Familiar favorites, highly touted new offerings to fill Las Vegas stages

Something familiar, from Shakespeare to Sondheim, from “A Streetcar Named Desire” to “The Wizard of Oz.”

And some things not so familiar, including original works from Nevada Conservatory Theatre, Rainbow Company Youth Theatre and points between.

You’ll have to wait till next spring for the one-two-three finale of The Smith Center’s 2013-14 Broadway series: Tony-winning musicals “Porgy and Bess,” “Once” and (for a four-week run) “The Book of Mormon.”

But until then, there’s a veritable Las Vegas-style buffet of theatrical temptations awaiting local audiences. Whether your tastes run to British farce, edgy experimentation, classic drama or song-and-dance extravaganza, there’s something for everyone — and, chances are, something for you.

The calendar that follows focuses on productions scheduled at press time; some local troupes operate on a show-by-show basis or haven’t finalized their schedules yet.

Many theaters stage performances only on weekends. And remember that all dates and venues are subject to change, so double-check before heading to the theater.

So, without further ado, here’s a month-by-month rundown of what’s on the theatrical playbill:

SEPTEMBER

Now-Sunday: “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Tennessee Williams’ classic drama of faded Southern belle Blanche DuBois, her sister Stella and Stella’s earthy husband Stanley Kowalski; at the Onyx Theatre, 953 E. Sahara Ave.

Now-Oct. 19: “Peter and the Starcatcher,” a rollicking Tony-winning voyage to Neverland with the future Peter Pan (and Captain Hook); in repertory at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, 300 W. Center St., Cedar City, Utah.

Sept. 5-21: “The Producers,” Mel Brooks’ Tony-winning musical of a scamming producer and accountant staging a sure-fire flop; Super Summer Theatre/Baked State Productions at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, on Charleston Boulevard 10 miles west of the 215 Beltway.

Sept. 6-22: “God of Carnage,” Yazmina Reza’s caustic tale of Brooklyn, N.Y., parents feuding after their sons’ playground altercation; in the Black Box at Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff Drive.

Sept. 10-15: “The Wizard of Oz,” a new stage version of the 1939 movie, with additional songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice; at The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Ave.

Sept. 13-22: “The Normal Heart,” Larry Kramer’s semiautobiographical drama about the early HIV-AIDS crisis in 1980s New York City; presented by Poor Richard’s Players at Art Square Theatre, 1025 S. First St.

Sept. 13-28: “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” the Las Vegas debut of the rock musical about America’s first rock-star president; Table 8 Productions, in association with Off Strip Productions, at the Onyx Theatre, 953 E. Sahara Ave.

Sept. 13-29: “Amateurs,” a black comedy about a community theater troupe; Las Vegas Little Theatre Mainstage, 3920 Schiff Drive.

Sept. 18-Oct. 19: “Richard II,” the second play in William Shakespeare’s history cycle, charts the start of the War of the Roses; in repertory at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, 300 W. Center St., Cedar City, Utah.

Sept. 18-Oct. 19: “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” a musical trip down memory lane, back to a 1958 prom and pop faves from “It’s My Party” to “Mr. Sandman”; in repertory at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, 300 W. Center St., Cedar City, Utah.

Sept. 20-29: “Dog Explosion,” by Sean Clark, assistant UNLV film professor, takes a darkly comic look at a family crisis in rural Missouri; Nevada Conservatory Theatre, in the Black Box at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

Sept. 27-Oct. 13: “A Delicate Balance,” Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of uneasy suburbanites disrupted by the arrival of fearful friends; at Las Vegas Little Theatre’s Studio Theatre, 3920 Schiff Drive.

OCTOBER

Oct. 2-6: “War Horse,” the Tony-winning drama of a British farm lad and his beloved horse, with life-size puppets bringing the equine cast to life; at The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Ave.

Oct. 4-6: One-Act Workshop, presenting seven one-act plays; College of Southern Nevada, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave., North Las Vegas.

Oct. 4-13: “The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers,” a Brothers Grimm tale about a youngster braving a haunted castle; Rainbow Company Youth Theatre at the Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush St.

Oct. 4-20: “Below the Belt,” about a neighborhood tragedy that links 10 people; at the College of Southern Nevada’s Henderson campus, 700 College Drive (Oct. 4-6), Cheyenne campus, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave., North Las Vegas (Oct. 11-13) and Charleston campus, 6375 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas (Oct. 18-20).

Oct. 5-Oct. 19: “The Comedy of Errors,” William Shakespeare’s uproarious mistaken-identity farce, is Henderson’s Shakespeare in the Park presentation; River Mountain Park, 1941 Appaloosa Drive (Oct. 5), Discovery Park, 2011 Paseo Verde Parkway, (Oct. 12), and Lake Las Vegas, 15 Costa del Lago (Oct. 19).

