Theater Listings for Nov. 11-17

‘DEAD POETS SOCIETY’ (in previews; opens on Thursday) The Classic Stage Company seizes the day with a dramatic adaptation of the 1989 film, scripted by its screenwriter, Tom Schulman. John Doyle directs this prep-school-set story of a nonconformist English teacher; Jason Sudeikis leads the class as the inspirational educator. Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street, East Village, 212-352-3101, classicstage.org. (Soloski)

‘DEAR EVAN HANSEN’ (previews start on Monday; opens on Dec. 4) Get your Twitter and Instagram accounts ready for the Broadway run of this musical about the struggle for connection in a wired world. Written by Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, it stars Ben Platt as a socially anxious adolescent staggered by sudden fame. Reviewing the Off Broadway production, Charles Isherwood described the piece, directed by Michael Greif, as fashioned “with great heart and humor.” Music Box Theater, 239 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, dearevanhansen.com. (Soloski)

‘THE DEATH OF THE LAST BLACK MAN IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD’ (in previews; opens on Sunday) The Signature Theater revives Suzan-Lori Parks’s stylistically dauntless, linguistically daring and knowingly mordant explosion of African-American stereotypes. Lileana Blain-Cruz directs a cast including Roslyn Ruff, Amelia Workman and Julian Rozzell. Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street, 212-244-7529, signaturetheatre.org. (Soloski)

‘IN TRANSIT’ (in previews; opens on Dec. 11) The “Frozen” composer Kristen Anderson-Lopez, in collaboration with James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan and Sara Wordsworth, has written this new a cappella musical about 11 riders in search of love, self and a seat. The director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall gets the cast moving. Circle in the Square, 1633 Broadway at 50th Street, telecharge.com. (Soloski)

‘MAN IN SNOW’ (previews start on Friday; opens on Monday) La MaMa prepares for some heavy emotional weather with the New York premiere of this new play by Israel Horovitz, who also directs. A mountain guide (Will Lyman) mourning a loss returns to a frosty peak, this time leading a group of Japanese climbers. 77 East Fourth Street, East Village, 646-430-5374, lamama.org. (Soloski)

‘NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812’ (in previews; opens on Monday) Dave Malloy’s innovative adaptation of “War and Peace” makes its vodka-tippling way to Broadway. Under Rachel Chavkin’s direction and across Mimi Lien’s set, Josh Groban and Denée Benton star as unlikely Muscovite lovers in what Charles Isherwood described, during the show’s Off Broadway run, as a “vibrant, transporting new musical.” Imperial Theater, 249 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, greatcometbroadway.com. (Soloski)

‘OTHELLO: THE REMIX’ (in previews; opens on Wednesday) Motiveless malignity gets a hip-hop beat in this adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy by the Q Brothers, GQ and JQ. In this version, Othello has been transformed from a general into an African-American M.C., and Desdemona is the white R&B singer whom his jealousy dooms. Westside Theater, 407 West 43rd Street, 212-239-6200, othellotheremix.com. (Soloski)

‘RANCHO VIEJO’ (previews start on Friday; opens on Dec. 6) The playwright Dan LeFranc (“The Big Meal,” “Sixty Miles to Silver Lake”), a writer who wears his formal ambitions casually, seeks out less green pastures in this desert-set drama at Playwrights Horizons. His new play is about a troubled marriage, as experienced by the bride and groom’s parents and their neighbors and friends. Daniel Aukin directs. 416 West 42nd Street, 212-279-4200, playwrightshorizons.org. (Soloski)

‘RIDE THE CYCLONE’ (in previews; opens on Dec. 1) Roller coaster fatalities aren’t the most obvious choice for the subject of a musical comedy. But Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell have fashioned this blackly comic show from a tale of six high school choristers who perish when a car jumps the tracks. Hang on to your hats and glasses as the piece, which Charles Isherwood called “a witty, small-scaled show of immense sweetness and originality,” arrives at MCC Theater. Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, West Village, 212-924-2817, mcctheater.org. (Soloski)

‘THE SERVANT OF TWO MASTERS’ (in previews; opens on Wednesday) Recent stories about clowns have been less than mirthful. But maybe that will change when the acclaimed jester Christopher Bayes directs this Goldoni farce, about a manservant working overtime, for Theater for a New Audience. Steven Epp, who also helped with the adaptation, stars as the harried attendant. Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place, between Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, 866-811-4111, tfana.org. (Soloski)

