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Theater Listings for May 13-19

Paul Alexander Nolan, left, and Carmen Cusack in the musical “Bright Star” at the Cort Theater. See listing below.Credit...Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

A critical guide to productions in New York City, including shows in previews.

Approximate running times are in parentheses. Theaters are in Manhattan unless otherwise noted. Full reviews of current productions, additional listings, showtimes and ticket information are at nytimes.com/theater. A searchable, critical guide to theater is at nytimes.com/events.

‘Daphne’s Dive’ (in previews; opens on Sunday) Quiara Alegría Hudes, who won a Pulitzer Prize for “Water by the Spoonful,” returns to her native Philadelphia, sidling up to the title saloon in this new play for Signature Theater. The cast includes Daphne Rubin-Vega, Vanessa Aspillaga and Samira Wiley of “Orange Is the New Black.” The director Thomas Kail manages the bar. Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street, 212-244-7529, signaturetheatre.org. (Alexis Soloski)

‘A Doll’s House’ and ‘The Father’ (in previews; “A Doll’s House” opens on May 24; “The Father” opens on May 25) Those dueling Scandinavians, Ibsen and Strindberg, will unite on stage when Theater for a New Audience presents two plays running in repertory, both directed by Arin Arbus and starring John Douglas Thompson and Maggie Lacey. Each work is a view of a marriage: In “Doll’s House,” the wife is stultified; in “The Father,” a new adaptation by David Greig, she is rather more predatory. Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place, Brooklyn, 866-811-4111, tfana.org. (Soloski)

‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of New York City’ (previews start on Thursday; opens on June 7) Is cancer funny? Audiences can decide in Halley Feiffer’s new play, for MCC, in which a comedian in her 20s (Beth Behrs) and a man in middle age (Erik Lochtefeld) meet not at all cute when their mothers are admitted to the same hospital. The director Trip Cullman oversees their treatment. Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, 866-811-4111, mcctheater.org. (Soloski)

‘Hadestown’ (in previews; opens on May 23) Orpheus has a hell of a time in this new folk musical from Anaïs Mitchell, directed by Rachel Chavkin. Damon Daunno stars as the musician of myth, with Nabiyah Be as his inconveniently deceased lady love, Patrick Page as the lord of the underworld and Amber Gray as Persephone. New York Theater Workshop, 79 East Fourth Street, East Village, 212-279-4200, nytw.org. (Soloski)

‘Incognito’ (in previews; opens on May 24) The playwright Nick Payne knows how to get inside the heads of his characters. Which is useful, particularly as his new drama, for Manhattan Theater Club, takes a particular interest in the brain. Doug Hughes directs Geneva Carr, Charlie Cox, Heather Lind and Morgan Spector in three linked tales of the heart and the mind and the preserved cerebellum of Albert Einstein. City Center Stage I, 131 West 55th Street, 212-581-1212, nycitycenter.org. (Soloski)

‘Indecent’ (in previews; opens on Tuesday) In 1923, scenes depicting a growing romance between a prostitute and the daughter of a brothel owner were enough to arrest and convict the producer and cast of Sholem Asch’s Yiddish play “The God of Vengeance” for giving an immoral performance. But now the play has returned, in the playwright Paula Vogel’s and the director Rebecca Taichman’s semifictional exploration of the drama, the controversy, and the actors and crew. Vineyard Theater, 108 East 15th Street, 212-353-0303, vineyardtheatre.org. (Soloski)

‘Indian Summer’ (previews start on Friday; opens on June 8) The appeal of Gregory S. Moss is more than seasonal. A playwright interested in both language and character, many of his plays center on people who feel like outsiders in their own communities and lives. His latest, for Playwrights Horizons, centers on a young man spending the summer stuck in a Rhode Island beach house with his grandfather. 416 West 42nd Street, 212-279-4200, playwrightshorizons.org. (Soloski)

‘The Judas Kiss’ (in previews; opens on Tuesday) “The world is a stage,” Oscar Wilde wrote in a short story, “but the play is badly cast.” Not so in David Hare’s 1998 drama about Wilde, which received raves once Rupert Everett took on the role. He reprises the part at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, directed by Neil Armfield. BAM Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, 718-636-4100, bam.org. (Soloski)

