THEATER
LADY Craig Wright dramatizes the polarizing effect of the Iraq war on three buddies as they reunite for their annual hunting trip. What resonates most fully in this production is not the political debate, but the playwright’s exploration of the complicated dynamics of friendship. Through Nov. 21. Zeitgeist Stage Company. Plaza Black Box Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.zeitgeiststage.com THE OVERWHELMING An American political-science professor brings his family to Rwanda in 1994 so he can write a book about a physician who runs an HIV clinic for children, and he encounters a country on the brink of genocide. Through Nov. 21. Company One. Plaza Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.companyone.org
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. Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown. 617-923-8487, www.newrep.org 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. Machine. www.golddustorphans.com
SHOOTING 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
DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE In Sarah Ruhl’s quirky comedy, a businessman drops dead in a cafe, and when his cellphone rings, the woman at the next table answers it - a fateful move that plunges her into the dead man’s tangled life. Can you hear me now? Through Nov. 14. Lyric Stage Company. 617-585-5678, www.lyricstage.com
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 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, Cambridge. 617-547-8300, www.americanrepertorytheater.org DON AUCOIN
DANCE
THE FOOL OF THE WORLD AND THE FLYING SHIP Prometheus Dance’s new, fancifully titled family show, which features dancers, masks, narration, and music by John Kusiak performed live by the Solar Winds Quintet, is based on an old Russian folktale that encourages tolerance, community, and the value of approaching life with an open heart. Nov. 7-8. $10-$20. Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge. 617-577-1400, www.cmacusa.org BOSTON CONSERVATORY DANCE THEATRE For the troupe’s new production “A Time to Dance,’’ longtime José Limón dancer Jennifer Scanlon restages the Limon masterpiece “There Was a Time,’’ inspired by Ecclesiastes. The program also includes premieres by Gianni Di Marco, Bonnie Mathis, and Mary Wolff, whose “Colony’’ is inspired by insects. Nov. 5-7. $7-$22. Midway Studios. 617-912-9222, www.bostonconservatory.edu/tickets SHANGRI-LA CHINESE ACROBATS In China, the tradition of acrobatics dates back centuries, so you figure they’ve had plenty of time to get it really right. The famed Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats combine tumbling and balancing feats with martial arts displays. Nov. 5. $5-$20. Northeastern’s Blackman Auditorium. 617-373-4700, www.centerforthearts.neu.edu HARVARD BALLET COMPANY Former Joffrey Ballet dancer Josie Walsh gives this student troupe something to dance about, staging a rock ballet that combines aerial choreography and the pounding music of stilt-walking. Music by Los Angeles rocker Paul Rivera Jr. The program also includes choreography by Claudia Schreier and Larissa Douglas Koch. Nov. 6-14. $8-$12. Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge. 617-547-8300, www.harvardballetcompany.org KAREN CAMPBELL GALLERIES
THE TEAPOT REDEFINED 2009 A teapot may be no more than a handle, spout, and vessel, but this exhibition explores myriad ways to riff on the classic form. More than 30 artists test the humble teapot to its limits. Through Dec. 3. Mobilia Gallery, 358 Huron Ave., Cambridge. 617-876-2109, www.mobilia-gallery.com FIXED CHAOS Ceramicists Saya Moriyasu, Mark Cooper, Ryan Mitchell, and Allison Schulnik all playfully twit tradition, bringing humor, experimental forms, and ambiguous content to old favorites such as clay Buddha heads and pots. Through Jan. 23. Montserrat College of Art Gallery, 23 Essex St., Beverly. 978-921-4242, x3, www.montserrat.edu/galleries SANFORD BIGGERS: STRANGER FRUIT In this installation, Biggers taps local history and uses imagery such as patterns embedded in quilts and the constellations of stars that directed slaves along the Underground Railroad to freedom. Nov. 6 through Dec. 2. Memorial Hall, Sanders Theatre Transept, Quincy and Kirkland streets, Cambridge. 617-495-8676, www.ofa.fas.harvard.edu/visualarts/sanford_biggers.php CATE McQUAID MUSEUMS
THE ROSE AT BRANDEIS: WORKS FROM THE COLLECTION A selection of highlights from the Rose Art Museum’s top-drawer collection of modern and contemporary art from Europe and America. Through May 23. Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham. 781-736-3434, www.brandeis.edu/rose 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.org CONTINUOUS PRESENT Ten internationally renowned contemporary artists, including Dieter Roth, Roni Horn, On Kawara, and Gabriel Orozco, who deal with themes of time and perception. Through Jan. 3. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven. 203-432-0600, www.artgallery.yale.edu
THE BRILLIANT LINE: FOLLOWING THE EARLY MODERN ENGRAVER 1480-1650 A thorough and spellbinding overview of the golden age of engraving from the Renaissance and beyond, including work by Albrecht Dürer, Marcantonio Raimondi, Agostino Carracci, and Martin Schongauer. Through Jan. 3. Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art, Providence. 401-454-6500, www.risdmuseum.org SEBASTIAN SMEE 
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