Fall Theater Preview

9 to 5: The Musical by Dolly Parton and Patricia Resnick Begins previews September 3, opens September 20, and runs through October 19 at Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles

Based on the 1980 movie about three office workers who take revenge on their chauvinistic boss, the world premiere of this Broadway-bound musical features a score by the one and only Dolly Parton. The production is helmed by Tony award-winning gay director Joe Mantello, best known for Take Me Out, Love! Valour! Compassion! and Wicked.

Equus by Peter Shaffer Begins previews September 5, opens September 28, and runs through February 8 at the Broadhurst Theatre, New York City

The revival of gay British playwright Peter Shaffer's 1973 drama about a disturbed 17-year-old with a fatal fixation on horses finally arrives in New York. Yes, if you've been reading the London tabloids, this is the production with Harry Potter naked. Daniel Radcliffe makes an exciting Broadway debut as the troubled adolescent, and Richard Griffiths, who played the free-spirited professor in both the film and stage versions of The History Boys and befuddled Uncle Vernon in the Potter movies, plays the psychiatrist who tries to help him.

Three Changes by Nicky Silver Opens Auguat 22 and runs through September 28 at Playwrights Horizons, New York

From the playwright best known for Pterodactyls and Raised in Captivity comes another offbeat take on family dysfunction with gay inflections. Silver's latest is a dark and suspenseful comedy about the ominous lengths a man will go to make a human connection. The cast includes Dylan McDermott.

Above: Daniel Radcliffe in Equus

The Third Story by Charles Busch Opens September 16 and runs through October 19 at La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego

A new comedy from playwright Charles Busch, who earned a Tony nomination as author of Broadway's The Tale of the Allergist's Wife and became the undisputed queen of off-Broadway for his singular creations Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, The Lady in Question, and, most recently, Die, Mommie, Die! This time Busch plays three diva roles in the story of a late-1940s Hollywood screenwriter attempting to resurrect her fading career.

Billy Elliot: The Musical by Elton John and Lee Hall Begins previews October 1 and opens November 13 at the Imperial Theatre, New York

A major box-office success in London for the past three years, the new Elton John musical is based on the heartwarming 2000 movie about a young lad in a small English mining town who dreams of becoming a dancer. The musical is directed by Stephen Daldry, who directed the original movie and the film adaptation of Michael Cunningham's The Hours.

The Road Show by Stephen Sondheim and John WeidmanOpens November 18 at the Public Theater, New York.

One of the most eagerly awaited events on the New York theater calendar, Sondheim's new musical is directed by John Doyle, who most recently reimagined Sweeney Todd and Company for Broadway. The Road Show is based on the real-life story of two brothers, Addison and Wilson Mizner, con artists whose 40 years of scams included schemes during the Alaskan gold rush and the 1920s Florida real estate boom.

The School of Night by Peter Whelan Opens October 30 and runs through December 17 at the Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles

A witty thriller set in the shadowy world of intrigue and deception during the Elizabethan Golden Age. The play attempts to unravel the mystery surrounding the untimely death of 16th-century playwright Christopher Marlowe, a rumored homosexual who was Shakespeare's contemporary, government double agent and spy, and author of the homoerotic drama Edward II.

Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel PuigOpens on Broadway this fall

An adaptation of Puig's own stage version of his acclaimed novel about two prisoners held together in a brutal Argentine prison. The dramatic story in which one of the cell mates -- a gay window dresser -- discovers his inner strength inspired the 1985 Oscar-winning movie and a 1993 Tony-award winning musical of the same name.

Above: Leonard Bernstein

Prayer for My Enemy by Craig Lucas Opens November 14 and plays through December 21 at Playwrights Horizons, New York

In the new play from the author of Prelude to a Kiss and The Dying Gaul, a young American soldier returns from Iraq to a complicated life at home: His sister's marriage to his boyhood friend -- and onetime lover -- is on the rocks.

A Civil War Christmas by Paula Vogel Opens November 26 and runs through December 21 at the Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, Conn.

The new work from Pulitzer Prize-winning author of How I Learned to Drive is set in Washington, D.C., in 1864, the last Christmas of the Civil War. The play intertwines many famous and not-so-famous lives and is scored with ballads, carols, and spirituals from the period.

West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents

Opens December 16 and runs through January 17 at the National Theatre, Washington, D.C.

The landmark American musical is revitalized in a new Broadway-bound production directed by playwright and librettist Laurents. The remarkable 91-year-old director returns to the work he coauthored in the late 1950s with an exciting 21st-century take on the gritty and violent world of the Spanish-speaking Sharks and their English-speaking rivals, the Jets.