‘Paramour’ (in previews; opens on May 25) Cirque du Soleil is not above taking risks — on tight ropes and trapezes and the shoulders of other acrobats. But the troupe is issuing itself into a fresh challenge with this piece, its first book musical. Ruby Lewis, Ryan Vona and Jeremy Kushnier lead the cast in a tale of art, love and commerce in Golden Age Hollywood. Lyric Theater, 213 West 42nd Street, 877-250-2929, paramouronbroadway.com. (Soloski)

‘Peer Gynt’ (in previews; opens on May 25) Henrik Ibsen once regarded his poetic masterwork as unstageable. But John Doyle, soon to begin his tenure as the artistic director of Classic Stage Company, is having a go with a new adaptation. Dylan Baker, Becky Ann Baker and Gabriel Ebert star in this exploration of truth, fabulation and a man’s search for himself. Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street, East Village, 212-352-3101, classicstage.org. (Soloski)

‘The Ruins of Civilization’ (in previews; opens on Wednesday) In Penelope Skinner’s new play, the refugee crisis comes home. Literally. At some point in the future, the wife of a prominent author opens their home to an immigrant, and the results are political and personal. Leah C. Gardiner directs a cast including Rachael Holmes and Tim Daly. The Studio at Stage II, City Center, 131 West 55th Street, 212-581-1212, nycitycenter.org. (Soloski)

‘Shining City’ (previews start on Tuesday; opens on June 9) Having triumphed with Conor McPherson’s ghost-tale compilation “The Weir,” the Irish Repertory Theater again invokes the supernatural. In this revival of Mr. McPherson’s 2004 play, a man (Matthew Broderick) consults a language counselor because of an unusually creepy concern; he is haunted by the ghost of his recently deceased wife. Billy Carter, Lisa Dwan and James Russell co-star. Irish Repertory Theater, 132 West 22nd Street, 212-727-2737, irishrep.org. (Soloski)

‘Signature Plays’ (in previews; opens on May 22) The Signature Theater celebrates its 25th anniversary by paying tribute, however briefly, to three of its most acclaimed playwrights — Edward Albee, María Irene Fornés and Adrienne Kennedy. This assemblage of one-acts — “The Sandbox,” “Drowning” and “Funnyhouse of a Negro” — directed by Lila Neugebauer, explores family, identity, reality and fantasy. Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street, 212-244-7529, signaturetheatre.org. (Soloski)

★ ‘Skeleton Crew’ (previews start on Friday; reopens on Thursday) All the characters in Dominique Morisseau’s first-rate, old-fashioned drama, set in a Detroit car factory in 2008, walk a line that’s disintegrating beneath their feet. Directed with a slow hand and a quick pulse by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, this beautifully acted four-character work finds big, resonant themes — including the moral price of living for survival — on a small canvas (1:50). (Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street, 866-811-4111, atlantictheater.org. (Brantley)

‘The Total Bent’ (in previews; opens on May 25) Few who saw the exciting and distinctive musical “Passing Strange” thought anything especially bizarre about its success. Now Stew and Heidi Rodewald have reunited for a new production at the Public. Under Joanna Settle’s direction, Ato Blankson-Wood stars as a gospel prodigy struggling with his musical and familial legacy. Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, 212-967-7555, publictheater.org. (Soloski)

‘American Psycho’ Despite its high carnage quotient, this musical adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’s notorious novel about a homicidal stockbroker sets the mind awandering, and you find yourself counting the six packs of the incredibly buff cast. Benjamin Walker gives a disciplined performance in the title role of a killer numbed beyond feeling; you may identify with him (2:30). Schoenfeld Theater, 236 West 45th Street, americanpsychobroadway.com, 212-239-6200. (Brantley)