‘SWEET CHARITY’ (in previews; opens on Nov. 20) “If they could see me now,” Charity sings. And they can, as the New Group revives this Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields and Neil Simon musical. The shimmering Sutton Foster plays the dance hall girl with the sunny disposition and the sunburned heart. Leigh Silverman directs the show for big spenders and littler ones. Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street, 212-279-4200, thenewgroup.org. (Soloski)

‘TERMS OF ENDEARMENT’ (in previews; opens on Wednesday) The American sweetheart Molly Ringwald returns in an unsugared role, that of the acerbic mother Aurora Greenway in Dan Gordon’s theatrical adaptation of James L. Brooks’s film script, which is itself based on Larry McMurtry’s novel. Hannah Dunne (“Mozart in the Jungle”) plays her gutsy daughter. Michael Parva directs the family romance. 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, 212-279-4200, 59e59.org. (Soloski)

‘THIS DAY FORWARD’ (in previews; opens on Nov. 21) Dearly beloveds can gather together for this new play by Nicky Silver (“The Lyons,” “Too Much Sun”) at the Vineyard Theater. It concerns a startling revelation on a honeymoon and its repercussions nearly half a century later. The director Mark Brokaw leads a cast including Andrew Burnap, Michael Crane and Francesca Faridany. 108 East 15th Street, 212-353-0303, vineyardtheatre.org. (Soloski)

Broadway

‘CATS’ Andrew Lloyd Webber’s splashy feline parade has returned, in a production once again directed by Trevor Nunn and designed by John Napier. Andy Blankenbuehler (“Hamilton”) has provided some new dances, but mostly this is the same “Cats” you saw (and loved or didn’t) the first time around, albeit with a fresh and mostly terrific cast (2:15). Neil Simon Theater, 250 West 52nd Street, 877-250-2929, catsthemusical.com. (Charles Isherwood)

‘THE CHERRY ORCHARD’ Though it stars that fine actress Diane Lane, is staged by the rising British director Simon Godwin and features a new adaptation by the seriously gifted young dramatist Stephen Karam (“The Humans”), this frenzied, flashy take on one family’s mortgage crisis has to be one of the most clueless interpretations of Chekhov ever presented (2:15). American Airlines Theater, 227 West 42nd Street, 212-719-1300, roundabouttheatre.org. (Ben Brantley)

★ ‘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 Jennifer Holliday 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 ENCOUNTER’ Simon McBurney’s astonishing one-man show — about an American photojournalist lost in the Amazon rain forest — retunes, rearranges and reproportions your senses, while taking you places you never expected to visit. Put on the earphones attached to your seat and brace yourself to travel far. All you have to do is lend Mr. McBurney your ears (1:45). John Golden Theater, 252 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, theencounterbroadway.com. (Brantley)

★ ‘FALSETTOS’ There is scarcely a moment in this revival of William Finn and James Lapine’s moving, funny and remarkably prescient 1992 musical about an unorthodox family that does not approach, or even achieve, perfection. Mr. Lapine once again directs — as if with a fresh pair of eyes — and the cast, led by Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells and Stephanie J. Block (all better than ever) is absolutely impeccable. Run, don’t walk; a must-see … insert your own hyperbolic cliché here (2:25). Walter Kerr Theater, 219 West 48th Street, 800-982-2787, lct.org. (Isherwood)

★ ‘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)

‘THE FRONT PAGE’ A diverting revival of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s classic, four-letter hymn to obsessive ink-stained wretches from 1928, directed by Jack O’Brien. Though the show never reaches its ideal adrenaline level, Nathan Lane gives a spectacular performance as a monomaniacal newspaper editor. The large, socko, tabloid-worthy cast includes John Slattery, John Goodman and Dylan Baker (2:30). Broadhurst Theater, 235 West 44th Street, 212-239-6200, thefrontpagebroadway.com. (Brantley)

★ ‘HEISENBERG’ A wondrously stealthy play by Simon Stephens that uses the classic madcap-girl-meets-priggish-boy formula to consider the infinite variables of life. Though the play takes its name from a theoretical physicist, it’s good old chemistry — as embodied by Mary-Louise Parker and Denis Arndt — that makes this production so compulsively watchable. Mark Brokaw directs this two-character, expectation-thwarting comedy of unpredictability (1:20). Samuel J. Friedman Theater, 261 West 47th Street, 212-399-3050, manhattantheatreclub.com. (Brantley)

