By Staff

Boeing-Boeing
Broadway has traditionally been unfriendly to farce, but with director Matthew Warchus’ new, pure-genius revival of this West End, a sea change in attitude is in order. The subtitle—“a nonstop comedy”—may be a bit misleading, but the play is a caterwauling scream of insanity. I wish it a first-class, smooth flight. (Leonard Jacobs)
Open run. Longacre Theatre, 220 W. 48th St. (betw. Broadway & 8th Ave.), 212-239-6200; $26.50-$99.50.

Brits Off Broadway
The festival presents some of the U.K.’s most innovative and provocative theater. This week Yellow Moon The Ballad of Leila and Lee, a modern Bonnie and Clyde tale that follows the fortunes of two teenagers on the run, and The Unconquered, one girls struggle against the state, continue. Next up are Damascus, Artefacts, Blink, The Hired Man, Vincent River and Some Kind of Bliss.
Through June 29. 59E59 Theaters, 59 E. 59th St. (betw. Park & Madison Aves.), 212-279-4200: $27.50-$50. visit www.britsoffbroadway.com for complete schedule.

Cherry Docs
David Gow’s play about a neo-Nazi skinhead and the Jewish lawyer assigned to defend him is an emotional tour de force as the two both battling with their beliefs and responsibility for their actions. Although sympathy is created for the skinhead (played by Maximilian Osinksi), Gow is never overindulgent and doesn’t forgive him outright, leaving the resolution ambiguous but ultimately forwarding a lesson of love, not tolerance. (Jerry Portwood)
Through May 18. WorkShop Theater, 312 W. 36th St., 4th floor (betw. 8th & 9th Aves.), 212-352-3101; Wed.-Sat. 8; Sun. 2, $11.

Cry-Baby
The latest John Waters film-to-stage adaptation feels like Bye-Bye Birdie with tongue or, perhaps, a really well-lubed Grease patch too slippery to rip off. The Squares and the Drapes (aka the Baltimore baddies) face off after their leader, bad boy Cry-Baby, woos good-girl Allison. The male dancers show enough braggadocio and skin to keep most everyone enthusiastic through their strenuously sexy choreography. The pastiche of 50s-style songs and costumes can’t help but feel derivative—without enough of that John Waters naughty kitsch. (JP)
Open run. Marquis Theatre, 1535 Broadway (third floor of Marriot Marquis Hotel), 212-307-4100; $35-$120.

The Hey You Monster
Derek Ahonen’s two-part, two-play dissection of the modern American family includes Pokin’ the Bears in a Zoo, about a Queens family trying to survive emotional confusion after the murder of their matriarch and Bring Us the Head of Your Daughter, about a lesbian couple and their daughter who cannibalizing the housewives of America (literally). The dysfunctional, abusive families are also centers of tenderness, support and unconditional love, ultimately questioning whether we’re worse off because of our biological burdens or the better for it. (JP)
Through May 31. Gene Frankel Theater, 24 Bond St. (near Bowery), 212-868-4444, in repertory Mon.-Sun., $18.

In the Heights
Set in Washington Heights, the play focuses on local bodega owner Usnavi (Miranda), who loves saucy Vanessa even as his young, streetwise cousin Sonny woos her with lame teenage moves. Abuela Claudia’s big number, “Paciencia y Fe” is Miranda’s best work, a resonant anthem of longing and hope for all new American arrivals, Latino or not. (LJ)
Open run. Richard Rodgers Theatre (betw. 8th & Broadway), 212-307-4100; $20-$110.

Passing Strange
A rock ’n’ roll/cabaret/theater hybrid, this play is one of the most experimental pieces to come to Broadway in some time. Stew narrates a story of a black teenager who leaves his family in L.A. to travel to Amsterdam and Berlin for sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll. The sort of music you’d expect in a bar, not on the stage, drives the narrative until the ultimate, poignant conclusion. (JP)
Open run. Belasco Theatre, 111 44th St. (betw. 6th & 7th Aves.), 212-239-6200; $26.50-$111.50.

Sunday in the Park with George
The current production of Sondheim’s play about George Seurat is just as rousing as the original; the most obvious difference is director Sam Buntrock’s imaginative use of animation. (JP)
Through June 15. Studio 54, 254 W 54th St, (betw. 7th and 8th Aves.), 212-719-1300; $36.25-$121.25.

Thurgood
George Stevens Jr.’s biographical melodrama isn’t much of a play, but that doesn’t mean it lacks drama. It’s more of a history lesson, a majestic and commanding set piece for Laurence Fishburne to reincarnate the spirit and physicality of the late and legendary Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall. (LJ)
Through July 20. Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th St. (betw. Broadway & 8th Ave.), 212-239-6200; $71.50-$96.50.