Oct. 10-13: “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” Neil Simon’s autobiographical tale of a Brooklyn teen’s comedically crazed family life, circa 1937; Nevada Conservatory Theatre, in the Judy Bayley Theatre at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

Oct. 11-20: “The Birthday Party,” Nobel Prize-winner Harold Pinter’s first produced, full-length play, about an unsettlingly surreal gathering; Cockroach Theatre, at Art Square, 1025 S. First St.

Oct. 15-20: “Sister Act,” a musical adaptation of the hit movie about a diva who goes into hiding, as a nun, after witnessing a crime; at The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Ave.

Oct. 18-Nov. 3: “A Behanding in Spokane,” Martin McDonagh’s thriller about a writer whose stories echo a spate of child murders; in the Black Box at Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff Drive.

Oct. 28-Nov. 23: “Guys and Dolls,” Frank Loesser’s classic musical of Damon Runyon’s Broadway; Signature Productions at the Summerlin Library and Performing Arts Center, 1771 Inner Circle Drive.

NOVEMBER

Nov. 1-17: “It Runs in the Family,” a British farce, complete with mistaken identities and impersonations, about a doctor whose past may derail his future; Las Vegas Little Theatre Mainstage, 3920 Schiff Drive.

Nov. 8-16: “Line,” by Israel Horovitz, Off-Broadway’s longest-running play (it opened in 1974), focuses on people lining up for an unnamed event — and competing for front-of-the-line status; a collaboration between Nevada Conservatory Theater at UNLV and Cockroach Theatre, at UNLV’s Black Box, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, and Art Square, 1025 S. First St.

Nov. 8-17: “The Women,” Clare Boothe Luce’s 1936 comedy of high-society wives dealing with the complications of marriage, motherhood — and divorce; at the College of Southern Nevada, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave., North Las Vegas.

Nov. 9-10: “Wiesenthal,” with Tom Dugan as famed Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal; Jewish Repertory Theatre of Nevada at the Troesh Studio Theater, The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Ave.

Nov. 26-Dec. 1: “Evita,” the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Tony-winning musical about the rise and fall of Argentina’s Eva Peron; at The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Ave.

Nov. 15-23: “Of Mice and Men,” John Steinbeck’s stage adaptation of his celebrated novel about Depression-era drifters George and Lennie; Las Vegas Academy, Lowden Theatre for the Performing Arts, Ninth Street and Clark Avenue.

DECEMBER

Dec. 6-22: “Hunter Gatherers,” about the 10-year reunion of two high school friends haunted by their past; in the Black Box at Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff Drive.

Dec. 6-15: “A Christmas Carol,” an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ beloved holiday tale; Nevada Conservatory Theatre, in the Judy Bayley Theatre at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

Dec. 6-15: “Scrooge, The Musical,” a new song-and-dance take on Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”; Rainbow Company Youth Theatre at the Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush St.

Dec. 6-22: “The Chalk Boy,” a black comedy about four small-town girls struggling to face the funny yet brutal realities of life; Cockroach Theatre, at Art Square, 1025 S. First St.

Dec. 12-21: “The Void, the Grid and The Sign,” an original drama melding sound, song and dance; Las Vegas Academy, Lowden Theatre for the Performing Arts, Ninth Street and Clark Avenue.

JANUARY

Jan. 7-12: “Mamma Mia!” the ABBA jukebox musical, returns with its feel-good tale of a bride, her mother — and three possible fathers of the bride; The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Ave.

Jan. 10-16: “Barefoot in the Park,” Neil Simon’s classic comedy of newlyweds trying to adjust to their unusual neighbors — and each other; Las Vegas Little Theatre Mainstage, 3920 Schiff Drive.

Jan. 28-Feb. 2: “Flashdance — The Musical,” with 16 new songs added to the soundtrack hits from the ’80s movie about a Pittsburgh steel welder who’s determined to dance; The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Ave.

FEBRUARY

Feb. 6-9: “Seminar,” a provocative comedy about four aspiring novelists taking private writing classes with an international literary figure; Nevada Conservatory Theatre, in the Judy Bayley Theatre at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

Feb. 7-8: “The Taming of the Shrew,” William Shakespeare’s battle-of-the-sexes comedy; Utah Shakespeare Festival School Tour, at the College of Southern Nevada, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave., North Las Vegas.

Feb. 14-16: The latest chapter in Rainbow Company Youth Theatre’s “Nevada Series,” an ongoing Silver State saga; Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St.

Feb. 14-March 2: “And Then There Were None,” Agatha Christie’s mystery of 10 guilty strangers on an island who start dying, one by one; Las Vegas Little Theatre Mainstage, 3920 Schiff Drive.

Feb. 14-March 2: “Corner of Hacienda,” a world premiere by resident Cockroach Theatre playwright Ernie Curcio, set on Thanksgiving Day in 1994, about neighborhood and family complications confronting two East Las Vegas residents; Cockroach Theatre, at Art Square, 1025 S. First St.