‘Blackbird’ David Harrower’s disturbing portrait of criminal love is an immensely powerful work that only occasionally maximizes its potential in this explosive but fitful production, directed by Joe Mantello. As a couple reunited years after the end of a relationship that destroyed their lives, Michelle Williams and an excellent Jeff Daniels give the sort of performances that trigger seismometers (1:20). Belasco Theater, 111 West 44th Street, blackbirdbroadway.com, 212-239-6200. (Brantley)

★ ‘Bright Star’ Steve Martin (yes, that one) and Edie Brickell provide the gorgeous bluegrass score for this gentle-spirited, romantic musical about love, loss and redemption in the South of the 1920s and ’40s. Carmen Cusack shines as a feisty teenager who, after trauma bordering on melodrama, becomes the editor of a literary journal (2:30). Cort Theater, 138 West 48th Street, 212-239-6200, brightstarmusical.com. (Isherwood)

★ ‘The Color Purple’ A makeover made in heaven. The director John Doyle has slimmed down and toned up a show that seemed leaden and garish in its original Broadway incarnation. This musical version of Alice Walker’s celebrated novel about black women finding their voices — which features Heather Headley and, in a star-making performance, Cynthia Erivo — is a triumph of elemental, emotional storytelling. (2:35). Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, 242 West 45th Street, colorpurple.com, 212-239-6200. (Brantley)

★ ‘The Crucible’ The Devil returns to Broadway, as the director Ivo van Hove and a dazzling international cast — led by Ben Whishaw, Sophie Okonedo, Saoirse Ronan and Ciaran Hinds — plumb the raw terror in Arthur Miller’s tale of paranoia and witch hunting in Salem. An endlessly revived historical drama from 1953 suddenly feels like the freshest, scariest play in town (2:45). Walter Kerr Theater, 219 West 48th Street, thecrucibleonbroadway.com, 877-250-2929. (Brantley)

★ ‘Eclipsed’ Danai Gurira’s soul-searing drama has moved to Broadway with its force undiminished. The radiant Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o leads a flawless cast, playing a young woman captured and sexually enslaved by a rebel commander during a civil war in Liberia. A dark but powerfully moving drama, sprinkled, perhaps surprisingly, with moments of levity (2:15). Golden Theater, 252 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, eclipsedbroadway.com. (Isherwood)

★ ‘The Father’ In the title role of Florian Zeller’s cold-eyed drama, Frank Langella demonstrates that while dementia may be ugly it is also inherently tragic. Framed by the perspective of man’s encroaching senility, this production – directed by Doug Hughes – offers one of the most disorienting experiences in town. Mr. Langella makes the harrowing most of a later-day, redemption-free King Lear (1:30). Samuel J. Friedman Theater, 261 West 47th Street, manhattantheatreclub.com, 212-399-3050. (Brantley)

★ ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ This timely new production of the much-loved and much-revived 1964 musical comedy honors the show’s ebullience of spirit, as embodied in the Jewish milkman Tevye (an assured and affecting Danny Burstein), living in a Russian shtetl in the early 20th century. But as directed by Bartlett Sher with his customary sensitivity (“The King and I,” “South Pacific”), this multihued staging moves to a heart-stopping conclusion. It’s just a musical, no? Yes, but what a musical (2:35)! Broadway Theater, 1681 Broadway, at 53rd Street, 212-239-6200, fiddlermusical.com. (Isherwood)

‘Fully Committed’ Jesse Tyler Ferguson is a comic dynamo giving vivid voice to more than 40 characters in Becky Mode’s 1999 comedy about a reservation-taker at a high-end New York restaurant. But watching this beleaguered and harassed character’s travails in the age of income inequality leaves the play with a sour aftertaste (1:30). Lyceum Theater, 149 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, fullycommittedbroadway.com. (Isherwood)

★ ‘Hamilton’ Yes, it really is that good. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s rap-driven portrait of the rise and fall of Alexander Hamilton, directed by Thomas Kail, makes us feel the unstoppable, urgent rhythm of a nation being born. A show that changes the language of the American musical, while offering resounding evidence that this beleaguered genre is not only surviving but thriving (2:45). Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 West 46th Street, 877-250-2929, hamiltonbroadway.com. (Brantley)

