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:
• La Cage aux Folles (musical, PG-13, adult subject matter, reviewed here)
• Fela! (musical, PG-13, adult subject matter, closes Jan. 2, reviewed here)
• Million Dollar Quartet (jukebox musical, G, reviewed here)
• The Pitmen Painters (serious comedy, G, too demanding for children, closes Dec. 12, reviewed here)
OFF BROADWAY:
• Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps (comedy, G, suitable for bright children, original Broadway production reviewed here)
• Avenue Q (musical, R, adult subject matter and one show-stopping scene of puppet-on-puppet sex, reviewed here)
• The Fantasticks (musical, G, suitable for children capable of enjoying a love story, reviewed here)
CLOSING SOON OFF BROADWAY:
• The Little Foxes (drama, G, unsuitable for children, brilliantly acted but tritely staged, closes Oct. 31, reviewed here)
CLOSING SOON IN ASHLAND, OREGON:
• Hamlet (Shakespeare, PG-13, closes Oct. 30, reviewed here)
• Ruined (drama, PG-13/R, violence and adult subject matter, closes Oct. 31, reviewed here)
• She Loves Me (musical, G, suitable for children capable of enjoying a love story, closes Oct. 30, reviewed here)
CLOSING SOON IN CHICAGO:
• Night and Day (serious comedy, PG-13, closes Oct. 31, reviewed here)
CLOSING SOON IN CLEVELAND:
• Othello (Shakespeare, PG-13, closes Oct. 31, reviewed here)
• An Ideal Husband (comedy, G, too complicated for children, closes Oct. 30, reviewed here)
CLOSING SUNDAY IN LOS ANGELES:
• The Glass Menagerie (drama, G, West Coast remounting of original New Haven/off-Broadway production, too dark for children, off-Broadway run reviewed here)
• Ruined (drama, PG-13/R, West Coast remounting of original Chicago/off-Broadway production, violence and adult subject matter, off-Broadway run reviewed here)