Theater: New and Noteworthy

A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline

(Bristol Riverside Theatre, Tuesday through Oct. 16). The story of the crossover country/rockabilly/torch songstress, with 20 of her hits.

Grounded (InterAct Theatre Company, at Louis Bluver Theatre, Friday through Oct. 23). In this one-woman show, a military fighter pilot finds herself pregnant and, unable to fly, is assigned to a trailer in which she controls unmanned combat drones half a world away. An intense and topical look inside both the war on terror and a soldier's mind.

Rizzo (Philadelphia Theatre Company, Friday through Oct. 16). A return of the Theatre Exile production from last year. Bruce Graham fashions a complex figure, larger than life (and if the role wasn't written for Scott Greer, it might as well have been) and riddled with contradictions.

This Is the Week That Is, the Election Special (Plays and Players Theatre, Thursday through Nov. 7). Unfamiliar with 1812's annual political satire? Picture a sketch-comedy-friendly version of The Daily Show, but the old one, with Jon Stewart.

Bathing in Moonlight

(McCarter Theatre, Princeton). This world premiere reunites playwright Nilo Cruz and director Emily Mann, in a story about a struggling Cuban American family, the priest who helps them, and forbidden love. Lively scenes are too often shunted aside for swooning and teeth-gnashing. Through Oct. 9.

- W.R.

Bridges of Madison County (Media Theatre, through Oct. 23). Based on the book, not the film, this musical has World War II, the Iowa State Fair, and lots of smooching.

Electile Dysfunction (Act II Playhouse, Ambler). Just in time for the political season, a satire about politics. Through Oct. 9.

Electra (Villanova Theater, Villanova University) The House of Atreus - now there's a dysfunctional family. Sophocles as reimagined by Frank McGuinness. Through Oct. 2.

Greater Tuna (Montgomery Theatre). A send-up of rural life in Texas' third-smallest town. Through Oct. 2.

How We Got On (Azuka Theatre, at Louis Bluver Theatre). Premiere of Idris Goodwin's paean to the 1980s roots of rap and hip-hop. Through Oct. 9.

The King of East Jabip (Eagle Theatre, Hammonton). World premiere of Kelly McCarthy's play on getting older and getting . . . older. A promising topic, but the play is too encrusted with cliches to do it justice. Through Oct. 9. - J.R.

Mrs. Warren's Profession (Lantern Theater). G.B. Shaw's trenchant social drama portrays a mother and daughter. Two working women - but perhaps not what people expect. Through Oct. 16.

South Pacific (Walnut Street Theatre). It'll be hard to wash the tunes from this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic out of your head. Through Oct. 23.

Stupid F#*@ing Bird (Arden Theatre Company). Arden cofounder Aaron Posner brings to town his comic 21st-century take on Chekhov. Through Oct. 15.

Sweeney Todd (Broadway Pitman Theatre, Pitman, N.J.). Everyone's favorite musical about bloodthirsty serial murders, with a requisite dollop of goodhearted song. Through Oct. 9.

The War of the Roses (Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington). The stage adaptation relies on humor instead of the physical destruction in the 1989 movie about a couple's divorce. Under Bud Martin's expert direction, the action glides between touching moments of the Roses' courtship, their hilarious interactions with a pair of lawyers, and a series of acrimonious arguments. Through Oct. 2. - J.R.