★ ‘The Humans’ Stephen Karam’s extraordinary comedy-drama — the finest of the season — has transferred to Broadway with its prized virtues intact: a superlative cast; direction from Joe Mantello that deftly navigates its shifts in tone; and, of course, Mr. Karam’s delicate but trenchant writing, depicting with great humor and empathy a middle-class family on the edge of the abyss (1:35). Helen Hayes Theater, 240 West 44th Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com. (Isherwood)

‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ In Jonathan Kent’s stately and static revival of Eugene O’Neill’s masterwork, the powerhouse team of Gabriel Byrne, Jessica Lange, Michael Shannon and John Gallagher Jr. is acting up a storm, for sure. Yet it’s hard to avoid the feeling that this tempestuous climate is artificially controlled. The standout: Mr. Byrne’s fine-grained portrait of a hope-stripped father (3:40). American Airlines Theater, 227 West 42nd Street, roundabouttheatre.org, 212-719-1300. (Brantley)

‘On Your Feet!’ This latest jukebox musical to plug in to Broadway’s power strip tells the story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s rise to pop-chart success with crowd-pleasing flair and plenty of itchy-feet-making dance music. The vibrant Ana Villafañe and Josh Segarra star as the Cuban-born Estefans (2:20). Marquis Theater, 1535 Broadway, at 45th Street, 877-250-2929, onyourfeetmusical.com. (Isherwood)

★ ‘School of Rock: The Musical’ Andrew Lloyd Webber’s friskiest show in decades. Based on the 2003 movie, this story of a rock ’n’ roll nerd (played by Alex Brightman, a bouncing Super Ball of energy) who teaches a class of regimented fifth-graders (a fabulous band of preadolescents) to “stick it to the man” is as amiably easygoing as it is loud (2:20). Winter Garden Theater, 1634 Broadway, at 50th Street, schoolofrockthemusical.com, 212-239-6200. (Brantley)

★ ‘She Loves Me’ Scott Ellis’s rapturous revival of this 1963 musical about love at the workplace in old Budapest is a reminder of the pleasures of exalted ordinariness. Embodied by an expertly attuned cast that includes Zachary Levi, Jane Krakowski and a honey-throated Laura Benanti, this sumptuously produced work has a lingering and deeply satisfying sweetness usually lacking in brassier shows (2:20). Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, 212-239-6200, roundabouttheatre.org. (Brantley)

★ ‘Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed’ George C. Wolfe’s reimagining of this all-black musical from 1921 often feels as if it’s been written according to a checklist of essential historical and editorial points to be made. But the clunky exposition doesn’t overwhelm the sweeping grace of its vintage musical numbers, vibrantly choreographed by Savion Glover, or Audra MacDonald’s robust, witty turn as a Jazz Age chanteuse (2:40). Music Box Theater, 239 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, shufflealongbroadway.com. (Brantley)

★ ‘Tuck Everlasting’ A refreshingly small-scale family musical based on the popular children’s book by Natalie Babbitt. Sarah Charles Lewis plays the lonely Winnie, who in 19th-century New Hampshire meets a mysterious boy, Jesse (Andrew Keenan-Bolger) and discovers his family’s strange secret. The book, by Claudia Shear and Tim Federle, and the score, by Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen, are both nicely turned; and Casey Nicholaw’s climactic ballet is a knockout (2:15). Broadhurst Theater, 235 West 44th Street, 212-239-6200, tuckeverlastingmusical.com. (Isherwood)

‘Waitress’ A thrilling performance by Jessie Mueller (“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical”) brings some much-needed depth of feeling to this slick but superficial musical based on the movie about a pie-baking diner worker in distress. The score, by the pop singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, is also beguiling, but Diane Paulus’s production flattens the ancillary characters into cartoons (2:35). Brooks Atkinson Theater, 256 West 47th Street, waitressthemusical.com, 877-250-2929. (Isherwood)

‘Cagney’ When the hero of Robert Creighton, Christopher McGovern and Peter Colley’s Hollywood musical shows his stuff as a tap dancer, you may want to buy war bonds. Otherwise, this show has a pleasantly cartoonish revue vibe (2:20). Westside Theater Upstairs, 407 West 43rd Street, 212-239-6200, cagneythemusical.com. (Gates)

