy Award-winning film, this adaptation is a comedy of errors and a labor of love.
“Road Show,” through Feb. 11, Lyric Stage,
140 Clarendon St., lyricstage.com — Director Spiro Veloudos continues working through the magic of Sondheim. Sondheim’s latest work is the true boom-and-bust story of a pair of slick-talking entrepreneurs looking for a quick buck from the Alaskan Gold Rush to the Florida real estate boom in the 1930s. The American Dream is never quite as easy, or honest, as it seems.
“HEAR WORD! Naija Woman Talk True,”
Jan. 26 to Feb. 11, Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, americanrepertorytheater.org — Back at the A.R.T. after a sold-out engagement at the Harvard Dance Center in 2016, this show tells multigenerational stories of survival through adversity, transformation through resilience. Ifeoma Fafunwa, founder and director of iOpenEye, a Nigerian production company, helms this intense and heartfelt combination of story, song and dance.
“Old School Game Show’s Valentine’s Special,” Feb. 16, Oberon, 2 Arrow St., Cambridge, oldschoolgameshow.com — Love, romance, sex and more sex will set the stage for Old School Game Show’s tribute to Valentine’s Day. Somewhere between “Let’s Make a Deal,” “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour” and Lawrence Welk on ecstasy, Old School will bring you back to a ’70s you never knew (but always dreamed of).
“Waitress,” Feb. 20 to March 4, Boston Opera House, 539 Washington St., bostonoperahouse.com — Created by an amazing team (popstar Sara Bareilles, screenwriter Jessie Nelson and Tony Award winner and A.R.T. head Diane Paulus), “Waitress” brings to the stage Adrienne Shelly’s indie film smash in which a waitress and pie master dreams up an escape out of a bad marriage and provincial life.
“The White Card,” Feb. 24 to April 1, Robert J. Orchard Stage, 559 Washington St., emersonparamount.org — “The White Card” addresses the destructive way racism infects everyday America. A world premiere from writer Claudia Rankine and director Paulus (what can't she do?!), this American Repertory Theater and ArtsEmerson production looks at a tense, truth-searching dinner between a wealthy white family and a black artist.
“Guards at the Taj,” March 1 to April 1, Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, centralsquaretheater.org — Two old friends, both imperial guards at the Taj Mahal, get swept up in the blood, beauty and intrigue of the Indian palace in 1648. Rajiv Joseph's dark comedy takes a look at how average men manage through extraordinary events. “The Sound of Music,”
May 1-13, Wang Theatre, 265 Tremont St., bochcenter.org — Sadly, a play about escaping Nazis remains topical. On a lighter note, who doesn't want to hear those adorable von Trapp children sing “So Long, Farewell”?