Fall theater preview: 'Burial at Thebes' coming to the Guthrie Proscenium

Marcela Lorca, whose work is best defined by its stage flow and movement, will direct Seamus Heaney's adaptation of Sophocles' "Antigone" on the Guthrie proscenium stage. Sun Mee Chomet plays Antigone in a cast that includes Greta Oglesby, Regina Marie Williams, Stephen Yoakam (as King Creon) and singer Robert Robinson. A strong chorus also has been assembled, and J.D. Steele has composed music. Heaney's poetic adaptation takes its title from the sentence imposed by Creon on young Antigone for her defiance of his order that one of her two slain brothers be denied a proper burial. The elemental conflict is between individual humanity and the unyielding dictates of state power.

"Despair Be Damned: New Music and Dance From the Congo"

Images out of war-torn Congo are harrowing. Yet there's also light, music and dance in the Central African nation, as contemporary Congolese choreographer, singer and theatermaker Faustin Linyekula makes clear. He is returning to the Walker, where he was artist-in-residence in 2007. The events include a free Sept. 22 talk by Linyekula (6 p.m.) followed by a screening of the film "Benda Bilili!" His troupe performs Sept. 23-24 and the event ends with music by Staff Benda Bilili Sept. 27 at Cedar Cultural Center.

"Two Trains Running"

Few interpreters of August Wilson's work are as masterful as director Lou Bellamy, whose 2007 "Two Trains Running" transferred to New York and won an Obie. For this revival of Wilson's '60s-set drama, Bellamy has assembled a cast of all-star Wilsonian actors, including veteran Abdul Salaam El Razzac; James T. Alfred, who was searing in "Ma Rainey" at the Guthrie last season; and Crystal Fox, notable for a haunting performance in "Black Pearl Sings" last year. The roster also includes Dennis Spears, Kevin West, Ahanti Young and James Craven.

"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"

Theater Latte Da's productions at the Ordway Center's McKnight Theatre have proved sophisticated and popular. Artistic director Peter Rothstein hopes to score a trifecta with this little oddball of a musical. "Spelling Bee" managed to hold its own in a 2005 Broadway class that included "Spamalot" and "The Light in the Piazza." Composer William Finn and writer Rachel Sheinkin lashed together some tuneful melodies and quirky characters who compete in an actual spelling bee. Tod Petersen will play the school vice principal. Cat Brindisi, Derek Prestly and Sheena Janson are also in the cast. Rothstein has invited back choreographer Michael Matthew Ferrell, who did great work with "Evita" and "Full Monty." Denise Prosek is music director.

Jody Briskey returns to the History Theatre this fall to reprise this trip through the life of Judy Garland. Writer William Randall Beard sets this musical within Garland's landmark 1961 Carnegie Hall concert. Briskey belts out the songs from that program, while Norah Long portrays the younger Judy in flashbacks through her professional career and personal struggles. First produced in 2005, this show received critical praise for Briskey's precise and passionate portrayal of the singer in concert. It was a remarkable stage portrait, and anyone who has a soft spot for Garland will probably enjoy this show.

"Come Fly Away"

Twyla Tharp has done to Frank Sinatra's oeuvre what she did to Billy Joel's ("Movin' Out"). She creates a dance revue using music that the Rat Pack chairman recorded by such composers as Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hart. The production includes more than 30 of Sinatra's more famous songs, including "Fly Me to the Moon," "My Way" and "New York, New York." In the show, four dancing couples search for love in a New York nightclub. "Come Fly Away" drew strong reviews on Broadway ("dazzling," according to USA Today) and on the road, since launching a national tour in May.

"Oliver Twist"

Steve Hendrickson returns to the Park Square stage this fall to portray Fagin in playwright Neil Bartlett's new adaptation of Dickens' classic. Joel Sass directs and designs this production, with costumer Mary Anna Culligan and music director Jake Endres. Noah Coon, whose credits include four shows at the Guthrie and a national tour of "A Christmas Carol" for Troupe America, will play the title character. Dickens' story focuses on an orphan who escapes the workhouse and falls in with pickpockets. Bartlett has included original text with music-hall tunes in his version, which is making its Midwest premiere. Patrick Bailey ("Cabaret" at Frank) and Cheryl Willis ("Shirley Valentine" at the Jungle) are other actors.

Minneapolis is the second stop on the national tour of this flashy, glammy show. Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein struck gold when "La Cage" won the 1983 Tony for best musical. Broadway productions in 2004 and 2010 both won Tonys for best revival -- the only time a musical has done so. George Hamilton stars in the tour, as Georges, the owner of a glitzy nightclub in Saint-Tropez. His romantic partner and the nightclub's main attraction is Albin, played by St. Paul native Christopher Sieber, who made his name with "Spamalot" and "Shrek the Musical" on Broadway.

"The Edge of Our Bodies"

Actor Ali Rose Dachis has had important roles in town, including in "Circle Mirror Transformation." But she'll have a chance to shine in Adam Rapp's "The Edge of Our Bodies," a one-person coming-of-age show. The one-act is told by a 16-year-old boarding school student who aspires to become a writer. She also is coping with the strange adult world, and the impact of her choices. "Bodies" is one of the breakout hits of this year's Humana Festival in Louisville, where the playwright directed it. Ben McGovern, who programs the Dowling Studio, does the honors here.

"The Wizard of Oz"

As they say in the investment business, past performance is no guarantee of future results. Still, when you pair snazzy director Peter Rothstein with a great property such as "The Wizard of Oz," the result is bound to be exciting. Rothstein returns to the Children's Theatre, where his gorgeous "Annie" was one of the year's delights, to do "Oz," adapted from L. Frank Baum's book and the 1939 MGM film, which boasts Harold Arlen's and E.Y. Harburg's lush score. The production promises to be a fantasia of flying monkeys, wacky witches and munchkins, not to mention Dorothy the innocent and her dog Toto.