OPENING
THE BACCHAE | Whistler in the Dark theater company takes on Euripides's tragedy, in which a celebration of the wine god gets way out of hand. Meg Taintor directs a translation by Northeastern professor Francis Blessington. | Rehearsal Hall A, Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St, Boston | 617.933.8600 | May 1-17 | Curtain 7:30 pm Wed-Thurs | 8 pm Fri | 3 + 8 pm Sat | 3 pm Sun | $25; $15 students; two for one StageSource members Wed
BUNBURY: A SERIOUS PLAY FOR TRIVIAL PEOPLE | Tom Jacobson's "seriously clever metatheatrical comedy" goes all Stoppard on us by bringing minor (or imaginary) characters from classic drama to the forefront. "Tired of being swept to the sidelines of drama, Bunbury, Algernon's off-stage friend from The Importance of Being Earnest, and Rosaline, Romeo's off-stage first love, are determined to make an impact." Barlow Adamson and John Edward O'Brien are at the helm of this Mill 6 Collaborative production. | Factory Theater, 791 Tremont St, Boston | 866.811.4111 | May 1-17 | Curtain 8 pm Thurs-Sat | 3 pm Sun [no May 3] | $17 in advance; $20 at the door
DEPORTED/A DREAM PLAY | New Repertory Theatre's New Voices series presents this staged reading of a new play by Joyce Van Dyke, author of A Girl's War and The Oil Thief. Judy Braha directs the piece, which, inspired by the story of Van Dyke's grandmother, a survivor of the Armenian genocide, incorporates survival oral-history interviews from the Armenian Library and Museum of America. Ken Baltin, Paula Langton, Marya Lowry, and Bobbie Steinbach are among the cast. A panel discussion follows. | Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal St, Watertown | 617.923.8487 | May 4 | Curtain 7:30 pm Mon | Free; $10 donation suggested
DORA THE EXPLORER LIVE! SEARCH FOR THE CITY OF LOST TOYS | Nickelodeon and Broadway Across America team up to present this touring show based on the popular pre-schooler TV series about a pint-sized Latina explorer. Former Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater co-artistic director Gip Hoppe is at the helm of the musical adventure whose heroine "is to kids what the Rolling Stones are to parents — she's one of the biggest stars in the world." | Opera House, 539 Washington St, Boston | 800.982.2787 | May 7-10 | Curtain 10:30 am + 2 pm Thurs | 10:30 am + 7 pm Fri | 11 am + 2 pm + 5 pm Sat-Sun | $21-$43.50
ELMER THE ELDER | Piti Theatre Company performs its "dance-clown-theater environmental fable for family audiences." | Boston Playwrights' Theatre, 949 Comm Ave, Boston | 866.811.4111 | May 1-17 | Curtain 7 pm Fri | 2 pm Sat [May 16 @ 6 pm] | 2 pm Sun | $12; $10 students, seniors; $8 children 14 and under; $16-$24 May 16 Spring Seeds Gala
GAME3RS | As part of Cyberarts, a four-day festival at New England Institute of Art, Brian Bielawski reprises his performance of his and Walter G. Meyer's "one-man comedy about the secret life of gamers." Its protagonist is the ultimate gaming geek, an MIT dropout who works a real-life tech-support job to support his much more important virtual life. A reception precedes the performance, which is followed by a Q&A with actor, writer, and gamer Beilawski. | New England Institute of Art Center Building, 10 Brookline Place West, Brookline | April 30 | Curtain 7 pm Thurs, preceded by 6 pm reception | Free
GREY GARDENS | Artistic director Spiro Veloudos is at the helm of the Lyric Stage Company of Boston's New England premiere of the hit Broadway musical about Jackie O's eccentric relatives, Big and Little Edie Beale, who lived in symbiotic squalor in the filthy remains of a once-grand Long Island manse. They've been the subject of a famed documentary and an HBO movie; come hear them sing. Musical direction is by Jonathan Goldberg; Leigh Barrett plays one of the Edies. | Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon St, Boston | 617.585.5678 | May 8–June 6 | Curtain 2 pm [May 13, June 3] + 7:30 pm Wed | 7:30 pm Thurs | 8 pm Fri | 4 + 8 pm Sat | 3 pm Sun | $25-$44
HOW TO EAT A LOBSTER | Karen Bray & Friends present this combination platter of dance, improvisation, theater, and comedy. | Green Street Studios, 185 Green St, Cambridge | 617.953.3937 | May 8-9 | Curtain 8 pm Fri-Sat | $20; $50 sponsorship; $10 students, seniors
IMPROBABLE RESEARCH CABARET | In connection with the Cambridge Science Festival, the folks who bring you the Annals of Improbable Research and administer the Ig Nobel Prizes present this afternoon of comedy and song aimed at answering such questions as "Is Coca-Cola an effective spermicide?" and "Why do sheets wrinkle?" (Are these questions related?) | Central Square Theater, 450 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.576.9278 x 208 | May 2 | Curtain 3 pm Sat | $35; $20 students
