The first part of 2016 has a number of solid new plays and classic revivals lined up on area stages: “Ain’t Misbehavin’” at Albany Civic, “A Trip to Bountiful” at Capital Rep, “The Lion King” at Proctors, and “Clybourne Park” at Schenectady Civic. In addition, there are new and notable productions worth highlighting:
• Based on the 2003 film, “Calendar Girls” is a genial comedy following the lives of a half-dozen middle aged British housewives who spice up their fundraising skills with a somewhat racy calendar. If Tim Firth’s stage adaptation is as clever and heartwarming as the film, Home Made Theater will have a surefire hit on their hands. Opens April 15.
• There is no middle ground with David Mamet — either you strap yourself in and enjoy the ride with the power and thrust of language and drama or you cringe at the first f-bomb and wince at his less than wholesome characters. In either case his 1984 Pulitzer Prize winning drama “Glengarry Glen Ross” is one of his best. Starting Feb. 19 at Latham’s Curtain Call Theater.
• “Hamilton,” Lin Manuel Miranda’s musical about the man on the 10-dollar bill, took Broadway by storm this season. But a few seasons back, Michael Friedman and Alex Timbers’ eclectic and electric rock musical “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” was the hot ticket. It is set to make its regional premiere at the University at Albany March 2. This wild, irreverent and bloody good musical redefines the man on the 20-dollar bill. Who’s the subject of next season’s American Statesman Musical? Look in your wallet for a clue.
• Also making an area premiere is Nell Benjamin’s “The Explorers Club.” Set to open at Schenectady Civic on Jan. 29, this new comedy features the madcap adventures of a group of London-based explorers as they search for escaped cobras, uncover various forms of exclusion and prejudice, and seek to avoid the possibility of international war — without leaving the cozy confines of their posh and exclusive club.
• Few musicals contain more honest heart than “Once.” Winner of eight 2012 Tony Awards including Best Musical, this quiet and tuneful musical set in a Dublin bar is more than just a story of two buskers falling slowly in love. The national tour drops into Proctors May 10.
Theater calendar
Albany Civic Theater, Albany. 462-1297, www.albanycivictheater.org
Feb. 5-21: “Ain’t Misbehavin’”
May 6-22: “Laughter on the 23rd Floor”
Capital Repertory Theatre, Albany. 445-7469, www.capitalrep.org
Jan. 22-Feb. 14: “Naked Influence”
March 11-April 3: “The Blue-Sky Boys”
April 22-May 15: “The Trip to Bountiful”
Circle Players, Sand Lake Center for the Arts, West Sand Lake. 674-2007, www.slca-ctp.org/CTP
March 11-20: “Miracle on South Division Street”
May 13-22: “South Pacific”
Classic Theater Guild, Schenectady (at Proctors). 346-6204, classictheaterguild.com
May 13-22: “School for Scandal”
Cohoes Music Hall, Cohoes. 237-5858
Feb. 6: Moody McCarthy, AJ Foster, and host Dan Guerin (Comedy)
Colonial Little Theater, Johnstown. 762-4325, coloniallittletheatre.org/
April 1-10: “Godspell”
June 4-12: “The O’Conner Girls”
Confetti Stage, Albany. 460-1167, www.confettistage.org
Feb. 26-March 6: “Agnes of God”
TBA: “Elephant’s Graveyard”
TBA: “The Comedy of Errors”
Curtain Call Theatre, Latham. 877-7529, www.curtaincalltheatre.com
Feb. 19-March 19: “Glengarry Glen Ross”
April 1-30: “Living on Love”
May 13-June 11: TBA
The Egg, Albany. 473-1845, www.theegg.org
Feb. 13: Sebastian Maniscalco (Comedy)
March 11: Three Tenors (who can’t sing) (Comedy)
March 26: Comedy Pet Theatre (Comedy)
April 9: David Sedaris (Reading)
Ghent Playhouse, Ghent. 800-838-3006, www.ghentplayhouse.org
Jan. 22-Feb. 7: “The Weir”