‘HOLIDAY INN’ A bland and rather premature holiday fun-fest, packed with Irving Berlin tunes good (and not so good), inspired by 1942 the movie of the same name remembered for Bing Crosby singing “White Christmas.” Bryce Pinkham and Corbin Bleu lead a game cast (2:15). Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, 212-719-1300, roundabouttheatre.org. (Isherwood)

★ ‘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). Schoenfeld Theater, 236 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com. (Isherwood)

‘LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES’ Janet McTeer and Liev Schreiber, performers of natural grandeur, find themselves penned into a state of unnatural captivity as the erotic manipulators in chief of Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of Choderlos Laclos’ novel of nasty musical beds in pre-Revolutionary France. Josie Rourke’s airless revival falls into a trap of comic broadness early on and then lies there, gesticulating madly (2:45). Booth Theater, 222 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, liaisonsbroadway.com. (Brantley)

★ ‘OH, HELLO ON BROADWAY’ The dirty old men have occupied Broadway. Gil Fazion and George St. Geegland — the cranky, septuagenarian alter egos of the comedians Nick Kroll and John Mulaney — are bringing shabbiness back to sanitized Times Square, where they have set up festering and stupendously entertaining camp. A delicious show about failing big in a city that worships success, directed by Alex Timbers (1:30). Lyceum Theater, 149 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, ohhellobroadway.com. (Brantley)

‘PARAMOUR’ Cirque du Soleil’s latest attempt to storm New York blends its familiar acrobats and aerialists with a traditional Broadway musical. The resulting show, unfortunately, is simultaneously frenetic and tedious (2:15). Lyric Theater, 213 West 42nd Street, 877-250-2929, paramouronbroadway.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)

‘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)

Off Broadway

★ ‘ATTORNEY STREET’ In this seriously haunting performance piece, the inimitable Edgar Oliver conducts a séance with the ghosts of the man he was, is, never was and never will be. Mr. Oliver, a practitioner of sentimental gothic, reshapes and reanimates the well-worn formulas of the confessional memoir by infusing them with sepulchral darkness. Randy Sharp directs (1:00). Axis Theater, 1 Sheridan Square, at West Fourth Street, Greenwich Village, 212-807-9300, axiscompany.org. (Brantley)

‘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. (Anita Gates)

‘CAREER SUICIDE’ Chris Gethard, a comic and writer who confesses he’s been depressive since he was a preteen, confronts with a bruising and sometime hilarious frankness his longstanding urge to pull the plug on himself in this dark if often outrageously funny solo show (1:20). Lynn Redgrave Theater, 45 Bleecker Street, 866-811-4111, careersuicideshow.com. (Isherwood)

★ ‘CORIOLANUS’ Dion Johnstone makes for a magnetic title character in this sleek, economical production of Shakespeare’s late tragedy. The director, Michael Sexton, spotlights the story’s eerie timeliness. Hint: Contemporary correspondences include a disputed election (God forbid) and an egoist who threatens to bring down the Roman republic when his bid for consulship is thwarted (2:30). Barrow Street Theater, 27 Barrow Street, at Seventh Avenue, 866-811-4111, redbulltheater.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. (Neil Genzlinger)

★ ‘FINIAN’S RAINBOW’ Charlotte Moore’s big-hearted, small-scale adaptation of this 1947 musical fantasy acknowledges its strengths (an immortal score) and weaknesses (a perishable satirical book) with parental fondness. The likable and polished ensemble in this companionable production includes Mark Evans as a leprechaun, Ryan Silberman as a guitar-strumming idealist and the captivating Melissa Errico as the colleen they both adore, quite understandably (2:00). Irish Repertory Theater, 132 West 22nd Street, 212-727-2737, irishrep.org. (Brantley)

‘THE GOLDEN GIRLS SHOW! A PUPPET PARODY’ The title of this homage to the beloved television series pretty much says it all. The four Golden Girls are back, in puppet form, doing what they do: slinging insults. The puppeteers do a decent job of recreating the well-known voices and mannerisms, but the play needed to be a little more over-the-top to distinguish itself from the actual series, which is still readily available. It’s hard to mine nostalgia from something that never went away (1:30). DR2 Theater, 103 East 15th Street, 800-982-2787, ticketmaster.com. (Genzlinger)

