June 4, 2015 | About Last Night

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:
• An American in Paris (musical, G, too complex for small children, virtually all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
• Fun Home (serious musical, PG-13, all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
• Hand to God (black comedy, X, absolutely not for children or prudish adults, some performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
• A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder (musical, PG-13, reviewed here)
• The King and I (musical, G, perfect for children with well-developed attention spans, all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
• Matilda (musical, G, most performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
• Les Misérables (musical, G, too long and complicated for young children, reviewed here)
• On the Town (musical, G, contains double entendres that will not be intelligible to children, reviewed here)
• On the Twentieth Century (musical, G/PG-13, virtually all performances sold out, closes July 19, contains very mild sexual content, reviewed here)
• The Visit (serious musical, PG-13, far too dark and disturbing for children, reviewed here)

OFF BROADWAY:
• Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps (comedy, G, ideal for bright children, remounting of Broadway production, original production reviewed here)
• The Fantasticks (musical, G, suitable for children capable of enjoying a love story, reviewed here)
• The Flick (serious comedy, PG-13, too long for young people with limited attention spans, closes Aug. 30, reviewed here)

CLOSING NEXT WEEK IN BOSTON:
• Light Up the Sky (comedy, G, not suitable for small children, closes June 13, reviewed here)

CLOSING NEXT WEEK IN CHICAGO:
• Sense and Sensibility (musical, G, closes June 14, reviewed here)

CLOSING SUNDAY IN WASHINGTON, D.C.:
• The Blood Quilt (drama, PG-13, reviewed here)

CLOSING SUNDAY OFF BROADWAY:
• Permission (comedy, PG-13, reviewed here)

CLOSING SUNDAY ON BROADWAY:
• It’s Only a Play (comedy, PG-13/R, reviewed here)

“One of my heroes is the writer William Maxwell, also no longer around in his earthly shape. Late in his life, he began taking piano lessons and working his way through some simple classical pieces. I think this gave him great pleasure but was also frustrating—in the way making music is even more difficult for those who have spent their lives appreciating the superb performances of others. In his final year, a dear friend said to him, ‘Bill, in the life to come you will be able to play the piano with ease, won’t you?’ And he replied, ‘In the next life I will not be making music. I will be music.’”