Death Tax

Friday: Playwright Lucas Hnath (Nayth) has concocted a modern morality tale about the cataclysmic decisions surrounding end of life. Actors Wendy Lehr, Regina Marie Williams and Tracey Maloney play out a story in which a wealthy old woman schemes with a nurse to shut out her estranged daughter. Hayley Finn directs what is described as a dark comedy. (7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun., 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Thu. Ends April 4; Pillsbury House Theatre, 3501 Chicago Av. S., Mpls.; pay what you wish, 612-825-0459 or pillsburyhousetheatre.org)

Graydon Royce

The Woodsman

Opens Saturday: Theatre Pro Rata opens a disturbing and provocative play that is particularly apt in Minnesota, where a sex-offender program is facing significant challenges about its assumptions of rehabilitation. Adam Whisner, a fine and introspective actor, portrays Walter, a man who has spent 12 years in prison for molesting a child. Intent on changing his life, Walter encounters suspicion and mistrust. Erik Hoover directs. A 2007 film adaptation of this Steven Fechter play starred Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick. (7:30 p.m. Sat.-Mon. Ends March 23; Nimbus Theater, 1517 Central Av. NE, Mpls.; $14-$41, 612-234-7135 or www.theatreprorata.org)

G.R.

Leah's Train

Opening: 20 % Theatre stages this play about a woman in the jaws of crisis. Ruth watches her relationships fracture after the death of the family matriarch, Leah. A train ride unlocks a surfeit of issues, grief and love. Chava Curland directs the play, which was written by Karen Hartman, a Jerome Fellow at the Playwrights' Center. (7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., 7:30 p.m. Thu. Ends March 22; Sabes JCC, 4330 Cedar Lake Rd. S., Mpls.; $5-$25, www.tctwenty percent.org) G.R.