Seven GUITARS August Wilson’s drama, established in 1948, tells the tale of the lifestyle and death of blues guitarist Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton (Anthony T Goss). Floyd returns to Pittsburgh with a hit file to his credit and tries to persuade his former lover, Vera (Maya Carter), to appear with him to Chicago, where by he hopes to obtain better stardom by recording an album. Directed by Maurice Emmanuel Dad or mum. Feb. 8-March 5. Actors’ Shakespeare Job. At Hibernian Corridor. 617-241-2200, www.ActorsShakespeareProject.org
FAIRVIEW From its sitcom-like commencing, with a middle-class Black family members obtaining ready for a birthday occasion, “Fairview” goes in stunning directions as playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury explores race, course, cultural appropriation, and the white gaze. Drury, who gained a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2019 for “Fairview,” instructed the Guardian that the enjoy “puts with each other all of these stereotypes that are so ingrained into our consciousness that we like scarcely sign-up them as that any more.” Solid involves Dom Carter, Lyndsay Allyn Cox, Yewande Odetoyinbo, and Victoria Omoregie. Directed by Pascale Florestal. Feb. 17-March 11. SpeakEasy Phase Firm. At Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.SpeakEasyStage.com
MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, THE MUSICAL Becky Bass plays Mrs. Mallard and Jared Troilo portrays Mr. Mallard in this musical adaptation of Robert McCloskey’s beloved children’s tale about a relatives of ducklings who make their dwelling at the Boston Community Garden. Adaptation by Sandra B. Eskin and Michael J. Bobbitt, who wrote the guide for the musical, with new music and lyrics by William Yanesh. Directed by Emily Ranii. Feb. 17-March 12. Wheelock Relatives Theatre at Boston College. 617-353-3001, www.wheelockfamilytheatre.org
FRANKENSTEIN This acquire on the common horror novel blends the tale of Victor Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s monster with the biography of their creator, Mary Shelley. Manual Cinema, the Chicago-primarily based overall performance collective powering these impressive performs as “Ada/Ava” and “The Finish of Tv,” employs a lot more than 500 puppets, along with stay actors, projectors, and cinematic elements. Feb. 22-26. Manufacturing by Guide Cinema. Presented by ArtsEmerson. At Robert J. Orchard Phase, Emerson Paramount Heart. 617-824-8400, www.ArtsEmerson.org
ALMA This two-hander by Benjamin Benne, which gained the Nationwide Latinx Playwriting Award, is established in 2016, and anti-immigrant sentiment has one mom Alma (Karina Beleno Carney) fearful of remaining deported. It is the eve of the SAT test for her 17-yr-outdated daughter, Angel (Luz Lopez). To Alma, the family’s potential is driving on Angel acing the examination and finding into a great college or university. Angel has a distinctive conception of that long term. Directed by Elena Velasco. Feb. 23-March 26. Central Sq. Theater, Cambridge. 617-576-9278 (ext. 1), www.CentralSquareTheater.org
THE Wonderful LEAP Manford, a Chinese-American large school basketball star played by Tyler Simahk, goes to Beijing in 1989 with a curmudgeonly coach, Saul (Barlow Adamson), for an exhibition game just as the Tiananmen Sq. university student protests are occurring. The opposing crew is coached by Wen Chang (Gary Thomas Ng), a former protégé of Saul’s who has what push products explained as “unfinished business” with him and Manford alike. Written by Lauren Yee (”Cambodian Rock Band”), the creation of “The Excellent Leap” will be directed by Michael Hisamoto. Feb. 24-March 19. Lyric Stage Firm of Boston. 617-585-5678, www.lyricstage.com
THE Wife OF WILLESDEN In this adaptation by Zadie Smith (”White Teeth”) of “The Spouse of Bath’s Tale” from Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales,” Clare Perkins performs Alvita, a Jamaican-born British female in her 50s. The absolutely free-spirited, nonconformist Alvita tells a band of regulars in a London pub the tale of her five marriages, her view of sexuality and misogyny, and her typical philosophy of lifestyle. Directed by Indhu Rubasingham. Feb. 25-March 17. American Repertory Theater, Loeb Drama Middle, Cambridge. 617-547-8300, www.AmericanRepertoryTheater.org
BOULEVARD OF Bold Goals A fictional retelling by playwright LaDarrion Williams of the historic night in 1940 when Hattie McDaniel (Samantha Jane Williams) gained an Academy Award for her portrayal of an enslaved maid in “Gone With the Wind,” creating her the first Black actor honored with Hollywood’s major prize. In “Boulevard of Bold Goals,” McDaniel refuses to attend the Oscar ceremony, but a Black bartender (Stewart Evan Smith) and a resort maid (Michelle Fenelon) try out to persuade her to alter her brain while reckoning with their personal secrets and desires. Directed by Taavon Gamble. March 3-19. Better Boston Phase Enterprise, Stoneham. 781-279-2200, www.greaterbostonstage.org or [email protected]
K-I-S-S-I-N-G In this premiere of a enjoy by Cambridge native Lenelle Moïse, an artist named Lala (Regan Sims) who utilizes pizza boxes as her canvas finds herself attracted to both Dani (Sharmarke Yusuf) and his twin, Albert (Ivan Cecil Walks). Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Co-creation by The Entrance Porch Arts Collective and The Huntington. March 3-April 2. Wimberly Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Heart for the Arts. 617-266-0800, www.huntingtontheatre.org
INTO THE WOODS Many forged associates from past year’s Broadway revival of this beloved Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical will reprise their roles in this touring creation. They contain Montego Glover as The Witch, Stephanie J. Block as The Baker’s Spouse, Sebastian Arcelus as The Baker, and Gavin Creel as Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf. Directed by Lear deBessonet. March 21-26. Emerson Colonial Theatre. 888-616-0272, www.EmersonColonialTheatre.com
Don Aucoin can be reached at [email protected]. Observe him on Twitter @GlobeAucoin.
