12 theater productions to see this winter

Deep introspection is at the heart of many productions local theater makers are staging this winter season. Stories that excavate troubling history, warn us of problems that could come from technology-centered futures and others that remind us of our resilience are all on offer. The season also boasts world premieres, such as Merrimack Repertory Theatre’s “Kween,” about a queer Cambodian poet whose venture into the spotlight could cost her family dearly, and old classics, such as “Little Women” and “Penelope,” are told through a contemporary lens. Here are 12 productions that center technology, family drama and more inclusive histories that urge us to look within.

Plundering the graves of recently deceased people to use their bodies as medical cadavers was a common practice in the 1700s and 1800s. New York City’s Doctors’ Riot of 1788 and Philadelphia’s mass-grave robbing uncovered in 1882 are just two incidents that sparked protest and outrage, along with the use of the corpses of enslaved workers in the South. This practice, which often targeted Black cemeteries, is part of what informs Nia Akilah Robinson’s “The Great Privation (How to flip ten cents into a dollar).” In the play, a mother and daughter in Philadelphia find themselves connected to an ancestor from nearly 200 years earlier on the same land. When confronted with the past, the characters must choose how to work through it. Two actors with local ties, Marc Pierre (Company One’s “Leftovers”) and Victoria Omoregie, who was excellent in SpeakEasy Stage Company’s stunning production of “Fairview” in 2023, star in the show. Woolly Mammoth resident director and creative producer Mina Morita will direct this co-production with Company One.

Jane’s job is in jeopardy when a video of her seemingly snapping at work goes viral in playwright Max Wolf Friedlich’s “Job.” To get back to her “user care” position where she cleans the internet of darkness and violence, she needs a therapist, Loyd, to assess her and give the OK. But is Jane as sane as she hopes or is she spiraling? Josephine Moshiri Elwood and Dennis Trainor Jr. star in this thriller that allows the audience to peer into Jane’s sessions. Marianna Bassham directs this tale about power, technology and mental health.

When a pair of male musicians witness a mob hit in Chicago, the two disguise themselves as women, Josephine and Daphne, and hit the road to escape danger and join an all-female band. Set in the 1930s Depression era, the show is full of music, a thrilling chase, romance and more. The production, with a book by Matthew López (“The Inheritance”) and comedian Amber Ruffin, explores identity, the richness of jazz and the economics of the time. The musical is based on the film of the same name (set in the 1920s Prohibition era) that was dubbed the “funniest American movie of all time” by the American Film Institute in 2000. Marc Shaiman provides the music, with lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

At a silent retreat in New Mexico years ago, I found the quiet to be so loud. Eating meals and hiking without conversation and connection wasn’t what I expected, at first. As the days passed, it pushed me to interrogate my interiority. That kind of confrontation is at the center of Bess Wohl’s “Small Mouth Sounds,” directed by Tanya Martin. In the show, six people head to a spa for a silent retreat where they must face themselves. As such, there’s very little dialogue with the exception of the guru that runs the place. The six actors portraying the retreat attendees will use body language, facial expressions, breath and gesture to convey their inner conflicts as they search for peace in silence.

Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel “Little Women” chronicles the lives of sisters Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March from childhood to adulthood. The Actors’ Shakespeare Project is presenting a new adaptation of the beloved tale from playwright Kate Hamill, who has penned sharp new renditions of old classics such as “Pride and Prejudice” and last year’s exciting “The Odyssey." The March family remains intact in Hamill’s version, but there are some contemporary updates. Jo is just as ambitious, but is also gender nonconforming. And, the ending takes a different turn than Alcott’s. Still, the March sisters – who are coming of age in both Hamill’s and Alcott’s narratives – chase their dreams, navigate romance and define for themselves what it means to be a woman.

Moderating the dark side of social media is taking a toll on Frank in Ken Urban’s play “The Moderate.” He works at a large social media company and spends his days watching an endless stream of violent and traumatic content that’s wearing him down emotionally and psychologically. On top of his stressful work, he’s estranged from his wife and son. Things could change for the better when Frank has the chance to help someone else. The show, which Urban shared on his website, was informed by interviews he conducted with researchers and conversations he had with content moderators. (“The Moderate” seems like it’s in conversation with “Job,” which also explores the dark side of technology and what it costs those who are in the field.) This world premiere will be directed by Jared Mezzocchi and is a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production.

Alex Bechtel, one of the writers of the musical “Penelope,” shares on his website that “Penelope is a musical love letter to all those who wait: For someone they love. For something they believe in. And hope that the wait will end well.” Bechtel — who wrote the music, lyrics and book along with co-book writers Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz — knows all too well what it’s like to wait. He started writing “Penelope,” who waits for her husband Odysseus to return from war, while quarantining away from his partner during the pandemic. In this show directed by Courtney O’Connor, Aimee Doherty (fantastic in last fall’s “The Hills of California” at The Huntington) stars as Penelope. As she waits for her husband to return and fends off eager suitors, she conveys her challenges through various genres of music played by a five-piece band.

Family dramas would be incomplete without all the epic fights. In “We Had a World,” playwright Joshua Harmon includes 30 years’ worth of fights in this tale where a grandson writes a family play at the request of his dying grandmother, and to “make it as bitter and vitriolic as possible,” according ot the show’s description. Alongside the disagreements and bad behavior, there’s also love, laughter and food in this autobiographical tale that delves into family dynamics that Harmon’s grandmother did indeed encourage him to write.

In an Italian-American neighborhood in 1950s Brooklyn, New York, Eddie Carbone’s family is changed forever by a betrayal in “A View from the Bridge.” This tragedy by Arthur Miller centers on Carbone, who secretly pines for his wife’s niece Catherine and becomes obsessed when he learns of Catherine’s growing attraction to Rodolpho, an Italian immigrant. The lure and pursuit of the American dream, the immigrant experience and the cost of betrayal anchor this Miller drama.

Soma, a queer Cambodian American teenager in Lowell, is a gifted poet in “Kween,” a new play set to have its world premiere at Merrimack Repertory Theatre, which commissioned the show. In the play by Vichet Chum (who penned a novel of the same name), Soma posts a video where she performs poetry detailing some of the challenges she’s facing, including her dad’s deportation back to Cambodia. When the video goes viral, Soma has to make a choice about whether to perform her truth at the school’s spoken word contest and further impact her family, or stay quiet.

The conflict of man versus technology — one of several main conflicts in literature and prevalent in science-fiction films and television shows — gets a fresh take in Jordan Harrison’s “The Antiquities.” Directed by Alex Lonati, the play doesn’t center killer robots or other popular tech antagonists, but focuses on a post-human future where AI curators construct 12 exhibits in the Museum of Late Human Antiquities. In the museum, the curators depict a timeline of the past, including humans’ discovery of and engagement with technology right up until it replaces us. There’s a campfire exhibit, another on grief and another on iPhones. But as their exhibits expand, the limits to their understanding of humans start to show in this narrative that explores identity, technology and extinction.

It’s 1976, and a popular rock band has assembled to record its second album. Inside the music studio, the pressure mounts as the performers, on the verge of superstardom, try to create a masterpiece. But tensions rise through the creative process in David Adjmi’s “Stereophonic.” The band could implode or write their best work yet. “Sterophonic” is considered the most Tony Award-winning play of all time and features original music by Arcade Fire’s Grammy Award-winning Will Butler. This production is directed by Daniel Aukin.