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Philly Fall Arts Guide: 9 local musicals to get you singing

Plenty of musical picks to get you through the fall season.

Karen Mason at the Prince Theater's RRazz Room
Sept. 18
Starting with this show by the Broadway songstress, Bucks County's top-flight cabaret venue establishes the Prince as a Center City outpost for music and comedy acts. Also on the roster this fall: activist comic Dick Gregory (with Paul Mooney, Oct. 2-3), Broadway titan Tommy Tune (Oct. 9-10) and actress-singers Linda Lavin (Oct. 17) and Andrea Marcovicci (Nov. 15).

215-422-4580, princetheater.org/therrazzroom, TwitterFacebook

Gypsy
Media Theatre, Sept. 23-Nov. 1
Broadway actress and Philly gal Kristine Fraelich stars as theater's favorite stage mother, Mama Rose, who propels her daughters to success in two disparate fields of show business. Among the numbers she gets to belt in the Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim classic: "Some People" and the showstopper "Everything's Coming Up Roses."

610-891-0100, mediatheatre.org, TwitterFacebook

High Society
Walnut Street Theatre, through Oct. 25
Based on the 1956 movie musical starring Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby (which in turn was based on the hit play and 1940 film "The Philadelphia Story"), this rom-com features a slew of Cole Porter goodies - "I Love Paris," "Let's Misbehave" and "True Love," which was a smash hit for Kelly and Crosby. 

215-574-3550, walnutstreettheatre.org, Twitter, Facebook

Bullets Over Broadway
Broadway Philadelphia at Academy of Music, Oct. 27-Nov. 1
The first Woody Allen film to be adapted as a musical (by Allen with director Susan Stroman) covers events that transpire when a struggling Roaring '20s playwright makes a Faustian bargain with a mobster to get his show produced. With jazz and pop standards of the day.

215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org, Twitter, Facebook

Bonnie & Clyde.
Eagle Theatre, Hammonton, N.J., Nov. 6-Dec. 12
Composer Frank Wildhorn and lyricist Don Black serve up their take on the tale of the notorious Depression-era bank-robbing duo. Wildhorn's score is rooted in bluegrass, folk, and traditional country music.

609-704-5012, theeagletheatre.com, Twitter, Facebook

Tyler Perry's Madea on the Run
Kimmel Center at the Merriam Theater, Nov. 10-15
Perry himself portrays the over-the-top title character in a 9-performance engagement of his stage comedy with music. Trouble-prone Madea is on the lam and hiding out at the home of her friend Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis from the TBS hit "House of Payne").

215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org, Twitter, Facebook

A Christmas Story, The Musical
Walnut Street Theatre, Nov. 10-Jan. 10
The song-enhanced version of Jean Shepherd's beloved 1983 film finally comes to town. In a way, it's a holiday homecoming: Benj Pasek, who co-wrote the Tony-nominated score with Justin Paul, is an Ardmore native and Friends Central grad.

215-574-3550, walnutstreettheatre.org, Twitter, Facebook

The Three Musketeers (The Later Years): A Musical Panto
People's Light, Nov. 18-Jan. 10
This reworking of the Alexander Dumas novel is injected with a heaping helping of silliness by author Kathryn Petersen and composer Michael Ogborn. Suffice it to say that a chicken plays a key role.

610-644-3500, peopleslight.org, TwitterFacebook

Book of Mormon
Broadway Philadelphia at the Forrest Theatre, Nov. 24-Dec. 27
The Broadway juggernaut by "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and composer Robert Lopez ("Avenue Q") returns to Philly for a 40-show holiday engagement. Tickets go on sale Sept. 18.

215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org, Twitter, Facebook

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