March 18-April 3: “Boeing, Boeing”
May 20–June 5: “The Imaginary Invalid”
Glens Falls Civic Center, Glens Falls. 798-0202, www.glensfallscc.com
Jan. 7: Gilbert Gottfried (Comedy)
Home Made Theater, Saratoga Springs. 587-4427, homemadetheater.org
Feb. 12-28: “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”
April 15-May 1: “Calendar Girls”
Hubbard Hall, Cambridge. 677-2495, www.hubbardhall.org
Jan. 22-31: “The Winter Carnival of New York”
April 14-May 8: “The Crucible”
Iron Horse, Northampton, Mass. 413-584-0610, www.iheg.com
Jan. 30: The Randy and Mr. Lahey Show (Comedy)
The Linda, Albany. 465-5233 ext. 4, www.wamc.org
Feb. 13: “2014” by Women with Voices
Local Actors Guild of Saratoga, Saratoga. 393-3496, www.facebook.com/pages/LocalActorsGuildofSaratoga
March 18-27: “The Odd Couple”
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, Mass. 413-644-9040, www.mahaiwe.org
April 10: David Sedaris (Reading)
Not So Common Players, Clifton Park. www.notsocommonplayers.org
April 15-24: “The Marvelous Wonderettes/Forever Plaid”
Palace Theatre, Albany. 464-3334, www.palacealbany.com
Jan. 13: The Supernaturalists starring Criss Angel (Magic)
Feb. 7: “Freedom Train”
March 3: Jerry Seinfeld (Comedy)
April 3: “Dancing in the Streets”
April 15: Lewis Black (Comedy)
Proctors, Schenectady. 346-6204, www.proctors.org
Jan. 4-5: “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”
Jan. 8: MOPCO Theatresports
Jan. 16: “Saturday Night Fever-The Musical”
Jan. 16: A Century of Cole Porter
Jan. 19-24: “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella”
Jan. 22: Men Are from Mars Women Are from Venus (Comedy)
Jan. 23: Pretty Much the Best Comedy Show with Josh Gondelman (Comedy)
Jan. 24: Word Plays: Stormy Weather (Storytelling)
Feb. 14: The Gender Defenders (Comedy)
Feb. 20: New York “Country” Comedy Tour (Comedy)
Feb. 20: Pretty Much the Best Comedy Show with Dave Hill (Comedy)
Feb. 28: Word Plays: Irresistible (Storytelling
March 4: Irish Comedy Tour (Comedy)
March 5: The Capitol Steps: Mock the Vote Tour (Comedy)
March 19: Pretty Much the Best Comedy Show
April 8-10: “The Realish Housewives of Clifton Park”
April 10: Word Plays: Lucky Strikes (Storytelling)
March 22-April 17: “The Lion King”
April 22-24: “The Faulty Towers Dining Experience”
April 29: Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood: Two Man Group (Comedy)
May 7: Nobodies of Comedy
May 10-15: “Once”
Schenectady Civic Players, Schenectady. 382-2081, www.civicplayers.org
Jan. 29-Feb. 7: “The Explorers Club”
March 11-20: “Measure for Measure”
May 6-15: “Clybourne Park”
Schenectady Light Opera Company, Schenectady. 877-350-7378, www.sloctheater.org
Jan. 29-Feb. 7: “Sweeney Todd”
March 11-20: “Hair”
May 6-15: “The Producers”
The Theater Institute at Sage, Troy. 244-2248, www.sage.edu/theatre
Feb. 24-March 6: “Number the Stars”
April 13-24: “Romeo and Juliet”
June 1-12: “Blackbeard, The Musical”
Theater Voices, Albany. www.theatervoices.org
Feb. 12-14: “Art”
April 22-14: “The Shape of Things”
May 20-22: “An Accident”
Times Union Center, Albany. 800-303-8368, www.timesunioncenter-albany.com
Jan. 28: Jeff Dunham (Comedy)
March 11: Jeff Foxworthy, and Larry the Cable Guy (Comedy)
University at Albany Performing Arts Center, 442-3995, www.albany.edu/pac
Feb. 2: “Their Eyes Were Watching God”
Jan. 30: The Folktales of Zora Neale Hurston
March 1: “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson”
April 2: 24 Hour Theatre Project
Charles R. Wood Theater, Glens Falls. 798-9663, www.woodtheater.org
Feb. 6: The Second City (Comedy)
Feb. 26: Paula Poundstone (Comedy)
March 31: Upright Citizens Brigade (Comedy)
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