‘Daddy Long Legs’ This sweet, beautifully sung and only occasionally unsettling musical adaptation of Jean Webster’s 1912 novel is predicated on the lengthy correspondence between a pert orphan and her anonymous benefactor. Even if the relationship between the adorable Jerusha and the debonair Jervis reads as at least a little creepy, their voices twine charmingly (2:15). Davenport Theater, 354 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, daddylonglegsmusical.com. (Soloski)

★ ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ As a lonely high schooler, Ben Platt gives a heartbreaker of a performance as the title character in this terrific musical, with a clever book by Steven Levenson and nifty songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Michael Greif’s direction and a flawless cast add to the pleasure (2:30). Second Stage Theater, 305 West 43rd Street, 212-246-4422, 2st.com. (Isherwood)

★ ‘Drunk Shakespeare’ Probably you’ve seen streamlined, amped-up productions of Shakespeare before, but the gimmick here is that as the performance of “Macbeth” begins, one of the actors downs a mind-fogging number of shots. What follows is a wild mash-up of Shakespeare and pop-culture references that seems chaotically improvised but takes a deceptive amount of skill to execute. The audience sits right up against the action and sometimes gets drawn into it (1:30). The Lounge, Roy Arias Stages, 300 West 43rd Street, fourth floor, drunkshakespeare.com. (Genzlinger)

★ ‘The Effect’ The irreducibility of love is the subject of Lucy Prebble’s very clever — and ultimately more than clever — play about a couple who meet as guinea pigs for a clinical trial for an antidepressant. David Cromer’s deeply empathic production – and Susannah Flood and Carter Hudson’s intense central performance – remind us that in exciting theater, feeling trumps science (2:00). Barrow Street Theater, 27 Barrow Street, West Village, 212-868-4444, barrowstreettheatre.com. (Brantley)

‘Full House! The Musical!’ This frenetic, ribald and exhausting satire from the creators of “Bayside! The Musical!” barely stops for breath. Only Marshall Louise freezes time with her delicious sendup of the grown Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Her impersonation may be one-note, but it is something to treasure (2:00). Theater 80, 80 St. Marks Place, East Village, 212-388-0388, fullhousethemusical.com. (Webster)

‘Gary Busey’s One-Man Hamlet as Performed by David Carl’ Mr. Carl renders “Hamlet” as he imagines Mr. Busey might — unhinged and full of detours to the film star’s movies and personal grievances. It’s hilarious (1:15). (Closes on Saturday and returns June 4.) PIT Loft, 154 West 29th Street, 212-563-7488, buseyhamlet.com. (Genzlinger)

‘Idiot’ A response to Dostoyevsky’s novel “The Idiot,” Robert Lyons and Kristin Marting’s immersive show zeros in on four characters, with Daniel Kublick exuding a sweet otherness in the title role. Something crucial is missing, though, from this sleekly designed production. The action feels uprooted from its original soil but not yet firmly planted in a new one (1:15). Here, 145 Avenue of the Americas, 212-352-3101, here.org. (Collins-Hughes)

‘Kentucky’ Leah Nanako Winkler’s comedy-drama is a riff on the family play, the homecoming play, the coming-of-age play and also occasionally a musical. If the script is overstuffed and the tone frenetic, it is also the full-length debut of a distinctive new voice — mouthy, sly and bourbon-sweet, with the expected kick (2:15). Ensemble Studio Theater, 549 West 52nd Street, 866-811-4111, ensemblestudiotheatre.org. (Soloski)

NoFit State Circus: ‘Bianco’ NoFit State Circus, which has pitched its tent under the Brooklyn Bridge in the backyard of St. Ann’s Warehouse, exudes an enticingly musky scent of vagabond glamour. This celebrated, 30-year-old, Welsh-born company makes its American debut with a rowdy festival of muscle, bending, air-swimming and fire-eating, among other activities. Be prepared to stand (no seats) and gape, as in bygone days (2:00). Brooklyn Bridge Plaza, at New Dock Street, Brooklyn, 718-254-8779, stannswarehouse.org. (Brantley)

