“ALMA”: Performances are underway for “Alma.” Written by Benjamin Benne; and directed by AZ Espinoza, the play runs through October 20 at Passage Theatre. Above, the confrontational relationship between Angel (Diana Maldonado), left, and her mother, undocumented immigrant Alma (Jessy Gruver), masks — and partially stems from — desperate motives held by both characters. (Photo by Habiyb Shu’Aib)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

Passage Theatre is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by opening its 40th anniversary season with Alma. Benjamin Benne’s powerful play is by turns poignant, angry, funny, and tender — but throughout it is poetic and compelling.

The story depicts the lives of Alma and Angel. Alma (portrayed with deliberate precision by Jessy Gruver) is a Mexican undocumented immigrant who works as a single mother to support her (deceptively) stereotypically rebellious teenage daughter, Angel (played by Diana Maldonado, in an apt foil to Gruver’s performance as the title character).  more

“GROUNDHOG DAY”: Performances are underway for “Groundhog Day.” Presented by Kelsey Theatre and Playful Theatre Productions, and directed by Frank Ferrara, the musical runs through September 29 at Kelsey Theatre. Above: Condescending and aloof TV meteorologist Phil Connors (John Fischer, front row, fifth from left) finds himself trapped in a small town whose residents are, for him, gratingly cheerful and enthused about the titular celebration. (Photo by John M. Maurer)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

Kelsey Theatre is presenting Groundhog Day. Adapted from the 1993 fantasy romantic comedy film starring Bill Murray, the musical portrays a big-city TV meteorologist who finds himself forced to relive the same day, apparently in perpetuity, in a small town that to him is gratingly good-natured.

Groundhog Day opens Kelsey’s “Season of Transformations,” which will include revivals of Jekyll & Hyde, Beauty and the Beast, and 1776. A brochure promises, “Transformations abound in this season — from the transformation of man into monster, and beast into prince, to the transformation of the colonies into the United States of America!” more

“EMPIRE RECORDS: THE MUSICAL”: Performances are underway for “Empire Records: The Musical.” Presented by McCarter Theatre Center, by special arrangement with Bill Weiner, and directed by Trip Cullman, the musical runs through October 6 at McCarter’s Berlind Theatre. Above: Temporarily unaware of the record store’s financial problems, the employees relish the relaxed atmosphere that their workplace offers. (Photo by Daniel Rader)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

McCarter Theatre is presenting the world premiere of Empire Records: The Musical. Directed by Trip Cullman, the exuberant production begins with a high energy level that it steadily maintains, even as it breathes to allow for character development that is by turns comic and poignant.

Adapted from the 1995 coming-of-age comedy film, the show follows the exploits of the titular record store’s idiosyncratic but fiercely loyal employees, who form a tightly knit community. The employees’ determination to preserve their community leads them to take extreme, at times comically ill-conceived and dangerous, steps to prevent the store from entering into a franchise agreement with a corporation. more

“EMPIRE RECORDS: THE MUSICAL”: McCarter Theatre Center is presenting “Empire Records: The Musical.” Written by librettist Carol Heikkinen in collaboration with composer and lyricist Zoe Sarnak, and directed by Trip Cullman, the musical will run through October 6 at McCarter’s Berlind Theatre. Above: Liam Pearce and Lorna Courtney. (Photo by Daniel Rader)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

McCarter Theatre is presenting the world premiere of Empire Records: The Musical. Adapted from the 1995 coming-of-age comedy film, the show has a book by Carol Heikkinen, the film’s screenwriter; and a score by composer and lyricist Zoe Sarnak.

Performances run through October 6. more

“THE SOUND OF MUSIC”: Performances are underway for “The Sound of Music.” Presented by Kelsey Theatre and The Yardley Players; and directed by Kristy Davis, the musical runs through July 7 at Kelsey Theatre. Above: Watched suspiciously by the (offstage) Nazis, the Von Trapp Family Singers give a performance on which their lives literally depend. From left are Aurora Quinn (Louisa), Emma Poppell (Brigitta), Gabi Oliano (Gretl), David Nikolas (Captain Von Trapp), Laney Kenwood (Liesl), Lauren Wolensky (Maria), Scarlet Hillman (Marta), Trevin Davis (Kurt), and Joseph Wilson (Friedrich). (Photo by John M. Maurer)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

Yardley Players Theatre Company is presenting The Sound of Music at Kelsey Theatre. Kristy Davis directs and choreographs an appealing production that honors the 1965 film adaptation, while accentuating the benefits that a live production can offer the story.

