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.
BROADWAY:
• Annie (musical, G, closing Jan. 5, reviewed here)
• Matilda (musical, G, all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
• Once (musical, G/PG-13, nearly all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
OFF BROADWAY:
• 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)
• The Old Friends (drama, PG-13, newly extended through Oct. 20, reviewed here)
IN NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, ONTARIO:
• Major Barbara (drama, PG-13, closes Oct. 19, reviewed here)
• Our Betters (comedy, PG-13, closes Oct. 27, reviewed here)
IN ASHLAND, OREGON:
• My Fair Lady (musical, G, closes Nov. 3, reviewed here)
IN SPRING GREEN, WISCONSIN:
• Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare, PG-13, closes Oct. 20, reviewed here)
• Dickens in America (one-man play, G, too demanding for small children, closes Oct. 19, reviewed here)
CLOSING SOON ON BROADWAY:
• The Trip to Bountiful (drama, G, closes Oct. 9, reviewed here)
CLOSING NEXT WEEK OFF BROADWAY:
• Don Juan in Hell (drama, PG-13, extended through Oct. 6, reviewed here)
CLOSING NEXT WEEK IN SPRING GREEN, WISCONSIN:
• Hamlet (Shakespeare, PG-13, closes Oct. 4, reviewed here)
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (serious comedy, PG-13, closes Oct. 5, reviewed here)
CLOSING NEXT WEEK IN NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, ONTARIO:
• Faith Healer (drama, PG-13, closes Oct. 6, reviewed here)