Front Row: Theater

Annette Miller stars in "Martha Mitchell Calling."

Regime change at the ART : The American Repertory Theatre welcomes its new artistic director, Diane Paulus, this fall, though the theater put its season together before she got the job. So the world premiere of "The Communist Dracula Pageant" by Anne Washburn, a political satire concerning the fall of Romania's Ceausescus, may not reveal much about her tastes. But its billing on the company's website as "by Americans, for Americans, with hallucinations, phosphorescence, and bears" doesn't sound too far removed from such Paulus productions as "The Donkey Show." (And don't miss the season opener, Anna Deavere Smith's "Let Me Down Easy," Friday through Oct. 11 at the Loeb Drama Center.) Oct. 18-Nov. 9, Zero Arrow Theatre, Cambridge. 617-547-8300, www.amrep.org

Crossing the divide: New Repertory Theatre's producing artistic director Rick Lombardo, who recently announced that he'll be leaving Watertown for San Jose, will still be around for his directing assignments this season. That includes the season opener, Sarah Ruhl's "Eurydice," a delicately devastating story of language and memory, love and loss. Zillah Glory plays the young bride lured into the underworld on her wedding day, Ken Baltin the father who greets her there and helps her learn to move beyond life. Sept. 14-Oct. 5, Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown. 617-923-8487, www.newrep.org

Classic conflict: Meanwhile, in Providence, Trinity Repertory Company mines another story from ancient Greece for its contemporary political resonances. The world premiere of "The Dreams of Antigone," written by Trinity Rep artistic director Curt Columbus and directed by company member Brian McEleney, jumps off from Sophocles's classic play to imagine what would happen if Creon, after punishing Antigone for protesting his regime, had to face a few consequences himself. Sept. 19-Oct. 26, Trinity Repertory Company, Providence. 401-351-4242, www.trinityrep.com

Politics at center stage: Not surprisingly in an election year, several theaters are offering politically flavored fare. At the Lyric Stage Company, it's the New England premiere of David Mamet's satire "November," which posits a president, desperate for campaign funds, who turns to the turkey industry for help. And at Cambridge's new Central Square Theatre, after its current production of "We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!" closes Sept. 28, the Nora Theatre Company presents the Boston premiere of "Martha Mitchell Calling," which stars Annette Miller as the political wife who wouldn't shut up. "November": Oct. 17-Nov. 15, Lyric Stage Company. 617-585-5678, lyricstage .com; "Martha": Oct. 16-Nov. 9, Central Square Theatre. 866-811-4111, www.centralsquaretheater .org

Christmas ghosts: In addition to the usual round of "Christmas Carol" productions, the holiday season promises something darker and wilder at SpeakEasy Stage Company. Carmel O'Reilly directs "The Seafarer," Conor McPherson's tale of old friends and old promises at a poker party on Christmas Eve in North Dublin. That's just one highlight of the SpeakEasy season, which opens Sept. 19 with Scott Edmiston's production of "The Light in the Piazza." Nov. 14-Dec. 13, Boston Center for the Arts' Roberts Studio Theatre. 617-933-8600, www.bostontheatrescene.com

LOUISE KENNEDY