Focus on Theater

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. In a funny musical, two con men take to the Walnut's mainstage - wait! That sounds a lot like the last big Walnut show, The Producers. This time, though, the guys are trying to out-con one another on the Riviera, with their sights set on an American heiress. The popular 1988 movie was adapted for the stage in 2005. Through Oct. 25. (215-574-3550 or www.walnutstreettheatre.org)

Boeing-Boeing. The night I saw it on Broadway, audience members discussed their laughter-stressed sides as they exited the revival of this free-for-all, which won the 2008 Tony for best revival. (Mine hurt, too.) The tale of a bon vivant who is sugar popsy to three airline stewardesses - each thinking she's The One and Only - sounds dated but can be sublimely fresh. Act II Playhouse in Ambler was able to grab rights to produce it while the show was still running on Broadway. It runs Sept. 22-Oct. 18. (215-654-0200 or www.act2playhouse.org)

Humor Abuse. Erica Schmidt directs the play she wrote with circus performer/comedy choreographer Lorenzo Pisoni, based on his life as a kid with with San Francisco's Pickle Family Circus - which sounds like a fun way to grow up, but . . . . The show was an Obie winner this year and an Off-Broadway hit. It opens the Philadelphia Theatre Company season at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. Sept. 25-Oct. 25. (215-985-0420 or www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org)

Cabinet of Wonders, An Impossible History. Playwright Kira Obolensky and visual artist Irve Dell are creating this world premiere, produced by Gas & Electric Arts, about Leopold and Christina Carcass, offspring of immigrants, revolutionaries, and entertainers - and now on the brink of eviction. They can take away only what they can carry, so this look at family history also features "Tchotkies at Twilight," an heirloom tag sale, before each performance at Underground Arts at the Wolf Building, 12th and Callowhill Streets. Sept. 29-Oct. 24. (215-407-0556 or www.gasandelectricarts.org)

Show Boat. The landmark Kern/Hammerstein musical remains the biggest draw that Media Theatre - dedicated to musical theater - has ever had, and is being staged there again as the season's starter. This ol' man river, he just keeps rolling along. Sept. 30-Nov. 1. (610-891-0100 or www.mediatheatre.org)