May Theatre listings

“THE HALLELUJAH GIRLS” – Through May 6

Five feisty females gather every Friday afternoon at Spa-Dee-Dah! in Eden Falls, Ga. They decide to shake up their lives after the loss of a dear friend. The tension mounts when a sexy ex-boyfriend shows up unexpectedly, a marriage proposal comes from an unlikely suitor and the girls’ high-spirited, determined leader’s arch-rival vows she’ll stop at nothing to steal the spa away.

Le Petit Theatre de Terrebonne, 7829 Main St., Houma. www.houmalittletheatre.com. (985) 876-4278. ($12)

“THE 39 STEPS” – May 4-20

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have “The 39 Steps,” a fast-paced whodunit. Packed with more than 150 zany characters played by a four-member cast, an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers and some good old-fashioned romance. A man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she’s a spy. When he takes her home, she’s murdered. A mysterious organization called “The 39 Steps” is hot on his trail in a nationwide manhunt.

Baton Rouge Little Theater, 7155 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge. www.brlt.org. (225) 924-6496. ($24)

“FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS” – May 11-12, 17-20

During an ostentatious wedding reception at a Knoxville, Tenn., estate, five reluctant, identically clad bridesmaids hide out in an upstairs bedroom, each with her own reason to avoid the proceedings below. The women discover a common bond.

Wetlands Acadian Cultural Theatre, 314 St. Mary St., Thibodaux. www.thibodauxplayhouse.com. (985) 486-1896. ($15 adults, $10 children)

“AS YOU LIKE IT” – May 9-20

Shakespeare’s play pairs perfect lovers who, both banished, seek refuge where they meet in the Forest of Arden. Only one complication: The lovesick Rosalind is disguised as a man. As she teaches Orlando how to woo a woman, her frustration yields to high comedy.

Besthoff Sculpture Garden, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, New Orleans. www.nolaproject.com. (504) 304-3753. ($16, adults; $8 students)

“SHIRLEY VALENTINE” – May 9-27

Shirley’s a middle-aged Liverpool housewife, who finds herself talking to the wall while she prepares her husbands chip’n’egg, wondering what happened to her life. But when her best friend wins an all-expenses-paid vacation to Greece for two, Shirley begins to see the world, and herself, in a different light. The one-woman show stars Ricky Graham.

Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., New Orleans. www.southernrep.com. (504) 522-6545. ($25)

“GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS” – May 10-26

Mamet’s story about small-time, cutthroat real estate salesman trying to grind out a living by pushing plots of land on reluctant buyers in a never-ending scramble for their share of the American dream.

The Shadowbox Theatre, 2400 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans. www.theshadowboxtheatre.com. (504) 298-8676. ($15)

“THE VELVETEEN RABBIT” – May 12 & 19

A young boy receives a stuffed rabbit as a Christmas gift and eventually comes to love him. When James becomes gravely ill, the Velveteen rabbit gives him pure love and the boy is healed. In return for his bravery, the Magic Nursery Fairy grants the rabbit life. A colorful array of characters and puppets.

Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., New Orleans. www.southernrep.com. (504) 522-6545. ($10)

“THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES” – May 11-27

A cotton-candy, non-stop pop musical blast from the past featuring songs from the ‘50s and ‘60s, including “Lollipop,” “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid,” “Lipstick on Your Collar,” “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me,” “It’s My Party” and “It’s In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)” among others.

Rivertown Repertory Theatre, 325 Minor St., Kenner. www.rivertownrepertorytheatre.org. (504) 468-7221. ($35 adults, $33 students)

“XANADU” – May 11-27

A magical and beautiful Greek muse, Kira, descends from the heavens of Mt. Olympus to Venice Beach, Calif., in 1980 on a quest to inspire a struggling artist, Sonny, to achieve his greatest artistic creation of all time – the first roller disco. But when Kira falls into forbidden love with the mortal Sonny, her jealous sisters take advantage of the situation and chaos abounds.

Westwego Performing Arts Theatre, 177 Sala Ave., Westwego. www.jpas.org. (504) 885-2000. ($30, adults, $20 students)

“NUNSENSE” – May 17-19

A special encore production to benefit Le Petit Theatre de Terrebonne’s renovation fund.

LePetit, 7829 Main St., Houma. www.houmalittletheatre.com. (985) 876-4278. ($20)

“SPRING AWAKENING: A CHILDREN’S TRAGEDY” – May 31-June 16

The story of a group of teens maturing in 1890 Germany, their explosive exploration of their budding maturity, as well as the consequences of both ignorance and rashness of natural animalistic instincts. Viewer discretion advised.

Shadowbox Theatre, 2400 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans. www.theshadowboxtheatre.com. (504) 298-8676. ($15)

Magical Greek muse Kira helps a struggling artist achieve his greatest artistic creation of all time – the first roller disco – in Westwego Performing Arts Theatre’s production of “Xanadu.”

COURTESY