Theater: New and Noteworthy

Aladdin: A Musical Panto

(People's Light, Malvern). Keeping the British tradition of the panto very much alive. Promises to be hilarious. Wednesday through Jan. 7.

Beauty and the Beast (Media Theatre). The Menken/Ashman gem that seems to get better with age. Excellent family holiday bet. Wednesday through Jan. 14.

The Craftsman (Lantern Theater Company). Bruce Graham world premiere. In the ashes of World War Two, Dutch patriots discover that one of them has sold priceless Vermeers to the Nazis. Through Dec. 10.

My Fair Lady (Quintessence Theatre Group). A two-piano concert version of the beloved musical. Sounds like a pretty good idea! Wednesday through Dec. 17.

Rasheeda Speaking (Allens Lane Arts Center). A workplace thriller about tensions in a supposedly post-racial world. Friday through Dec. 3.

Reviewed by Hugh Hunter (H.H.), Julia M. Klein (J.M.K.), Jim Rutter (J.R.), John Timpane (J.T.), and Toby Zinman (T.Z.).

Blood Wedding (Wilma Theater). A brilliant, fiery dance/performance art version of a 20th-century masterpiece by Federico García Lorca. Ends next Sunday. - J.T.

Broken Stones (InterAct Theatre Company). Priceless artifacts are looted from a Baghdad museum during the Iraq war. Timely themes, but way too many ideas. Ends next Sunday. - J.M.K.

By the Bog of Cats (Irish Heritage Theatre). Medea is the inspiration, but this play, set in midlands Ireland, has its own personality. Fine performance by Kirsten Quinn as Hester. Ends Saturday. - H.H.

Dare to Be Black (Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington). The saga of boxer Jack Johnson, whose success spurred the search for a Great White Hope. Ends Sunday.

Every Brilliant Thing (Arden Theatre Company). An audience-participation heartbreaker. What makes life worth living? Make a list. Starring Scott Greer. Through Dec. 10.

The Fantasticks (Eagle Theatre, Hammonton, N.J.). Durable, popular tunefest about two neighboring dads who create a love match. Through Dec. 10.

Forever Plaid (Montgomery Theatre, Souderton). Holiday version of Stuart Ross' Plaid Tidings by four guys in plaid ties. Through Dec. 3.

The Gap (Azuka Theatre/The Theaters at the Drake). World premiere of Emma Goidel's play about two sisters. Sometimes baffling, but also powerful, profound, and brave. Ends next Sunday. - T.Z.

Intimate Apparel (Villanova Theatre). Lynn Nottage's paean to early-20th-century New York, and a seamstress' courage. Ends next Sunday.

Lights Out: Nat "King" Cole (People's Light, Malvern). World premiere. Dulé Hill (West Wing, Psych) stars as Cole on the last night of his 1950s TV show. Hill shines, as does Daniel J. Watts as Sammy Davis Jr. Through Dec. 3. - J.T.

The Manor (Greystone Hall, West Chester). Reenactment of a notorious 1929 incident; walk through rooms as the play unfolds. Ends Sunday.

My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy (Penn's Landing Playhouse). Brad Zimmerman's comic tale of long-term (and we do mean long-term) perseverance in pursuit of an artistic dream. Ends next Sunday.

The New World (Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope). World-premiere musical. Indigenous Americans are enjoying a gluten-free, low-carb, happy life when they are invaded by the land's first immigrants: pilgrims. There goes the neighborhood. Through Dec. 2.

Our Town (Gateway Playhouse, Somers Point, N.J.). The Gateway's first full-on show in its comeback season, courtesy of Fool Moon Productions. Ends Sunday.

Phantom of the Opera (Academy of Music). New staging, an African American phantom, and modern Surroundsound. Some changes, but the timeless themes remain. Gorgeous, at times spine-chilling. Ends Sunday. - J.R.

Quartet (Bristol Riverside Theatre). Ronald Harwood's play, basis of the popular film: a famed opera singer visits a singers' retirement home. Full of life, witty, with four sparkling leads. Ends next Sunday. - J.T.

Red Herring (Act II Playhouse, Ambler). Michael Hollinger's noir comedy about love and nuclear espionage. Tight, well-paced, full of very funny one-liners. Ends next Sunday. - J.T.

Return of the Phantom: A New Musical (Broadway Theatre of Pitman, N.J.). World premiere. A worthy sequel to the book and musical, with lovely singing and a good score. Kudos. Ends next Sunday. - J.R.

Riot Antigone (Goodheart Hall, Bryn Mawr College). Riot-grrrl producer Seonjae Kim's reworking of Sophocles. Sunday and Thursday-Saturday.

TouchTones (Arden Theatre Company). World premiere of Michael Hollinger and Robert Maggio's musical about intimacy (or is it?) in the communications age. Racy, quirky, engaging, and ultimately romantic. Through Dec. 3. - J.M.K.

Two Gentlemen of Verona (EgoPo Classic Theatre/Latvian Society Theatre). John Guare's Tony-winning musical reworking of Shakespeare's play. This cabaret-style performance kicks off EgoPo's season-long John Guare Festival. Ends Sunday.

The Winter's Tale (Drama Group/First United Methodist Church of Germantown). This wild, tragic, mystical tale might be the Shakespeare play whose rep is rising fastest. Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 25.