‘THE HARVEST’ Samuel D. Hunter’s new play depicts a group of bright-eyed young evangelical Christians in Idaho preparing to convert Muslims in “the Middle East” — country unspecified, and as if they don’t have more pressing problems (1:45). Claire Tow Theater, 150 West 65th Street, 212-239-6200, lct.org. (Isherwood)

‘A LIFE’ Adam Bock’s latest play stars David Hyde Pierce as a lonely gay man in New York who meets an unhappy fate. Theoretically a meditation on existential angst and life’s disappointments, it’s mostly just a crashing bore (1:25). Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street, 212-279-4200, playwrightshorizons.org. (Isherwood)

★ ‘LOVE, LOVE, LOVE’ Playing a pair of soul mates in selfishness in Mike Bartlett’s scathing portrait of the baby boomer generation, Amy Ryan and Richard Armitage advance from the ages of 19 to 64 with a galloping satirical wit that pulls you along, happy and appalled, through the decades. Impeccably directed by Michael Mayer, and featuring a nigh-perfect ensemble of five (2:05). Laura Pels Theater, 111 West 46th Street, 212-719-1300, roundabouttheatre.org. (Brantley)

‘THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES’ When the scheduled singers at a 1958 senior prom cancel, the title characters of this jukebox musical step in. The quartet sings hits of the era — all from a female perspective — and in the second act they return at their 10-year reunion, weathered and wiser (2:00). Kirk Theater, Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com. (Andy Webster)

★ ‘NOTES FROM THE FIELD’ Anna Deavere Smith’s wonderfully energizing new performance piece maps the cursed intersection of two American institutions, the school and the prison, in a racially divided nation. Assuming the identities of 19 individuals (most of whom she interviewed personally), Ms. Smith turns monologues into a vital, far-reaching dialogue among politicians and protesters, prisoners and schoolteachers (2:15). Second Stage Theater, 305 West 43rd Street, 212-246-4422, 2st.com. (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 generic. 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)

‘PLENTY’ David Leveaux’s pallid revival of David Hare’s portrait of a British Hedda Gabler in the post-World War II era stars Rachel Weisz as the bad and beautiful Susan Traherne. Her performance is equal parts limp hysteria and fashion-plate elegance and reminds us that yesterday’s shocking mavericks often age into bores. Byron Jennings and Corey Stoll stand out in a prevailingly gray production (2:30). Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, East Village, 212-967-7555, publictheater.org. (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). Elektra Theater, 300 West 43rd Street, puffstheplay.com. (Laura Collins-Hughes)

‘THE ROADS TO HOME’ Gossip is an existential force in the world of Horton Foote, one of the great American chroniclers of small-town angst. This plaintive trilogy of short plays, directed by Michael Wilson and featuring a peerlessly gabby Hallie Foote and Harriet Harris, may meander, but it offers a vibrant take on the significance of loquacity in Foote’s world (2:10). Cherry Lane Theater, 38 Commerce Street, West Village, 866-811-4111, primarystages.org. (Brantley)

‘SAGITTARIUS PONDEROSA’ Archer, who used to be Angela, can’t quite work up the courage to tell his family who he really is when he returns to Oregon as his father is dying. MJ Kaufman’s intimate, slow-paced play is a domestic drama suffused with unearthly elements, but Ken Rus Schmoll’s production for the National Asian American Theater Company is flat and disjointed (1:10). 3LD Art & Technology Center, 80 Greenwich Street, brownpapertickets.com. (Collins-Hughes)

‘SELL/BUY/DATE’ The latest show from the gifted writer and performer Sarah Jones peers into the future to explore how a sociology professor, lecturing at some undetermined time ahead, examines the lives of sex workers in the first decades of the 21st century. Drawing on interviews with people in the, er, business, Mr. Jones also discusses how women of our era are conditioned to conceive of themselves — or are conceived of by others — as sexual beings (1:25). City Center, the Studio at Stage II, 131 West 55th Street, 212-581-1212, nycitycenter.org. (Isherwood)

