Seat Filler: What's Gay Off-Broadway

Found
One person's trash is everyone's treasure in Hunter Bell, Eli Bolin, and Lee Overtree's wonderfully weird pop musical inspired by the discarded notes and letters collected in Found, a 'zine by Davy Rothbart, who finds himself on an adventure cleverly punctuated by those random paper scraps. Led by hot-nerdy Nick Blaemire as Davy, the quirky and hilarious ensemble includes Daniel Everidge as his big gay roomie, who rocks a flyer for a "furry and friendly" bear club.
Atlantic Theater Company at the Linda Gross Theater, through November 9.

The Killing of Sister George
This rare revival of Frank Marcus's controversial bruise-black comedy stars a commanding Caitlin O'Connell as June Buckridge, a butch and boozy actress whose beloved character is being killed off a BBC Radio drama, which strains her sadomasochistic relationship with a childish female lover. Even without the shock value of the 1964 premiere and X-rated 1968 film adaptation, TACT's restrained production, despite missteps in design and direction, is a twisted treat.
The Beckett Theatre, through November 1.

Sweet, Sweet Spirit
An evangelical Texas family's faith is tested in out playwright Carol Carpenter's rich, insightful, and devastating drama about a hot-tempered dad who put his 15-year-old gay son in a coma. With an immaculate cast featuring out actor David Stallings as the boy's gay choir teacher, the no-frills MTWorks staging -- which has benefited True Colors Fund, PFLAG, and the Trevor Project -- miraculously renders each character as multifaceted and unexpectedly sympathetic.
Theater at the 14th Street Y, through October 25.

Tail! Spin!
Using only their own words against them, out playwright Mario Correa shoots barreled fish with rib-tickling reenactments of the sex scandals that disgraced politicians Larry Craig, Mark Foley, Anthony Weiner, and Mark Sanford. Arnie Burton particularly humanizes Foley, whose IM exchange with an underage page provides the show's most wince-worthy moments, but SNL's Rachel Dratch earns big laughs as the wives, mistresses, beards, and Barbara Walters.
Lynn Redgrave Theatre, through February 1.

While I Yet Live
Tony-winning Kinky Boots star Billy Porter makes his playwriting debut with a messy yet moving dysfunctional family drama about the healing power of forgiveness. The semiautobiographical sudser is as overstuffed as a Tyler Perry flick, but Larry Powell is a sassy standout as grudge-holding gay son Calvin, who escapes his sexually abusive stepfather and the Pentacostal mother who wants to fix what ain't broken. "This is who I am: now and forever," he says. "Like Cats."
Primary Stages at the Duke on 42nd Street, through October 31.

Read last month's theater picks here.