The Sound of Music marks the final collaboration between composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. The book by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse is suggested by Maria Augusta Trapp’s memoir The Trapp Family Singers. The show follows Maria’s journey from novice at Nonnberg Abbey to governess for the seven children of the stern widower Captain Von Trapp; and the threat posed to the family by the Anschluss (the Nazi takeover of Austria) in 1938.  more

“AN EVENING WITH SANTINO FONTANA”: The Princeton Festival has presented “An Evening with Santino Fontana.” Broadway and film star Santino Fontana (above) performed a program of highlights from musical theater and animated films. Fontana was accompanied by pianist Cody Owen Stine. (Photo by Princeton Symphony Orchestra staff)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

An Evening with Santino Fontana” has concluded the Princeton Festival’s season. The June 22 concert took place in the festival’s performance tent on the grounds of Morven Museum & Garden.

A debonair baritone, Fontana entertained the audience with standards from Broadway musicals and one animated film. Pianist Cody Owen Stine accompanied the singer on all but one selection. In between songs, Fontana shared amusing anecdotes about his experiences performing onstage and in studios. more

“DRACULA: A FEMINIST REVENGE FANTASY”: Performances are underway for Princeton Summer Theater’s production of “Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy.” Written by Kate Hamill and directed by Eliana Cohen-Orth, the play runs through June 30 at Princeton University’s Hamilton Murray Theater. Above, from left: a Western version of Dr. Van Helsing (Sophie Falvey) strategizes with Dr. Seward (Teddy Feig), Jonathan Harker (Destine Harrison-Williams), and Mina Harker (Meghana Kumar) about ways to defeat the titular vampire. (Photo by John Venegas Juarez)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

In Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Dr. Van Helsing is a feisty American woman in a cowboy hat. Be sure to address her as “Doctor,” not “Madam.” It is for readers and audiences to guess who emerges victorious when this Dr. Van Helsing confronts Dracula.

Playwright Kate Hamill, who has brought a contemporary perspective to theatrical adaptations of several classic novels, loosely adapts and satirizes the Bram Stoker original, pitting the titular Transylvanian vampire against a Van Helsing that seems to be patterned after Annie Oakley (among other characters and archetypes). It is a fun but risky concept that could have come off as gimmicky — but it brilliantly succeeds. more

“BRIGHT STAR”: Performances are underway for “Bright Star.” Presented by Kelsey Theatre and Maurer Productions OnStage, and directed by Judi Parrish, the musical runs through June 9 at Kelsey Theatre. Above: Alice Murphy (Lauren Pelaia, standing in front of members of the ensemble) makes a hopeful discovery that a heartbreaking incident from her past may have ended differently than she has been led to believe. (Photo by John M. Maurer)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

There is a striking duality in Bright Star, a musical that is being given an exuberant, heartfelt production at Kelsey Theatre. A story that has a devastating incident at its center is juxtaposed against a rousing, mostly jovial score infused with country and bluegrass songs.

The show’s often humorous but sensitive book is by comedian, actor, and musician Steve Martin. The lyrics are by singer-songwriter Edie Brickell (of Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, and The Gaddabouts). Brickell and Martin share credit for the story and music. more

“PIPPIN”: Theatre Intime and Princeton University Players have staged “Pippin.” Directed by Solomon Bergquist, the musical was presented May 24-26 at the Hamilton Murray Theater. Above, from left: Pippin (Rowan Johnson) contemplates his future, under the dangerous guidance of the Leading Player (Isabella Rivera). (Photo by Elena Milliken)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

Theatre Intime has collaborated with the Princeton University Players to present Pippin (May 24-26) to Reunions Weekend audiences. The musical is an apt fit for a college campus at graduation time; its title character, the fictional first son of Charlemagne, has just completed his studies. The show is an odyssey that follows the prince’s search for his life’s purpose.

