(The Lyric Stage Company of Boston)
THEATER
VALET OF THE DOLLS Ryan Landry borrows the basic plot, characters, and themes of Jacqueline Susann’s “Valley of the Dolls,’’ then pushes them to their illogical - and hilarious - extremes. Through Nov. 22. Gold Dust Orphans, at Machine. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/80205SHOOTING STAR Two former lovers, meeting by chance 25 years after their romance ended, grapple with the consequences of roads not taken and contemplate the possibilities of roads that still might be open. Through Nov. 22. Trinity Repertory Company, Providence. 401-351-4242, www.trinityrep.com
SPEED-THE-PLOW David Mamet gleefully bites the Hollywood hand that has sometimes fed him in this tale of two blockbuster-obsessed movie producers and the idealistic temp who upends their moral universe. Through Nov. 7. New Repertory Theatre, Watertown. 617-923-8487, www.newrep.org
SLEEP NO MORE Prepare for some close encounters with the cast in this adventurous, immersive, and mostly wordless reworking of “Macbeth,’’ a coproduction by the American Repertory Theater and Punchdrunk, the experimental British theater troupe. Through Jan. 3. American Repertory Theater. The Old Lincoln School, Brookline. 617-547-8300, www.americanrepertorytheater.org
A LONG AND WINDING ROAD Maureen McGovern brings the polish of a seasoned cabaret and theater performer to this greatest-hits overview of her own personal history and the collective experience of the baby boom generation, with interpretations of songs by the likes of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, and Carole King. Through Nov. 15. Huntington Theatre Company. Wimberly Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-266-0800, www.huntingtontheatre.org.
LADY Three longtime buddies, accompanied by a dog and divided by fierce disagreement over the Iraq war (one of them is a conservative congressman who supports the war; the son of another has just enlisted in the Army, to the dad’s dismay) go on a hunting trip in the Illinois woods. What could possibly go wrong? Oct. 30-Nov. 21. Zeitgeist Stage Company. 617-759-8836, www.zeitgeiststage.com
THE OVERWHELMING The stakes could scarcely be higher when a writer, his wife, and their teenage son move to Rwanda in 1994, just as the nation is about to be engulfed by genocide. From playwright J.T. Rogers (“White People’’). Oct. 30-Nov. 21. Company One. 617-933-8600, www.companyone.org
THE DONKEY SHOW If disco be the food of love . . . oh, wait, wrong play. In this splashy debut by new ART artistic director Diane Paulus, Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream’’ is transmogrified into a Studio 54-style phantasmagoria. Go ahead, try not to have a good time. Just try. Through Jan. 2. American Repertory Theater, Oberon. 617-547-8300, www.americanrepertorytheater.org DON AUCOIN THE TAMING OF THE SHREW In the Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s enchanting production, nothing is quite what it appears to be. From the attractive young man who takes on the role of Bianca, to a drunkard becoming Petruchio, director Melia Bensussen keeps the laughter flowing and the audience wondering what is real and what is pretend. Through Nov. 15. Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Downstairs at the Garage, Harvard Square. 866-811-4111, www.actorsshakespeareproject.org
TERRY BYRNE THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES Spookiness is outweighed by silliness in this marvelous family-friendly sendup of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s chilling tale. Through Nov. 8. Shakespeare & Company, Lenox. 413-637-3353, www.shakespeare.org SANDY MacDONALD
DANCE
CHAMPIONS OF THE DANCE Ten ballroom dance champions from around the globe, including some familiar faces from “Dancing With the Stars’’ and “The American Ballroom Challenge,’’ strut their stuff through tangos, waltzes, and spicy Latin numbers in this flashily costumed extravaganza. In this show, no one gets voted off. Oct. 30. $30.50-$56.50. Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell. 978-454-2299. www.lowellauditorium.comMOVEMENT AT THE MILLS In its debut presentation, Boston Center for the Arts’ signature dance program features three dance companies (Accumulation Dance, lizroncka/Real-Time Performance Project, and Urbanity Dance Project) performing three times a night in three different spaces. Third time’s the charm? Audiences are invited to walk through each performance as if it were an art installation. Oct. 29. Free. Boston Center for the Arts’ Mills Gallery, 6-9 p.m. 617-426-1132. www.bcaonline.org
NORTHEAST PERFORMANCE PROJECT The Tufts University Dance Program presents this multigenerational dance troupe in a free hourlong improvisation performance that follows the tradition of dance pioneer Barbara Mettler. Twelve dancers, ranging in age from 19 to 63, delve into the process of spontaneous creativity. Oct. 31. Free. Tufts University’s Jackson Dance Lab, Medford. 802-380-0068. www.ase.tufts.edu/drama-dance
MCNALLY’S FATE The Hybrid Moving Company calls its work a composite of movement styles. This special Halloween production uses aerial acrobatics, contemporary dance, break dance, live painting, and spoken word to portray a tragic tale of two young lovers. Oct. 31, 2 p.m. $15-$25. The Hanover Theatre, Worcester. 877-571-7409. www.thehanovertheatre.org
KAREN CAMPBELL
MUSEUMS
THE SECRETS OF TOMB 10A: EGYPT 2000 BC The contents of a tomb discovered by archeologists almost a century ago, including a mummified head, an elaborately painted coffin, and dozens of wooden models of boats are featured in this intelligent and engrossing exhibit. Through May 16. Museum of Fine Arts. 617-267-9300. www.mfa.orgCONTINUOUS PRESENT Ten internationally renowned contemporary artists, including Dieter Roth, Roni Horn, On Kawara, and Gabriel Orozco, deal with themes of time and perception. Through Jan. 3. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven. 203-432-0600, www.artgallery.yale.edu
TOBIAS PUTRIH AND MOS: WITHOUT OUT A large-scale installation made from everyday materials following a design that plans for its own ruination. It is a collaboration between artist Tobias Putrih and MOS, a collective of architects and designers. Through Jan. 3. MIT List Visual Arts Center. 617-253-4680. listart.mit.edu
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT Five artists who deal with the sensory properties of food fill the museum’s Kidspace with an exhibition aimed squarely at children, featuring Chandra Bocci’s 15-foot wide installation of Gummi bears, worms, and other yummies. Through Feb. 21. Mass MoCA, North Adams. 413-662-2111. www.massmoca.org SEBASTIAN SMEE
GALLERIES
WARREN MacKENZIE: AMERICAN POTTER The legendary American ceramicist has a solo exhibit in conjunction with his retrospective at the Fuller Craft Museum. It kicks off Saturday when the artist gives a workshop, talk, and throwing demonstration at Concord Academy. Oct. 31 through Nov. 22. Lacoste Gallery, 25 Main St., Concord. 978-369-0278, www.lacostegallery.comCONSTRUCTION Not every art object is a map of its own making. But each of the works of six Boston-area artists in this show is transparent in terms of its construction techniques. Through Nov. 21. Suffolk University Art Gallery, New England School of Art and Design @ Suffolk University, 75 Arlington St. 617-573-8785, www.suffolk.edu/nesad/26630.htm
MATTHEW PAUL CLEARY: WHY SUBSTITUTE UNCERTAIN 
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