THE FULL MONTY: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL Unemployed, cash-strapped steelworkers in Buffalo (a change from the Sheffield, England setting of the original 1997 film) dream up a striptease act starring…themselves. With music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by the late Terrence McNally, “The Full Monty: The Broadway Musical” is directed and choreographed by Gerry McIntyre. September 26-Oct. 8. North Shore Musical Theater, Beverly. 978-232-7200, nsmt.org
DIASPORA! In the premiere of this play by Phaedra Michelle Scott, a writer named Sunny (Lorraine Victoria Kanyike) sets out to explore her lineage and finds herself transported back in time, back to Boston in the 1950s, when civil rights giant Martin Luther King Jr. was pursuing a doctorate in theology at Boston University and preaching at the Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury. Directed by Pascale Florestal. September 12-Oct. 15. New repertory theater. “DIASPORA!” will take place in repertory with a production of the Lorraine Hansberry classic “A Raisin in the Sun,” running through October 1, under the direction of Lois Roach. Both productions will take place at the Black Box Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown. Tickets for both productions at 617-923-7060, newrep.org
THE DEMI-GOD OF RAIN Playwright Inua Ellams (“Barber Shop Chronicles”) fuses Greek mythology and Yoruba spirituality in this new drama. Zeus becomes jealous when a half-Greek, half-Nigerian mortal named Demi (Mister Fitzgerald) starts playing basketball and proves he has skills that propel him into the NBA playoffs and the London Olympics . Directed by Taibi Magar. Until September 24. Co-production of American Repertory Theater and New York Theater Workshop. At the Loeb Drama Centre, Cambridge. 617-547-8300, americanrepertorytheater.org
ASSASSINS Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) teamed up with John Weidman (book) for one of his most provocative musicals, offering a glimpse into the tangled minds of successful and would-be presidential assassins, from John Wilkes Booth ( Robert St. Laurence) to Lee Harvey. Oswald (Dan Prior) to John Hinckley Jr. (Jacob Thomas Less). Directed by Courtney O’Connor. Select a choreography by Ilyse Robbins. Musical direction by Dan Rodriguez. September 15-Oct. 15. Boston Lyric Stage Company. 617-585-5678, lyricsstage.com
FAT HAM James Ijames won the Pulitzer Prize last year for this modern take on “Hamlet” in a serio-comic vein. Set at a barbecue joint in the South, “Fat Ham” centers on a young gay black man named Juicy who struggles with identity issues amid a complex family dynamic. This dynamic becomes even more tense when the ghost of Juicy’s father appears and demands that the son avenge his murder. Directed by Stevie Walker-Webb. September 22-Oct. 22. The Huntington in association with Front Porch Arts Collective and Alliance Theater. At the Wimberly Theater, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-266-0800, huntingtontheatre.org
DISNEY’S FROZEN Newly crowned Queen Elsa of Arendelle has a magical power that terrifies her: she can freeze people and things. Having accidentally frozen her kingdom in a permanent state of winter, Elsa flees into the mountains. His younger sister, Anna, goes looking for him, helped along the way by the ice harvester Kristoff, his reindeer Sven, and a snowman named Olaf. Featuring songs by the husband-wife team of Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez that include, yes, “Let It Go,” the musical features a book by Jennifer Lee, choreography by Rob Ashford, and direction by Michael Grandage. October 25-Nov. 12. Broadway in Boston. At the Citizens Bank Opera House, Boston. www.broadwayinboston.com
THE GROUP’S VISIT Winner of 10 Tony Awards in 2018, including best musical, “The Band’s Visit” chronicles the bonds formed between a group of Egyptian musicians and the residents of an Israeli desert town after a transportation error strands musicians and locals welcomed them. the night. With music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Itamar Moses, “The Band’s Visit” will be directed by Paul Daigneault. November 10-December 10. Co-production of SpeakEasy Stage Company and The Huntington. At the Huntington Theater, Boston. 617-266-0800, huntingtontheatre.org
HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE In Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning memory game, an adult woman (played by Jennifer Rohn) reflects on the sexual abuse committed by her uncle (played by Dennis Trainor Jr.) when she was young. Drama critic Helen Shaw wrote that Vogel’s 1997 drama “changed American theater.” Directed by Elaine Vaan Hogue. From November 3 to 25. Shakespeare Actors Project. At the Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-241-2200, actorsshakespeareproject.org
THE REAL JAMES BOND… WAS DOMINICAN An autobiographical one-man play, written and performed by Christopher Rivas, about the impact on him as a young James Bond lover in Queens when he learned that novelist Ian Fleming modeled 007 on a diplomat, playboy, pilot, Dominican spy, soldier and race. car driver named Porfirio Rubirosa. From November 8 to 12. ArtsEmerson. On the Robert J. Orchard Stage, Emerson Paramount Center, Boston. 617-824-8400, artsemerson.org
Don Aucoin can be reached at donald.aucoin@globe.com. follow him @GlobeAucoin.