★ ‘SENSE & SENSIBILITY’ Bedlam’s enchanting romp of a comedy, adapted by Kate Hamill from Jane Austen’s novel, transformed genteel gossip into a dynamic, palpable force that shapes collective societies, individual destinies and, as it turns out, irresistible theater. Eric Tucker directs a wondrously mutable cast in a production replete with buoyant spirits and inventive do-it-yourself stagecraft (2:30). The Gym at Judson, 243 Thompson Street, Greenwich Village, 866-811-4111, bedlam.org. (Brantley)

★ ‘SPAMILTON’ Contrary to what its rabid fans might believe, the juggernaut hit “Hamilton” is not the only musical that ever mattered. The smart and silly “Spamilton,” created by the master satirist Gerard Alessandrini and featuring a motor-mouthed core cast of five, is here to happily dispel that myth, placing “Hamilton” in a context that might be described, in many ways, as broad (1:10). Triad Theater, 158 West 72nd Street, triadnyc.com (Brantley)

‘SWEET’ Harrison David Rivers’s crowd-pleasing new play aims for poetry but settles for cliché, pitting two small-town sisters — one dreamy and dutiful, the other frivolous and bold — against each other in a competition for a man. The setting is late-1960s Kansas, and the plot is a real throwback (2:00). National Black Theater, 2031 Fifth Avenue, 212-722-3800, nationalblacktheatre.org. (Collins-Hughes)

‘TICK, TICK … BOOM!’ The Keen Company affectionately revives Jonathan Larson’s early work, about a self-involved composer torn between starving artistically and selling out. As Jonathan, Nick Blaemire gives an uncannily Larson-like performance, but the piece mostly feels like a security deposit on “Rent” (1:30). Acorn Theater at Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, 212-239-6200, keencompany.org. (Soloski)

‘ULTIMATE BEAUTY BIBLE’ A play for those of us who have believed that the perfect lipstick could change our lives, Caroline V. McGraw’s wry, artful and overwritten comedy is about a trio of editors at a fashion magazine who discover that in selling a vision of the perfect life, they aren’t really living at all. Ms. McGraw has a tendency to punch jokes up past realism, but a lot of those jokes are pretty good (1:45). New Ohio Theater, 154 Christopher Street, 866-811-4111, page73.org. (Soloski)

‘VERSO’ The illusionist Helder Guimarães (“Nothing to Hide”) boasts exquisite skills — if only we could see more of them in his new solo show. The card tricks and pseudo-psychic guessing games are impressive, but they must compete with too much banter (2:00). New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, 800-447-7400, telecharge.com. (Elisabeth Vincentelli)

★ ‘VIETGONE’ A raucous, audacious comedy by Qui Nguyen, directed by May Adrales and featuring an excellent cast, that strafes just about every subject it tackles and every character it presents. The play, based on the story of Mr. Nguyen’s parents — refugees from South Vietnam who came to America in 1975 — inverts stereotypes with freewheeling abandon (2:20). City Center Stage I, 131 West 55th Street, 212-581-1212, nycitycenter.org. (Isherwood)

★ ‘WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT’ In each Monday performance of “White Rabbit, Red Rabbit,” a new actor will confront 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 performers is available on the website (1:15). Westside Theater, 407 West 43rd Street, 212-239-6200, whiterabbitredrabbit.com. (Isherwood)

★ ‘WILDERNESS’ Six young men and women, all facing various psychological problems, enter a program that uses the great outdoors for its therapeutic purposes. Seth Bockley (co-writer and director) and Anne Hamburger (co-writer) draw on real interviews with the characters’ parents — seen via Skype video — in this moving, compassionate multimedia piece about the emotional travails of youth (1:30). Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street, 212-352-3101, abronsartscenter.org. (Isherwood)

Off Off Broadway

★ ‘BLACKTOP HIGHWAY’ A pair of incestuous siblings, their Bible-quoting father, a stranded motorist and a menagerie of animals figure in this delightfully deranged one-man gothic horror spoof by John Fleck, best known as one of the N.E.A. Four. Gory and gleefully dark, the show combines live performance, video and a bit of puppetry to tell a creepy story full of cruelty, lust and shame (1:30). Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie Street, 866-811-4111, dixonplace.org. (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)

‘PARADISO: CHAPTER 1’ The theatrical showman Michael Counts turns his skills to the escape-room fad in this mix of performance and puzzle solving. Small groups of audience members make their way through the headquarters of a sinister corporation by solving assorted brainteasers, encountering actors along the way who interact with them and fill in the outlines of a thin narrative. It’s all done against a fairly tight clock, since the next batch of theatergoers is right behind you, so if you go, be prepared to think fast (1:00). The Koreatown location is revealed when tickets are booked. paradisoescape.com. (Genzlinger)

Extravaganzas

‘KURIOS’ The latest (35th!) show from Cirque du Soleil has a fresh, semi-macabre style, sort of science fiction-meets-Victoriana. It also features the usual assortment of dazzling acrobats and aerialists, along with some inventive new diversions, but fear not: no scary clowns (2:15). Big Top at Randalls Island Park, 877-924-7783, cirquedusoleil.com. (Isherwood)

Long-Running Shows

‘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.

