Spy the Stage

Grab a seat at these 10 must-see productions that will be in the limelight this fall season.

Constellations

It’s more than just the old boy-meets-girl plot in Constellations, a collaboration between Central Square Theater and MIT that runs through Oct. 8 in Cambridge. Scott Edmiston directs the two-hander, which premiered in London in 2012 and uses a quantum physics set-up to explore all the what-ifs of a relationship.

A Bright Room Called Day. Photo Credit: Jake Scaltreto

Dusting off Tony Kushner’s A Bright Room Called Day, the Flat Earth Theatre provides a window into 1932 Germany. Dori Robinson directs the tale of a group of bohemian friends who watch their world crumble during the rise of Adolf Hitler, staged at the Mosesian Center for the Arts on Sept. 30-Oct. 14.

Acting powerhouses Johnny Lee Davenport and Obehi Janice star in New Rep Theatre’s Oleanna, running Oct. 14-Nov. 5 at the Mosesian Center for the Arts. The two-hander written by David Mamet pits Janice as a college student who accuses Davenport, a professor, of misconduct that jeopardizes his future.

Fun Home broke ground as the first Broadway musical with a lesbian protagonist, and the production based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir was granted the touring treatment after it won five Tonys during its run. The show, which focuses on Alison’s discovery of her own sexuality and her father’s hidden life, stops at the Boston Opera House on Oct. 17-29.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Photo Credit: Nile Scott

Paul Daigneault and SpeakEasy Stage turn to Simon Stephens’ adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time for a production on Oct. 20-Nov. 18. The play stars Eliott Purcel as the 15-year-old Christopher Boone who sets out to solve a neighborhood crime.

ArtsEmerson imports Kiss from Chilean writer/director Guillermo Calderón for an Oct. 26-Nov. 19 run at the Emerson Paramount Center. The play tells the story of a foreign troupe that performs what it thinks is a Syrian soap opera only to find out there’s a misunderstanding that could have fatal consequences.

Mr. Burke & Mr. Hare. Photo Credit: Ernesto Galan

The off-kilter story of the 19th-century murdering spree of William Burke and William Hare has been adapted in different forms through the years, but Boston Lyric Opera stages the world premiere of the opera this fall. Mr. Burke & Mr. Hare runs Nov. 8-12 at the BCA’s Cyclorama and showcases music from composer Julian Grant and librettist Mark Campbell.

Bertolt Brecht’s Fear and Misery in the Third Reich premiered in 1938, and still resonates today, which is why Commonwealth Shakespeare Company is staging a reading on Nov. 13 at Babson College’s Carling Sorenson Theater. Brooke Adams and Tony Shalhoub (who teamed up in Monk) deliver the script, which connects 18 playlets to tell the story of ordinary people in 1930s Germany during the rise of Nazism.

The revival of The Color Purple won two Tonys during its run on Broadway, and the show hits the Boch Shubert  Theatre on Nov. 21-Dec. 3 during its continental tour. The coming-of-age story about Celie is directed by Tony-winner John Doyle and won a Grammy for its theater album.

Sense and Sensibility. Photo Credit: Ashley Garrett

Get ready to roll when Bedlam Theater Company’s production of Sense and Sensibility slides into A.R.T.’s Loeb Drama Center on Dec. 10-Jan. 14. It’s one of Jane Austen’s classics reinvented, with the set elements moving on wheels to give the audience more viewpoints of the action.

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