Several notable theater productions are currently playing or scheduled to open across the United States this fall, showcasing a range of new works and revivals in major regional venues.

In California, the Berkeley Repertory Theater continues its run of Eduardo Machado’s play “The Cook” through October 11. Directed by David Mendizábal, the drama follows a woman’s decades-long commitment to safeguarding her employers’ mansion after they flee Cuba. Nearby, the Old Globe in San Diego is presenting “Begin Again,” a musical adaptation of John Carney’s 2014 film. The show, featuring a book by Jenna Clark Embrey and Molly Beach Murphy and an original score by Pat Monahan and Train, is directed by Lorin Latarro with choreography by David Neumann, running through October 11.

Pasadena Playhouse stages “The Visit,” a dark comedy by Friedrich Dürrenmatt adapted by Maurice Valency, under the direction of Darko Tresnjak. The production stars Jefferson Mays and explores themes of moral compromise when large sums of money are involved. It continues through October 4. Meanwhile, Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach offers “Wild Child,” a new pop musical by Dan Marshall and Julianne Wick Davis about friendship and healing at a wilderness therapy program, also through October 4.

San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater is presenting “North by Northwest,” a musicalized adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic spy thriller, from September 22 to October 18. The production, recreated by Emma Rice, incorporates music and dance. In Los Angeles, East West Players is staging “Wives,” a comedy by Jaclyn Backhaus that highlights the perspectives of women connected to influential men across continents and epochs. This show runs from October 8 to November 1.

La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego is home to the world premiere of “Grim,” a musical by Joey Orton, Brad Silnutzer, Petro AP, and Scott Hoying, which centers on the daughter of the Grim Reaper amid his retirement. Directed by Sammi Cannold, the musical runs from October 27 to November 29.

Several acclaimed dramatic works are also on tour or in regional productions. “Purpose,” the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winner by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins examining legacy and family dynamics within a civil rights leader’s household, is being performed in Boston through October 11 with a forthcoming Los Angeles run from November 11 to December 13 featuring Phylicia Rashad and the original Broadway cast.

Kimberly Belflower’s “John Proctor Is the Villain,” a feminist dramedy that reinterprets “The Crucible” through the eyes of high school girls, is running through December in multiple cities including Salt Lake City, Vermont, Missouri, and San Francisco.

“Topdog/Underdog,” Suzan-Lori Parks’s Pulitzer-winning play about two African American brothers, is currently presented in several locations with notable productions featuring Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood, including Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago through November 1.

The Waterwell production of “The Ford/Hill Project,” a verbatim play focusing on the testimonies of Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford during Supreme Court confirmation hearings, continues its national tour with performances through early October.

Additionally, Cole Escola’s “Oh, Mary!” has embarked on a national tour with the actor Alaska _____ portraying a boozing Mary Todd Lincoln and J. Harrison Ghee as Abraham Lincoln. Stops include Hartford, San Diego, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Boston through early January.

Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson’s hip-hop musical “Mexodus,” about the Underground Railroad’s route into Mexico, opens October 2 at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta before moving to Chicago and Cambridge, Massachusetts, later in the season.

Finally, Bess Wohl’s “Liberation,” the latest Pulitzer Prize-winning drama exploring a 1970s women’s consciousness group in Ohio, is running in Philadelphia in October with a subsequent engagement at Berkeley Repertory Theater starting later that month.

These productions highlight a vibrant and diverse theatrical landscape, spanning new works, adaptations, and social themes across multiple American cities this fall.