SPRING AWAKENING | Before the arrival of the Tony-winning musical, Zeitgeist Stage Company presents us with German playwright Frank Wedekind's actual 1891 play in a new translation by Reinhold A. Mahler adapted by Zeitgeist's artistic director, David J. Miller, who also directs. Focusing on the lives of teens in rural Germany at the end of the 19th century, Wedekind's groundbreaking play about adolescent sexuality was a hot potato long before it was a musical: it didn't get produced as written for 75 years. In the Zeitgeist production, the roles of the kids will be played by actual teens. | Boston Center for the Arts Plaza, 539 Tremont St, Boston | 617.933.8600 | Through May 9 | Curtain 8 pm Thurs-Fri | 3 + 8 pm Sat | 3 pm Sun | $35; $25 students, seniors | Carolyn Clay's review page 26
THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET: THE PRINCE OF DENMARK | Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club, in conjunction with the Office for the Arts at Harvard, presents the Bard's tragedy "as never seen before." Jason Vartikar directs in collaboration with Rachel Libeskind a production inspired by German playwright Heiner Müller's Hamletmachine that endeavors to "put Shakespeare's Hamlet back in its period but, guided by Müller, wrench it from its stale, flat, and unprofitable common interpretation." The results, it is promised, will be "awe-inspiring, captivating, and short." | New College Theatre, 10-12 Holyoke St, Cambridge | 617.496.2222 | Through May 3 | Curtain 8 pm Thurs-Fri | 2 + 8 pm Sat | 2 pm Sun | $6
TRUMPERY | As part of Boston University's Darwin Bicentennial Celebration, Jim Petosa directs this School of Theatre production of Peter Parnell's play. As Darwin endeavors to complete The Origin of the Species, an unknown explorer tries to steal his thunder. "In the midst of a daughter's illness and a re-examination of his faith, Darwin and his colleagues must race to secure his legacy as the father of natural selection." | Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston | 617.933.8600 | Through May 3 | Curtain 7:30 pm Thurs | 8 pm Fri-Sat | 2 pm Sun | $12; $10 BU alumni, students, seniors; Huntington Theatre Company subscribers, WGBH members
WILLY WANKER AND THE HERSHEY HIGHWAY | Ryan Landry and the Gold Dust Orphans take on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and it's a musical. "Chock full of nuts," the confection promises to satisfy your cravings for "adult comedy, groovy music, real pathos, titillating adventure, and, yes, SEX!" | Ramrod Center for the Performing Arts, basement of Machine, 1254 Boylston St, Boston | 617.265.6222 | Through May 24 | Curtain 8 pm Fri-Sat | 4 pm Sun | $28
THE WINTER'S TALE | Somerville community theater company Theatre@First takes on the Bard's late romance, in which a king is miraculously redeemed after making a very rash decision. Kamela Dolinov directs, with live original music by Michael J. Veloso. | Unity Church of God, 6 William St, Somerville | 877.557.5936 | Through May 2 | Curtain 8 pm Thurs-Sat | $12; $10 students, seniors
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