‘One Funny Mother’ In this solo show, Dena Blizzard jokes about her children and her husband, but she never really makes her household anything other than a generic one. There are plenty of laughs but no overarching theme or point. It’s a show aimed at parents, especially young mothers, who want to foster the idea that raising children is an impossibly demanding task (1:30). New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, 212-239-6200, onefunnymother.com. (Genzlinger)

‘The Place We Built’ In Budapest, as the political climate shifts rightward, a collective of young adults must decide whether to try to save the scruffy cultural space where they’ve been reconnecting with their Jewish heritage. But collectives often have a dispersive energy, and, unfortunately, so does this sprawling play by Sarah Gancher, in an immersive production by Danya Taymor (2:30). Flea Theater, 41 White Street, 866-811-4111, theflea.org. (Collins-Hughes)

★ ‘Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.’ Alice Birch’s implosive, vitalizing play has a way of making you question everything you say when it comes to discussing 21st-century women in a society that hasn’t caught up with them. Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, with a cast that revels in acting up and acting out, this production finds the theatrical exhilaration in civil disobedience (1:05). Soho Rep, 46 Walker Street, 866-811-4111, sohorep.org. (Brantley)

‘The Robber Bridegroom’ The director Alex Timbers brings enlivening wit and a macabre picturesqueness to this rowdy bluegrass adaptation from the 1970s of Eudora Welty’s fairy-tale novella of old Mississippi. Featuring a book by Alfred Uhry and music by Robert Waldman, the show suggests a boisterous singing hayride, with lots of exuberant twanging. Steven Pasquale is the dreamy renegade hero (1:30). Laura Pels Theater, 111 West 46th Street, 212-719-1300, roundabouttheatre.org. (Brantley)

‘Ruthless!’ This spiked Shirley Temple of a show, which first opened in 1992 and now returns with less fizz, follows the adventures of Tina Denmark (Tori Murray), a stage-struck prepubescent with occasional homicidal tendencies. But what must have once seemed wildly satirical could practically pass for documentary (1:35). St. Luke’s Theater, 308 West 46th Street, Clinton, 212-239-6200, ruthlessthemusical.com. (Soloski)

‘Shear Madness’ This astonishingly durable interactive murder mystery has been running in Boston since Jimmy Carter was in the White House, and some of the jokes in the late-arriving New York incarnation definitely show their years. But the tone of this improv-heavy play depends hugely on the performers. They lend an inclusive spirit of fun to the proceedings, set in a Manhattan hair salon where the audience determines which character is the most likely suspect (2:00). New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, 212-239-6200, shearmadness.com. (Collins-Hughes)

★ ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Benedict Andrews’s brave new revival resets Tennessee Williams’s 1947 drama both in the 21st century and, implicitly, in Darwin’s do-or-die primeval jungle. A riveting and illuminating study of the survival of the fittest that pits a fully adrenalized Gillian Anderson, as a feline Blanche DuBois, against a commanding Ben Foster, as the brutish Stanley Kowalski (3:15). St. Ann’s Warehouse, 45 Water Street, Brooklyn, 718-254-8779, stannswarehouse.org. (Brantley)

★ ‘Thank God for Jokes’ Mike Birbiglia, who had success in 2008 with “Sleepwalk With Me,” is back with another monologue, and it’s spectacular. His subject is humor — the structure and purpose of a joke, the rules for when and where to tell one — but this is no lecture. His core anecdote involves an infamous joke he told while hosting an awards ceremony, but it’s the frequent, elaborate detours that make this show such a delight. By the end, you realize that somehow some thoughtful points have been slipped in while you were laughing nonstop for almost an hour and a half (1:23). Culture Project, 45 Bleecker Street, at Lafayette Street, East Village, 866-811-4111, thankgodforjokes.com. (Genzlinger)

