Fall Stars: Theater
One-man shows: Billy Crystal and Martin Short once teamed on ''Saturday Night Live" for classic skits including a takeoff on ''Kate and Allie." (Crystal played Muhammad Ali to Short's Katharine Hepburn.) Now they're stars of their own one-man shows. ''Martin Short: If I'd Saved, I Wouldn't Be Here" is heading to Broadway; Crystal's Tony-winning ''700 Sundays" is coming from it. If you're looking for more of a political edge, ''Jimmy Tingle's American Dream" continues at Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway, smack dab in the heart of Jimmy Tingle's Davis Square. ''700 Sundays" is Oct. 18-29 at the Opera House; Short is Nov. 29-Dec. 18 at the Colonial Theatre. 617-931-2787, www.broadwayacrossamerica .com. ''Jimmy Tingle's American Dream" is at Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway in an open-ended run. 866-811-4111, www.jtoffbroad way.com.
Stephen Belber: The dark-humored writer of ''Match" and ''Tape" is represented at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater with ''McReele," which is getting its New England premiere after playing in New York last season. The playwright then expands to a two-word title with the world premiere of ''Carol Mulroney" at the Huntington Theatre Company. ''McReele" is the story of an African-American man who's cleared of murder charges and then becomes a senatorial candidate. Ana Reeder plays the title character in ''Mulroney," a woman who goes up on the roof to get away from the world. ''McReele" plays Sept. 15-Oct. 8 at WHAT, 508-349-9428, www.what .org. ''Carol Mulroney" plays Oct. 14-Nov. 20 at the Boston Center for the Arts, 617-266-0800, www.huntingtontheatre.org.
''Pal Joey": When Leigh Barrett sings, hearts melt. When Barrett sings Rodgers and Hart, they should be prepared to get all bewitched, bothered, and bewildered. Barrett plays Vera in Stoneham Theatre's ''Pal Joey," an adaptation of stories that John O'Hara wrote for the New Yorker. (He wrote the book for the musical as well.) Stoneham Theatre, Sept. 15-Oct. 2. 781-279-2200, www.stonehamtheatre.org.
''The Boy Friend": Julie Andrews made her Broadway debut in Sandy Wilson's pastiche of 1920s musical comedies. Now she makes her debut as a director. Shubert Theatre, Oct. 11-23. 800-447-7400, www.wangcenter.org.
''The Keening": In this English-language premiere of Colombian writer Humberto Dorado's play, guerrilla forces advance on a village while a professional mourner deals with her husband's death and her family's involvement in the drug trade. American Repertory Theatre, Zero Arrow Theatre, Cambridge, Oct. 14-Nov. 12. 617-547-8300, www.amrep.org.
''A Number": The latest work of provocative English playwright Caryl Churchill's to cross the ocean, now getting its Boston premiere, isn't your average father-son confrontation. Dad (Steve McConnell) is visited not only by junior, but by all his son's clones (all played by Lewis Wheeler). Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Oct. 21-Nov. 19. 617-437-7172, www.lyricstage.com.
