A NIGHT AT THE ROCK OPERA | Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra, a Boston-based group "committed to bringing the best of classic rock to life for those who've never had a chance to hear it LIVE in 3-D," reprises its evening-long orgy of the Who, David Bowie, the Beatles, and Queen — and threatens to throw some Led Zeppelin into the mix. | Stuart St Playhouse, 200 Stuart St, Boston | 800.447.7400 | Through June 27 | Curtain 7:30 pm Sat | $39.50
ON THE VERGE | "Machetes" are promised in this comedy (we think) show written by Eric Overmyer, directed by Wesley Savick, and presented by Nora Theatre. Also (seems to be a '50s theme) "Rock 'n' Roll. Burma Shave. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Discover the unpredictable land of Terra Incognita with three intrepid women explorers who can never be quite sure where — or when — their next steps will lead them. . . ." | Central Square Theater, 450 Mass Ave, Cambridge |www.centralsquaretheater.org| Through June 21 | Curtain 7:30 pm Wed-Thurs | 8 pm Fri-Sat | 3 pm Sun | $32; $22 seniors; $18 students; $12 students day-of
PIRATES! (OR, GILBERT AND SULLIVAN PLUNDER'D) | In the Huntington Theatre Company's plundering of Gilbert & Sullivan's 1879 operetta The Pirates of Penzance, the action has been moved from G&S's sleepy Cornish coastal town to the Caribbean, and back in time to the early 18th century. The Pirate King has morphed into Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow; Frederic's nursemaid Ruth, a plain sort of middle-aged woman in the original, is here played in black mini-shorts and over-the-knee black boots by Cady Huffman, who won a Tony for her portrayal of Swedish bombshell Ulla in The Producers. The work of Gordon Greenberg, Nell Benjamin, and John McDaniel, this novelty takes the G&S low road; if you're not a fan of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers, it's probably not your thing. Still, it's uniformly well sung and acted, and that excuses a lot of the tomfoolery. | Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston | 617.266.0800 | Through June 14 | Curtain 7:30 pm Thurs | 8 pm Fri | 2 + 8 pm Sat | 2 pm Sun | $20-$82; $5 senior, military discount; $10 BU community discount; $25 patrons 35 and younger, with ID; $20 back row of balcony; $15 student rush, two hours before curtain, with ID
WORKING | Metro Stage Company revives the 1978 Broadway (24 performances) musical based on the book by Studs Terkel, with book by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso and music by, among others, James Taylor. Twenty-six "average American workers" ranging from ironworkers and supermarket cashiers to waitresses and housewives tell their story in individual monologues. James Tallach directs; musical direction is by Adam McDonald. | Cambridge Family YMCA Theater, 820 Mass Ave, Cambridge | Through June 13 | Curtain 7:30 pm Thurs | 8 pm Fri-Sat | $24; $20 students, seniors
YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN | Gloucester Stage opens its 2009 season with the popular Peanuts musical. Shelley Bolman, Mary Callanan, Steve Gagliastro, Katie Mulholland, Arlo Hill, and David Krinitt star; Scott LaFeber directs, with musical direction by Michael Kreutz. | Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main St, Gloucester | 978.281.4433 | Through June 21 | Curtain 8 pm Wed-Fri | 3 + 8 pm Sat | 4 pm Sun | $32-$37