★ ‘Toast’ Richard Bean’s 1999 drama, set in a failing bread factory in 1975, offers a shrewd and poignant consideration of how rote work defines and confines those who perform it. As you might expect of the author of “One Man, Two Guvnors,” it is also very funny. Eleanor Rhode directs a vigorous cast of seven as the scrapping dough boys (2:00). 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, 212-279-4200, 59e59.org. (Brantley)

‘Trip of Love’ This bloated concoction takes a seemingly random collection of Top 40 hits from the 1960s and turns them into dance numbers, with a sparse, clichéd girl-meets-boy story woven in. Ridiculous stuff, but the big-budget sets are sometimes fun (1:50). Stage 42, 422 West 42nd Street, 212-239-6200, tripoflove.com. (Genzlinger)

★ ‘White Rabbit, Red Rabbit’ Each Monday a new actor will meet the challenge of this engaging, enigmatic solo play (with the audience in a supporting role) by the Iranian writer Nassim Soleimanpour. The performer sees the script only when he or she steps onstage. A schedule of upcoming performers is available on the website (1:15). Westside Theater, 407 West 43rd Street, 212-239-6200, whiterabbitredrabbit.com. (Isherwood)

‘The Woodsman’ James Ortiz’s largely wordless play with music uses puppets and actors, a chorus and a lone violin to reimagine the corner of Oz where the Tin Man came to be. The production is visually and aurally enchanting, but its creators still need to find the key to the story’s heart (1:15). New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, 212-239-6200, thewoodsmanplay.com. (Collins-Hughes)

★ ‘The Grand Paradise’ The immersive theater troupe Third Rail (“Then She Fell”) has created a lush, 1970s-style tropical resort for virtual hedonists. An experience that allows you to have and remember a wild vacation simultaneously, with both romantic promise and retrospective regret. Be prepared to be touched a lot, and to hear New Age gobbledygook about love and death (2:00). 383 Troutman Street, Bushwick, Brooklyn, 718-374-5196, thegrandparadise.com. (Brantley)

‘Puffs, Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic’ Aimed at grown-up Potterphiliacs, Matt Cox’s teasingly affectionate, fast-paced parody of the Hogwarts universe embraces, with varying success, the nerds whom the sorting hat assigns to the house called Puff. The fine ensemble includes the sublimely hilarious Madeleine Bundy as Harry (1:20). The Peoples Improv Theater, 123 East 24th Street, thepit-nyc.com. (Collins-Hughes)

‘Aladdin’ The Disney movie refashioned for the stage, with shtick, sparkles and silliness cutting the syrup (2:20). New Amsterdam Theater, 214 West 42nd Street, 866-870-2717, aladdinthemusical.com.

‘An American in Paris’ The ballet luminary Christopher Wheeldon makes a triumphant debut as a Broadway director with this rhapsodic stage adaptation of a classic musical with a heavenly Gershwin score. Pure joy (2:30). The Palace Theater. 1564 Broadway, at 47th Street, ticketmaster.com, 877-250-2929.

‘Avenue Q’ R-rated puppets give lively life lessons (2:15). New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.

‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’ Becoming Carole King, song by song by song (2:25). Stephen Sondheim Theater, 124 West 43rd Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.

‘Black Angels Over Tuskegee’ The tear-jerker story of these trailblazing African-American pilots (2:30). St. Luke’s Theater, 308 West 46th Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.

Blue Man Group Conceptual art as entertainment (1:45). Astor Place Theater, 434 Lafayette Street, East Village, 800-258-3626, ticketmaster.com.

‘The Book of Mormon’ Singing, dancing, R-rated missionaries proselytize for the American musical (2:15). Eugene O’Neill Theater, 230 West 49th Street, ticketmaster.com, 800-745-3000.

‘Chicago’ Jazz Age sex, murder and razzle-dazzle (2:25). Ambassador Theater, 219 West 49th Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.

‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ Navigating life’s maze with a socially challenged prodigy (2:25). Ethel Barrymore Theater, 243 West 47th Street, curiousonbroadway.com, 212-239-6200.

‘The Fantasticks’ Boy meets girl, forever (2:05). The Theater Center, 210 West 50th Street, 800-745-3000, fantasticksonbroadway.com.

