In ‘Ride the Cyclone: The Musical,’ six teenagers die when a roller coaster derails. Only one can return to life.

The plot’s a little nuts — six teenagers on a school trip to an amusement park die when a roller coaster goes off the rails. A magical figure says one girl can return to life — with the right story.

“I’ve really loved this play for a long time, and it felt really timely for this moment,” said Sarah Rasmussen, director of “Ride the Cyclone: The Musical.” Rasmussen is directing her first play at the McCarter Theatre Center since she became McCarter’s artistic director in August 2020. “It has a lot of levity and a lot of young energy. It’s a moment in theater when we could all use some fun, beauty, and energy.”

The message, Rasmussen says, is that we need to live our lives now, strongly, confidently, and without regrets. That’s the lesson the girls learn and sing when their lives go off track.

“What catches me in this piece is that it reminds us to be awake to our own lives,” she said. “In the midst of this real pain and uncertainty, there’s also great beauty and great opportunities for connection and for beauty.”

Rasmussen says the music alone makes the play worth it. There’s soul, hip-hop, classical — even Eastern European folk songs, sung by the actors and played by a fabulous band on stage. “It takes place in a warehouse where a carnival has been stored,” she said. “It’s visually stunning. The design work is amazing. Eye-popping, fantastical.”

Through May 29, McCarter Theatre Center, 91 University Place, Princeton, 609-258-2787 or mccarter.org

Prolific Philadelphia playwright James Ijames’ latest work, “Reverie,” will have its world premiere at Azuka Theatre. Ijames, who is also Wilma Theater’s co-artistic director, has had a busy year. Wilma filmed Ijames’ take on “Hamlet,” “Fat Ham,” offering it online during the pandemic to audiences hungry for theater (and there was lots of food in the production). In February, Norristown’s Theatre Horizon staged the regional premiere of Ijames’ “TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever,” a university setting used to examine former president Thomas Jefferson’s relationship with Sally Hemings, an enslaved person. Now it’s Azuka’s turn. In “Reverie,” a bereaved father mourning the loss of his son knocks on the door of his son’s former boyfriend, seeking insight and understanding. Jerrell L. Henderson directs, and Damien J. Wallace plays Paul, the grief-stricken father.

Through May 22, Azuka Theatre, at the Proscenium Theatre at the Drake, 302 S. Hicks St., Philadelphia. Pay what you wish. 215-563-1100 or azukatheatre.org

Are you happy in your relationship? Well, almost. It would be so much better… if only… . Exactly. And that’s exactly the comedic tension behind “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” at the Act II Playhouse in Ambler. A little wrinkle in the casting is that two of the four actors — Jennifer Babiak and Michael Indeglio — are married to each other in real life.

Liam Snead and Lauryn Morgan Thomas round out the cast. Mary Carpenter directs.

Through June 5, Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Ave., Ambler. 215-654-0200 or act2.org

When the judge’s gavel came down, five women, each grappling with addiction, found themselves ordered into group therapy, led by Jessica, a therapist who has never managed a group before. Wrap your mind around group therapy as a musical and you have “Group!”

“Group! asks if the current mental health-care system can really support a path towards long-term recovery,” said C. Ryanne Domingues, artistic director of Trenton’s Passage Theatre Company, which is staging the world premiere. Lyrics by Eloise Govedare, music by Aleksandra M. Weil, and book by Julia B. Rosenblatt.

May 5-22 by Passage Theatre Co. at the Mill Hill Playhouse, 205 E. Front St., Trenton. 609-392-0766 or passagetheatre.org

A team of military lawyers is assigned to defend two Marines accused of murder at Guantánamo Bay. It looks like an open-and-shut case, easily resolved by plea bargain — until the lawyers uncover a high-level conspiracy interlaced with patriotism.

That’s the story line behind the drama “A Few Good Men” by Aaron Sorkin, presented by Bristol Riverside Theatre. Interestingly, Sorkin, who developed the TV hit, The West Wing, learned about the case in a phone call with his sister, who was serving as a military lawyer. He became so intrigued that he penned the bones of the play on cocktail napkins during the first act of “La Cage Aux Folles” while bartending at the Palace Theatre on Broadway.

“We’re doing this play right now to remind our audiences that as Americans we should agree more than we disagree,” director Ken Kaissar, Bristol Riverside Theatre’s producing director, said in a statement. “And the issues currently tearing up our country are minor compared to the beliefs and virtues that keep us together. So, I’m hoping this play will have something of a healing quality.”

For authenticity, Kaissar enlisted the help of JROTC students at Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills. They demonstrated drills for the cast and taught them Marine cadences.

Through May 22, Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe St., Bristol, 215-785-0100 or brtstage.org. Bristol Borough residents can attend previews for $5, and there are some $10 tickets for Bristol Township residents, as well as some discounts for students and members of the military.

Rachel, Mad Yalta, and Bruriah are three wise women whose stories appear in the Talmud, the compilation of ancient Jewish teachings and commentaries. Now, in an immersive play written by Israeli playwright Hadar Galron and commissioned by Theatre Ariel, audience members also become commentators.

Conceived by Theatre Ariel artistic director Deborah Baer Mozes, “Women, Wine, and Talmud” will be staged in separate locations for its world premiere in a four-performance run.

May 7, 8 p.m., Har Zion Temple, 1500 Hagys Ford Rd., Penn Valley; May 8, 2 p.m., Manor House of Millridge of Bryn Mawr, 975 Mill Rd., Bryn Mawr; May 14, 8 p.m., Beth Am Israel, 1301 Hagys Ford Rd., Penn Valley; and May 15, 7 p.m., virtual. 610-667-9230 or theatreariel.org

Philadelphia Theatre Co. has chosen Philadelphia actor and playwright Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters as the 2022 winner of its Terrence McNally Award for “Acetone Wishes and Plexiglass Dreams,” the final play of her Koreatown trilogy. “Homeriade” earned Alexandra Espinoza an honorable mention.

In Walters’ play, Celina, the lead character, moves back to Philadelphia to take over the neighborhood beauty salon. Intrigue ensues as characters’ secrets begin to unravel.

In a statement, Paige Price, producing artistic director, described Walters’ work as “honest and truthful” and “bracing and funny.”

“Her characters not only explored a very Philadelphia neighborhood, but also touched upon Prodigal Child themes which, taken in context with what has happened to families during the pandemic, really touched a nerve about leaving and coming home, about parental relationships and generational responsibilities,” Paige said.

Walters will receive a $5,000 cash award and developmental guidance and dramaturgical support for the play. “McNally’s legacy of transformative art is palpable and it’s humbling to carry his award,” Walters said in a statement, adding “in sharing this play, I share a piece of myself with audiences.”

Through May 22, Walters is playing the lead in “Today Is My Birthday” by Susan Soon He Stanton at Theatre Exile, 1340 S. 13th St., Philadelphia. 215-218-4022 or theatreexile.org

For more information on the Philadelphia Theatre Company’s Terrence McNally Award, visit Philadelphiatheatrecompany.org

Because COVID-19 mask and vaccination rules vary by location, please check your theater venue for protocols close to the performance date.