‘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 trailblazing African-American pilots (2:30). Wednesdays at 8 p.m. at 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 FANTASTICKS’ Boy meets girl, forever (2:05). The Theater Center, 210 West 50th Street, 800-745-3000, fantasticksonbroadway.com.

‘HAMILTON’ Making history on Broadway with the revolution that raps (2:45). Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 West 46th Street, 877-250-2929, hamiltonbroadway.com.

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

‘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.

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ The songbook and story of Gloria Estefan, presented with infectious flair (2:20). Marquis Theater, 1535 Broadway, at 45th Street, 877-250-2929, onyourfeetmusical.com. (Isherwood)

‘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.

‘SHEAR MADNESS’ The audience solves the crime in this durable hair-salon whodunit, which skates merrily along even as some of its jokes show their age (2:00). Davenport Theater, 354 West 45th Street, Clinton, 212-239-6200, shearmadness.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, Brooklyn, 718-374-5196, thenshefell.com.

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

Last Chance

‘THE HARVEST’ (closes on Nov. 20) Samuel D. Hunter’s new play depicts a group of bright-eyed young evangelical Christians in Idaho preparing to convert Muslims in “the Middle East” — country unspecified, and as if they don’t have more pressing problems (1:45). Claire Tow Theater, 150 West 65th Street, 212-239-6200, lct.org. (Isherwood)

‘IN THE ROOM’ (closes on Sunday) In Lawrence Dial’s drama with wistful humor, six very different New Yorkers sign up for a playwriting class and learn about themselves. It’s solid and smart, if not laden with brilliant revelation, and for a bare-bones production, thoroughly transporting (2:00). Alchemical Theater, 104 West 14th Street, 800-838-3006, intheroom.bpt.me. (Gates)

‘LOST VOICES’ (closes on Sunday) Elise Marenson’s “Wide Blossoms,” set in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and Larissa FastHorse’s “Vanishing Point,” in which rising waters threaten a Native American community, make up this program of one acts, whose staging largely misses the potential of the plays (1:15). Here, 145 Avenue of the Americas, here.org. (Collins-Hughes)

★ ‘MILES FOR MARY’ (closes on Saturday) The most hellish eternal torture Dante never got around to mentioning — the staff meeting that never ends — is brought to vividly exasperating life by the theater troupe the Mad Ones. Directed by Lila Neugebauer, with a tightly interdependent ensemble, this portrait of a quorum of high school teachers, planning a charity telethon, wittily plumbs the dysfunction in group dynamics (1:45). Bushwick Starr, 207 Starr Street, Bushwick, Brooklyn, 866-811-4111, thebushwickstarr.org. (Brantley)

‘STUFFED’ (closes on Sunday) The comedian Lisa Lampanelli unveils her issues with food and fat for public consumption in this show for WP Theater, which bills it as a play. With Ms. Lampanelli at the center of a four-woman ensemble that also includes the excellent Ann Harada, it’s really a play manqué: a patchwork of stand-up comedy and monologues only loosely sewn together (1:10). McGinn/Cazale Theater, 2162 Broadway, at 76th Street, Upper West Side, 866-811-4111, wptheater.org. (Collins-Hughes)

★ ‘UNDERGROUND RAILROAD GAME’ (closes on Friday) This lacerating, painfully insightful comedy about the legacy of slavery is guaranteed to take you way outside your comfort zone. Created and acted by Jennifer Kidwell and Scott Sheppard, the production (presented as a middle-school history class exercise) progresses from blithe, barbed self-consciousness into a subconscious filled with land mines that you usually pretend don’t exist (1:15). Ars Nova, 511 West 54th Street, 212-352-3101, arsnovanyc.com. (Brantley)

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