Fall Arts Preview: Theater

The Sheldon Vexler Theatre's 14th Season
October 18-November 15: The 39 Steps
Monty Python meets Alfred Hitchcock in the midst of Patrick Barlow's 2005 espionage melodrama The 39 Steps, based on the 1935 film and 1915 book of the same name. A multitasking cast of four assumes the forms of villains, children, and even inanimate objects while cleverly referencing other Hitchcock titles including Rear Window, North by Northwest, Vertigo, and Psycho.
On the horizon: Glengarry Glen Ross (February 7-March 3); Little Shop of Horrors (May 9-June 9).
Vex-Flex Packages range from $72-$80; individual tickets range from $14-$20. For tickets and timetables, visit vexler.org. Performances take place at the Sheldon Vexler Theatre at the Jewish Community Center, 12500 NW Military Hwy., (210) 302-6835.

The Woodlawn Theatre
October 4-27: The Rocky Horror Show
Who better to play Transylvanian transvestite Frank N. Furter than RuPaul's Drag Race season four winner Sharon Needles? Born Aaron Coady in Newton, Iowa, Needles cut her teeth in the Pittsburgh-based drag troupe The Haus of Haunt and still champions a macabre aesthetic even after being crowned America's Next Drag Superstar. Greg Hinojosa directs the industrial grunge-themed production, which promises "a new dimension of science fiction," not to mention prop bags and virgin sacrifices.
October 6-31: Boogie Monster Mash
November 9-25: Eurydice
November 23-December 23: A Christmas Story
On the horizon: The Full Monty (February 15-March 17); Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (March 15-April 7); The Producers (April 5-May 5); In the Heights (May 24-June 23).
Tickets range from $15-$50. For tickets and timetables, visit woodlawntheatre.com. Performances take place at The Woodlawn Theatre, 1920 Fredericksburg, (210) 267-8388.