The Kentucky Cycle, Infamous Commonwealth at National Pastime, May 20-July 3. Robert Schenkkan's Pulitzer Prize two-part saga spans 200 years of our nation's growth—and it ain't pretty. This ambitious production packs it all into an Uptown storefront. MSB
The Nose, greasy joan & company at the Athenaeum, through May 29. A sure grasp of style and balletic physical work mark this clever adaptation of Nikolai Gogol's 19th Century social satire about a man whose nose goes AWOL and snubs its former face. JA
Strangers Knocking, The Side Studio, through May 29. Robert Tenges' taut drama, about the disintegration of a family, makes for compelling viewing, especially with Adam Webster's economical direction and some fine performances. RR
Wicked, Ford Center/Oriental, through June 12. Glitzy and overblown, this prequel to The Wizard of Oz has its flaws, but in portraying Elphaba, the young wicked witch of the west, Stephanie J. Block gives the finest musical theater performance you might ever see. RR
— By Jonathan Abarbanel, Mary Shen Barndige and Rick Reed