‘Finding Neverland’ Bringing up Peter (Pan) (2:30). Lunt-Fontanne Theater, 205 West 46th Street, 877-250-2929, ticketmaster.com.

‘Fuerza Bruta’ This shiny, sensory-overload spectacle is rife with not especially impressive acrobatics, throbbing music, many-colored lights and high winds from machines set at storm speed (1:20). Daryl Roth Theater, 20 Union Square East, at 15th Street, 212-239-6200, fuerzabrutanyc.com.

‘Fun Home’ Family secrets in song (1:40). Circle in the Square Theater, 1633 Broadway, funhomebroadway.com, 212-239-6200.

‘Jersey Boys’ The biomusical that walks like a man (2:30). August Wilson Theater, 245 West 52nd Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.

‘The King and I’ Siam revisited, with feeling (2:50). Vivian Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center, 212-239-6200, lct.org.

‘Kinky Boots’ These boots are made for dancin’ — and stompin’ out bigotry (2:20). Al Hirschfeld Theater, 302 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.

‘The Lion King’ Disney’s call of the wild (2:45). Minskoff Theater, 200 West 45th Street, 800-870-2717, ticketmaster.com.

‘Matilda the Musical’ The children’s revolution, per Roald Dahl (2:35). Shubert Theater, 225 West 44th Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.

‘Les Misérables’ The celebrated musical about that hard-luck bread-stealer is back — again (2:50). Imperial Theater, 249 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.

‘Perfect Crime’ The murder mystery that has been investigated since 1987 (1:30). The Theater Center, 210 West 50th Street, 800-745-3000, perfect-crime.com.

‘The Phantom of the Opera’ Who was that masked man anyway (2:30)? Majestic Theater, 247 West 44th Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.

‘Sex Tips for Straight Women From a Gay Man’ Part bachelorette party at Chippendales, part embarrassing midnight show in Pigalle (1:20). 777 Theater, 777 Eighth Avenue, at 47th Street, 888-841-4111, sextipsplay.com.

‘Sistas: The Musical’ Black women reflect on their lives, with songs (1:30). (Saturdays and Sundays.) St. Luke’s Theater, 308 West 46th Street, Clinton, 212-239-6200, sistasthemusical.com.

‘Sleep No More’ A movable, murderous feast at Hotel Macbeth (2:00). The McKittrick Hotel, 530 West 27th Street, Chelsea, 866-811-4111, sleepnomorenyc.com.

‘Something Rotten!’ Shakespeare on steroids (2:20). St. James Theater, 246 West 44th Street, 212-239-6200, rottenbroadway.com.

‘Stomp’ And the beat goes on (and on), with percussion unlimited (1:30). Orpheum Theater, 126 Second Avenue, at Eighth Street, East Village, 800-982-2787, ticketmaster.com.

‘Then She Fell’ Go ask Alice (2:00). The Kingsland Ward at St. John’s, 195 Maujer Street, near Humboldt Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-374-5196, thenshefell.com.

‘Wicked’ Oz revisited (2:45). Gershwin Theater, 222 West 51st Street, 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.

‘The Dingdong’ (closes on Sunday) Occasionally hilarious and mostly harmless, Mark Shanahan’s adaptation of Georges Feydeau’s farce, produced by the Peal Theater Company, centers on a wife who won’t commit adultery unless her husband strays first. Under Hal Brooks’s direction, the pacing comes and goes, though with all the frothy lingerie and funny accents, however, you might not notice (2:00). Pearl Theater, 555 West 42nd Street, 212-563-9261, pearltheatre.org. (Soloski)

‘Wolf in the River’ (closes on Monday) Adam Rapp’s tall and bloated tale of nasty doings on the banks of a cannibal river allows an enthusiastic tribe of young performers to get dirty, histrionic and, on occasion, naked. It must be said that they and Mr. Rapp (who also directed) appear to be having a high old time in this lurid melodrama with music (1:45). Flea Theater, 41 White Street, 212-352-3101, theflea.org. (Brantley)

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section C, Page 13 of the New York edition with the headline: The Listings: Theater. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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