Feb. 20-March 8: “In the Heights,” the Tony-winning musical of life in New York’s vibrant Washington Heights; Las Vegas Academy, Lowden Theatre for the Performing Arts, Ninth Street and Clark Avenue.

Feb. 22: “Mark Twain Tonight!” with Hal Holbrook reprising his acclaimed interpretation of the legendary author; Artemus Ham Hall, UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

MARCH

March 6-8: “Good Person of Szechuan,” Bertolt Brecht’s tale about the only decent person in the title town — a prostitute whose generosity is tested by the gods; Nevada Conservatory Theatre, in the Judy Bayley Theatre at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

March 14-16: One-Act Workshop; College of Southern Nevada, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave., North Las Vegas.

March 14-30: “True West,” Sam Shepard’s sibling-rivalry drama about the reunion of two estranged brothers — one a screenwriter, one a drifter; in the Black Box at Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff Drive.

March 28-April 13: “Edmond,” Pulitzer Prize-winner David Mamet’s tale of a man who abandons his marriage and career to find big-city degradation — and the meaning of life; Cockroach Theatre, at Art Square, 1025 S. First St.

March 28-April 13: “Picnic,” William Inge’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of a handsome drifter who shakes up a 1950s Kansas town; Las Vegas Little Theatre Mainstage, 3920 Schiff Drive.

APRIL

April 4-13: “Five Women Wearing The Same Dress,” Alan Ball’s comedy, focusing on reluctant, identically clad bridesmaids seeking refuge from an ostentatious wedding by hiding out in an upstairs bedroom; Nevada Conservatory Theatre, in the Black Box at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

April 15-20: “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” the Tony-winning Broadway revival of the classic opera by George and Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward, about African-American life in the fictitious Catfish Row in 1920s Charleston, S.C.; The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Ave.

April 18-27: “Compleat Female Stage Beauty,” a comedy-drama set in the 1660s, when a royal decree permits women to appear onstage, threatening the career of “leading lady” Edward Kynaston; at the College of Southern Nevada, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave., North Las Vegas.

April 24-May 3: “Noises Off,” Michael Frayn’s riotous backstage farce; Las Vegas Academy, Lowden Theatre for the Performing Arts, Ninth Street and Clark Avenue.

April 25-May 11: Winner of sixth annual new works competition, Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff Drive.

April 26-May 4: “Ozma of Oz,” based on the third Oz tale by L. Frank Baum’s Oz tales, about Dorothy’s return journey over the rainbow; Rainbow Company Youth Theatre at Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush St.

MAY

May 2-11: “Grease,” the rockin’ musical romp that revives 1950s life at Rydell High; Nevada Conservatory Theatre, in the Judy Bayley Theatre at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

May 2-18: “Other Desert Cities,” Jon Robin Baitz’s award-winning drama of family politics — and secrets; Las Vegas Little Theatre Mainstage, 3920 Schiff Drive.

May 9-25: “The Lyons,” Nicky Silver’s acclaimed dark comedy, focuses on the secrets and accusations surrounding a man dying in a hospital; Cockroach Theatre, at Art Square, 1025 S. First St.

May 17-18: “Kindertransport,” Diane Samuel’s award-winning play about the 1938 program that gave Jewish children from Nazi Germany safe passage to Britain; Jewish Repertory Theatre of Nevada at the Troesh Studio Theater, The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Ave.

May 20-25: “Once,” the Tony-winning musical adaptation of the 2006 movie, about a Dublin street musician inspired by his encounters with a young Czech woman; The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Ave.

JUNE

June (no date announced): “Spamalot,” the Tony-winning musical inspired by “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”; Super Summer Theatre at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, on Charleston Boulevard 10 miles west of 1-215.

June 10-July 6: “The Book of Mormon,” the irreverent, multiple Tony-winning musical (from those wonderful folks who brought you “South Park”), about young Mormon missionaries in action; The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Ave.

June 23-Aug. 30: Shakespeare’s “Henry IV, Part One,” “The Comedy of Errors,” “Measure for Measure” and “Twelfth Night” (playing through Oct. 18), in repertory with the world premiere of “Sense and Sensibility,” based on Jane Austen’s novel, and “Into the Woods,” Stephen Sondheim’s fairy-tale musical; at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, 300 W. Center St., Cedar City, Utah.

JULY

July (no date announced): “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” Stephen Sondheim’s zany musical farce set in ancient Rome; Super Summer Theatre at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, on Charleston Boulevard 10 miles west of the 215 Beltway.

AUGUST

August (no date announced): “Shrek the Musical,” a stage version of the hit animated fairy tale; Super Summer Theatre at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, on Charleston Boulevard 10 miles west of the 215 Beltway.

Contact reporter Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.