There’s a particular kind of magic that happens when a show about transformation actually transforms its audience along with it. The 5 & Dime’s The Legend of Georgia McBride pulls it off more often than not — and when it does, it sparkles.

Alhambra Theatre & Dining’s 1776 is a slow burner that asks you to settle in, lean forward and listen. Under Tod Booth’s patient direction, the production resists every modern temptation to juice the pacing or punch up the politics. Instead, it trusts Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone’s talky, argumentative musical to do what it does best: turn a sweltering Philadelphia room full of stubborn men into a piece of theatre that earns every degree of its eventual catharsis.

The first thing to know about Beetlejuice: The Musical. The Musical. The Musical. (yes, that’s is the actual subtitle) is that it knows exactly what it is. The second thing to know is that it has no interest in being a karaoke version of the 1988 Tim Burton film. The touring engagement presented by FSCJ Artist Series’ at the Moran Theater threads that needle with confidence: tons of fun, with moments of real emotion that catch you sideways when you are least prepared for them.

Lumen Repertory Theatre’s The Pillowman is a gripping, gorgeously executed production elevated by mesmerizing performances, stunning technical design and confident direction that navigates the play’s tonal minefields with precision. Martin McDonagh’s dark psychological thriller asks important questions about storytelling, cruelty, state power and the moral responsibility of art, and Lumen Rep meets those questions with seriousness, precision and theatrical force. Those questions matter. They deserve to be asked. Unfortunately though, important stories are not always the same thing as entertaining theater. Where the evening falters, it’s not from a lack of craft in the production, but from a script that too often mistakes endurance for profundity.

Alhambra Theatre & Dining’s Morning After Grace is the kind of play that sneaks up on you. It opens with the recognizable mechanics of sitcom comedy — a disoriented morning after, mistaken assumptions and mounting embarrassment — but before long it reveals itself to be something richer, sadder and far more profound. Written by Carey Crim and directed by Tod Booth, this three-character dramedy finds humor in indignity, heartbreak in loneliness and, ultimately, grace in the stubborn human need to connect.

Alhambra Theatre & Dining’s Damn Yankees is pure old-school musical-comedy fun — nostalgic, high-energy and packed with standout performances that know exactly what show they’re in. Under Tod Booth’s direction, this revival leans into its midcentury charm without feeling dusty, delivering a production that is both lovingly retro and sharply alive in the moment.