Pippin has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, composer and lyricist of the current Broadway hit (and upcoming film series) Wicked, in addition to several musicals that include Godspell, The Magic Show, Children of Eden, and the upcoming The Queen of Versailles. The book is by Roger O. Hirson, who also co-wrote the musical Walking Happy.  more

“CHOICE”: Performances are underway for “Choice.” Written by Winnie Holzman, and directed by Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen, the play runs through June 2 at McCarter’s Berlind Theatre. Above, from left: The friendship between Erica (Kate A. Mulligan) and Zippy (Ilana Levine) is tested by an impassioned disagreement over the latter’s approach to writing an article about a very controversial subject. (Photo by T. Charles Erickson)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

American political discourse, which already is fraught and polarized, only intensifies when the subject has a religious or spiritual aspect to it.

With Choice, playwright Winnie Holzman examines one of the most polarizing subjects: a woman’s right to choose. On the surface, the play is about reproductive freedom — and the possible ramifications of the decision that is made. But the piece also examines a woman’s a right to choose something else: how to engage with complex moral issues. more

“FLIGHT OF A LEGLESS BIRD”: Performances are underway for “Flight of a Legless Bird.” Written by Ethan Luk, and directed by Luk in collaboration with retired Program in Theater faculty member R.N. Sandberg, the play runs through April 13 at McCarter’s Berlind Theatre. Above, from left: Disparate circumstances cause Robin (Wasif Sami) and Leslie (Luk) to meet, after which a unique, unexpected bond is formed. (Photo by James DeSalvo)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

In the film Days of Being Wild (1990), actor Leslie Cheung delivers this line: “I’ve heard that there’s a kind of bird without legs that can only fly and fly, and sleep in the wind when it is tired. The bird only lands once in its life … that’s when it dies.”

Flight of a Legless Bird is an exquisite, poignant play that portrays two queer artists who metaphorically, as Cheung’s dialogue says, “fly and fly.” Both are fleeing from circumstances in which they feel trapped. Certain events cause their “flight” paths to intersect, and they have a chance encounter that affects them in unexpected ways. more

“YAGA”: Performances are underway for “Yaga.” Directed by Kat McLaughlin, the play runs through April 7 at the Hamilton Murray Theater. Above, eager college student Henry Kalles (Tate Keuler) and the mysterious Anna (Kristen Tan) strike up a conversation, leading to dangerous events. (Photo by Lucy Shea)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

In an Encyclopedia of Legendary Creatures (1981), author Tom McGowen describes the “dreaded ogress Baba Yaga” as resembling a “frightfully ugly old woman” who had “stone teeth, and her food was people, especially children.” She lived in a hut “perched on four chicken legs” and “flew through the air after her prey in a large mortar, steered with a pestle.”

Noting the character’s basis in Slavic folklore, the website for World History Encyclopedia adds that she also is known “as guardian of the fountains of the waters of life and is sometimes seen as embodying female empowerment.”  more

“DREAMGIRLS”: Performances are underway for “Dreamgirls.” Directed by Lili-Anne Brown, the musical runs through March 24 at McCarter’s Matthews Theatre. Above, from left, sporting glittery costumes, the Dreams — Effie (Trejah Bostic), Deena (Ta-Tynisa Wilson), and Lorrell (Keirsten Hodgens) — perform with a backup ensemble that wears the same outfits worn by the Dreams earlier in the show, before they achieve stardom. (Photo by Diane Sobolewski)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

The Motown-inspired musical Dreamgirls has succeeded both as a Broadway show (1981) directed by Michael Bennett, and as a film (2006). But as the dazzling, energetic production that is playing at McCarter demonstrates, this piece is at its best when it can be seen — and heard — on a live stage.

