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:
• Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps (comedy, G, suitable for bright children, reviewed here)
• South Pacific * (musical, G/PG-13, some sexual content, brilliantly staged but unsuitable for viewers acutely allergic to preachiness, reviewed here)
OFF BROADWAY:
• The Fantasticks (musical, G, suitable for children capable of enjoying a love story, reviewed here)
• Our Town (drama, G, suitable for mature children, reviewed here)
IN ASHLAND, OREGON:
• The Music Man (musical, G, very child-friendly, closes Nov. 1, reviewed here)
IN CHICAGO:
• The History Boys (drama, PG-13/R, adult subject matter, too intellectually complex for most adolescents, extended through Oct. 18, reviewed here)
IN STRATFORD, ONTARIO:
• The Importance of Being Earnest (comedy, G, closes Oct. 30, reviewed here)
• Three Sisters (drama, PG-13, closes Oct 3, reviewed here)
IN TOPANGA, CALIF.:
• The Cherry Orchard (drama, PG-13, adult subject matter, closes Sept. 26, reviewed here)
CLOSING SOON IN EAST HADDAM, CONN.:
• Camelot (musical, G, closes Sept. 19, reviewed here)
CLOSING NEXT WEEK ON BROADWAY
• Avenue Q * (musical, R, adult subject matter and one show-stopping scene of puppet-on-puppet sex, closes Sept. 13, reviewed here)
CLOSING SATURDAY IN LENOX, MASS:
• Twelfth Night (Shakespeare, PG-13, reviewed here)
CLOSING SUNDAY IN GARRISON, N.Y.:
• Pericles and Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare, PG-13, playing in repertory, reviewed here)
CLOSING SUNDAY OFF BROADWAY
• Ruined (drama, PG-13/R, sexual content and suggestions of extreme violence, reviewed here)