Theater: New and Noteworthy

Finding Neverland (Academy of Music). The musical back story to the creation of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. Tuesday through next Sunday.

Reviewed by Hugh Hunter (H.H.), Julia M. Klein (J.M.K.), Jim Rutter (J.R.), John Timpane (J.T.), and Toby Zinman (T.Z.).

Aladdin: A Musical Panto (People's Light, Malvern). Keeping the British tradition of the panto very much alive. Promises to be hilarious. Through Jan. 7.

Beauty and the Beast (Media Theatre). The Menken/Ashman gem that seems to get better with age. Excellent family holiday bet. Through Jan. 14.

Blood Wedding (Wilma Theater). A brilliant, fiery dance/performance art version of a 20th-century masterpiece by Federico García Lorca. Ends Sunday. - J.T.

Broken Stones (InterAct Theatre Company). Priceless artifacts are looted from a Baghdad museum during the Iraq war. Timely themes, but way too many ideas. Ends Sunday. - J.M.K.

The Craftsman (Lantern Theater Company). Bruce Graham world premiere. In the ashes of World War Two, Dutch patriots discover that one of them has sold priceless Vermeers to the Nazis. Through Dec. 10.

Every Brilliant Thing (Arden Theatre Company). An audience-participation heartbreaker. What makes life worth living? Make a list. Starring Scott Greer. Through Dec. 10.

The Fantasticks (Eagle Theatre, Hammonton, N.J.). Durable, popular tunefest about two neighboring dads who create a love match. Through Dec. 10.

Forever Plaid (Montgomery Theatre, Souderton). Holiday version of Stuart Ross' Plaid Tidings by four guys in plaid ties. Through Dec. 3.

The Gap (Azuka Theatre/The Theaters at the Drake). World premiere of Emma Goidel's play about two sisters. Sometimes baffling, but also powerful, profound, and brave. Ends Sunday. - T.Z.

Intimate Apparel (Villanova Theatre). Lynn Nottage's paean to early-20th-century New York, and a seamstress' courage. Ends Sunday.

Lights Out: Nat "King" Cole (People's Light, Malvern). World premiere. Dulé Hill (West Wing, Psych) stars as Cole on the last night of his 1950s TV show. Hill shines, as does Daniel J. Watts as Sammy Davis Jr. Through Dec. 3. - J.T.

My Fair Lady (Quintessence Theatre Group). A two-piano concert version of the beloved musical. Sounds like a pretty good idea! Through Dec. 17.

My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy (Penn's Landing Playhouse). Brad Zimmerman's comic tale of long-term (and we do mean long-term) perseverance in pursuit of an artistic dream. Ends Sunday.

The New World (Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope). World-premiere musical. Indigenous Americans are enjoying a gluten-free, low-carb, happy life when they are invaded by the land's first immigrants: pilgrims. There goes the neighborhood. Through Dec. 2.

Quartet (Bristol Riverside Theatre). Ronald Harwood's play, basis of the popular film: a famed opera singer visits a singers' retirement home. Full of life, witty, with four sparkling leads. Ends Sunday. - J.T.

Rasheeda Speaking (Allens Lane Arts Center). A workplace thriller about tensions in a supposedly post-racial world. Through Dec. 3.

Red Herring (Act II Playhouse, Ambler). Michael Hollinger's noir comedy about love and nuclear espionage. Tight, well-paced, full of very funny one-liners. Ends Sunday. - J.T.

Return of the Phantom: A New Musical (Broadway Theatre of Pitman, N.J.). World premiere. A worthy sequel to the book and musical, with lovely singing and a good score. Kudos. Ends Sunday. - J.R.

TouchTones (Arden Theatre Company). World premiere of Michael Hollinger and Robert Maggio's musical about intimacy (or is it?) in the communications age. Racy, quirky, engaging, and ultimately romantic. Through Dec. 3. - J.M.K.

The Winter's Tale (Drama Group/First United Methodist Church of Germantown). This wild, tragic, mystical tale might be the Shakespeare play whose rep is rising fastest. Friday and Saturday.