This revival is a collaboration between Goodspeed Musicals, which presented the show in East Haddam, Conn., in late 2023, and McCarter Theatre. Insightfully directed by five-time Jeff Award winner Lili-Anne Brown (assisted by Vaughn Ryan Midder), the production spotlights both the glamour of the music business and the pain caused by machinations that take place behind the scenes. more

“PIPELINE”: Performances are underway for “Pipeline.” Directed by Alex Conboy, the play runs through March 3 at the Hamilton Murray Theater.Above, from left: Omari (Matthew Oke), a student who faces expulsion from a private school, and his mother, Nya (Alex Conboy), a public school teacher who desperately wants her son to have opportunities that her students may never have. (Photo by Lucy Shea)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

Prior to her career as an actor and award-winning playwright, as well as a story editor and co-producer of the Showtime series Shameless, Dominique Morisseau taught drama at the Henry Ford Academy, a high school near Detroit, where her mother also taught.

So Morisseau’s moving and poetic drama Pipeline (2017), in which the central protagonist is a teacher, is informed by firsthand experience. The play won the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, and premiered at Lincoln Center Theater. more

“GHETTO GODS IN DIVINELAND”: Performances are underway for “Ghetto Gods in Divineland.” Written by Richard Bradford and Anthony Martinez-Briggs, and directed by Ozzie Jones, the play with music runs through February 25 at Passage Theatre. Above, from left, Gekiyla (Tasha Holmes), Papi Shh (Carlo Campbell), and Ameen (Davon Cochran) meet on the Lower Trenton Bridge — a tableau that recalls the Poor Righteous Teachers’ 1990 video for their song “Rock Dis Funky Joint.” (Photo by Jeff Stewart)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

In honor of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, Passage Theatre is presenting the world premiere of Ghetto Gods in Divineland. The play — a vibrant and poignant blend of drama, music, and dance — is a salute to the Poor Righteous Teachers (PRT), a hip-hop group whose members — Wise Intelligent, Culture Freedom, and the late Father Shaheed — were from Trenton.

A press release describes the show as an “experimental Afrofuturism play” that portrays “Trenton’s political and social issues through the lens of the ‘Divineland’ neighborhood — also known as the Mayor Donnelly Project Homes, where the members of PRT met and grew up. The play dramatizes the social trauma of Trenton’s Divineland using progressiveness, modern science, technology, and wisdom from the ancestors.”  more

“LOW PAY? DON’T PAY!”: Performances are underway for “Low Pay? Don’t Pay!” Directed by Elena Milliken, the play runs through October 8 at the Hamilton Murray Theater. Above, from left: Fed up with exorbitant grocery prices, Margherita (Gabe Robare) and Antonia (Sophia Vernon) commit a theft that they must conceal, not only from the police, but from Antonia’s husband Giovanni (Tate Keuler). (Photo by Rilla McKeegan)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

The farce Low Pay? Don’t Pay! follows two women who become fed up with increasingly exorbitant food prices. The play’s action begins when they take matters — specifically, armfuls of groceries — into their own hands, and leave a store without paying.

A Google search for “high grocery prices” yields an abundance of articles, from a variety of sources, published within the past few months. Given the painful topicality of the subject matter, casual audiences might think that the play is recent.  more

“BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY”: McCarter Theatre Center will present “Blues for an Alabama Sky.” Written by Pearl Cleage, and directed by Associate Artistic Director Nicole A. Watson (above), the play will run May 6-28 at McCarter’s Berlind Theatre. (Photo courtesy of McCarter Theatre)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

McCarter will present Blues for an Alabama Sky. Written by Pearl Cleage, the 1995 drama depicts a circle of friends living in a Depression-era apartment building amid the Harlem Renaissance. Performances start May 6.

New roommates — Angel, a recently fired blues singer; and Guy, a promising costume designer with Paris in his sights — live across the hall from Delia, a social worker “who sparks a relationship with the hardworking doctor Sam,” states McCarter’s website, summarizing the plot. “Their lives are upturned when Southern newcomer Leland arrives and falls hard for Angel, who is torn between a stable life in New York City and an exhilarating overseas adventure with Guy. Angel chooses her path, but the decision leads to devastating consequences that shift the trajectory of everyone’s futures and long-held dreams.” more