Once Hits the Road, Marc Kudisch Has a Baritone Belt-Off & More Cross-Country Highlights

October has rolled in like a delicate autumn breeze (or a bus full of tourists), and that means there’s a new crop of brilliant stage productions happening at regional theaters across America. This week, we’re highlighting con men, Sugar Daddies, Broadway baritones and more. Check out Broadway.com’s Countrywide Guide for this week’s hottest theater offerings in your neck of the woods.


PROVIDENCE, RI
ONCE GETS REAL IN RHODE ISLAND
Since the gentle Dublin-set tuner Once took home the 2012 Tony Award for Best Musical, audiences across the country have been patiently waiting for the show to arrive in their hometown. The wait is over: Once kicked off its national tour on October 1 at the Providence Performing Arts Center, led by Stuart Ward and Dani de Waal as Guy and Girl. Rhode Islanders, don’t miss this chance: it’s Once in a lifetime! (Well, until the next tour.)


BOSTON, MA
GRIN AND BARITONE IT IN BOSTON
If there’s one Broadway baritone we’ve never stopped loving, it’s three-time Tony nominee Marc Kudisch, who’s taking his powerful voice to Emerson College for Baritones UnBound: Celebrating the UnCommon Voice of the Common Man. Kudisch will join Jeff Mattsey and Ben Davis in performing musical theater and opera standards, under Timothy Splain’s music direction. Catch the beauty of the baritone October 8-20 at the Paramount Center Mainstage.


SEATTLE, WA
TASTE THE SUGAR IN SEATTLE
Lifetime achievement Tony winner Sir Alan Ayckbourn arrives at Seattle’s A Contemporary Theatre to direct the U.S. premiere of his 2003 comedy Sugar Daddies. The show follows a wealthy old man who showers a young student with gifts after she rescues him from a hit-and-run. See how this stranger encounter changes everyone on stage in a production running from October 4 through November 3.


MINNEAPOLIS, MN
TRIBES ASSEMBLES IN MINNESOTA
Nina Raine’s Drama Desk-winning play Tribes has made its way to the Tony-winning Guthrie Theatre, where it will run under the direction of Wendy C. Goldberg from October 5 through November 10. This groundbreaking drama about a deaf boy who finds his identity was a can’t-miss hit in New York, and Twin Cities audiences can savor it in with cast that includes Broadway vet Sally Wilfert.


COSTA MESA, CA
GOOD COMPANY IN CALIFORNIA
The world premiere of Carla Ching’s fiercely funny comedy Fast Company has landed at the award-winning South Coast Repertory. Can a family of grifters do justice to their tough, con artist mother, Mable Kwan? This raucous new play (directed by Bart DeLorenzo) will make a memorable bow on October 6 and run through October 27. Move Fast on getting tickets!