Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. For more information, click on the title.
Warning: Broadway shows marked with an asterisk were sold out, or nearly so, last week.
BROADWAY:
• Avenue Q (musical, R, adult subject matter and one show-stopping scene of puppet-on-puppet sex, reviewed here)
• A Chorus Line (musical, PG-13/R, adult subject matter, reviewed here)
• Grease * (musical, PG-13, some sexual content, reviewed here)
• Gypsy * (musical, PG-13, adult subject matter, reviewed here)
• In the Heights (musical, PG-13, some sexual content, reviewed here)
• The Little Mermaid * (musical, G, entirely suitable for children, reviewed here)
• Macbeth * (drama, PG-13, unsuitable for children, closes May 24, reviewed here)
• November (comedy, PG-13, profusely spattered with obscene language, reviewed here)
• Passing Strange (musical, PG-13, adult subject matter, reviewed here)
• South Pacific * (musical, G/PG-13, some sexual content, brilliantly staged but unsuitable for viewers acutely allergic to preachiness, reviewed here)
• Sunday in the Park with George * (musical, PG-13, too complicated for children, closes June 29, reviewed here)
OFF BROADWAY:
• Adding Machine (musical, PG-13, adult subject matter, too musically demanding for youngsters, reviewed here)
• The Four of Us (comedy, PG-13, adult subject matter, extended through May 18, reviewed here)
ON TOUR:
• Moby-Dick–Rehearsed (drama, G, not suitable for children, touring the U.S. through May 17, reviewed here)
CLOSING NEXT WEEK IN PROVIDENCE, R.I.:
• Blithe Spirit (comedy, G/PG-13, some adult subject matter, closes Apr. 27, reviewed here)
CLOSING NEXT WEEK IN WESTPORT, CONN.:
• Time of My Life (serious comedy, PG-13, adult subject matter, closes Apr. 26, reviewed here)
REOPENING THIS MONTH ON BROADWAY:
• Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps * (comedy, G, suitable for bright children, reopens at the Cort Theatre on Apr. 29 for an open-ended run, reviewed here)
• August: Osage County (drama, R, adult subject matter, closes Sunday and reopens Apr. 29 at the Music Box Theatre for an open-ended run, reviewed here)