Christie Brinkley, Jack Kerouac, Andrew Jackson, and a beloved “war horse”– all trod the boards this Fall! Here’s what I’m looking forward to:

WAR HORSEWAR HORSE* I saw “the horse” in preview and I still can’t believe that three men, some sticks, and a bunch of metal and fabric brought the animal to life before my very eyes. The stagecraft alone is worth the price of admission. (It’s got to be better than Spielberg’s sappy movie.) See the 2011 Tony Award-winning Best Play about a pet who goes to war, and the boy who loved him. Presented by Broadway In Boston at the Boston Opera House (10/10-21)

MACBETH* I scarcely dare to write its name. (Theater lore forbids its mention in house for fear “The Scottish Play” bubbles up a cauldron of trouble on the enterprise.) But don’t be afraid to see it, presented by one of Boston’s best companies devoted to the bard, and directed by the divine Elliot Norton Award-winning actress Paula Plum. Presented by actors’ shakespeare project at the Chevalier Theatre, Medford (10/3-11/4)

 BEAT GENERATION* Get on the road to Lowell,1955,  and hang out for one day in the life of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and

Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac

company in this world premiere   staged reading, part of the UMass Lowell Jack Kerouac Literary Festival. 8 performances only in the counterculture king’s hometown at the newly renovated Merrimack Repertory Theatre (10/10-14)

  BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO * The New York production about the ghost of a tiger seeking redemption in war-torn Baghdad was called “visionary” by the New York Times and starred Robin Williams. Hah! I’m sure Boston’s daring Company One can top that with its New England premiere at the Boston Center for the Arts (10/19-11/17)

BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON* A rock musical about our 7th president and his insatiable appetite for multicultural political incorrectness on all fronts. Was “Old Hickory” also sexy? The answer may rock and roll you. SpeakEasy Stage Company, Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA (10/19-11/17)

44 PLAYS FOR 44 PRESIDENTS* Just in time for the big November showdown, “44 Plays” involves 44 theaters, colleges, and high schools–nation wide– collaborating on the play, an online composite video, and simultaneous election night events! Yikes. And I thought the electoral college was complicated. Presented by Bad Habit Productions at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA (10-27-11/11)

Christie Brinkley as Roxie Hart in CHICAGO

 CHICAGO* Christie Brinkley, one of the world’s most successful supermodels stars as Roxie Hart in the six-time Tony award-winning Bob Fosse musical– but can she dance and all that jazz?? We only have four days to find out. Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre (11/1-4)

 TED HUGHES’ TALES FROM OVID * Trust me—I saw this adaptation of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” in a cramped basement space at the tiny Whistler in the Dark theater two seasons ago— and my world doubled in size. These archetypal and transformative tales of gods and mortals, locked in love, jealousy, ambition, death, and triumph were staged with a grace and inventiveness that took my breath away. You will be dazzled. In association with ArtsEmerson at the Paramount Center: The World Onstage (11/8-18)

CHINGLISH* All of the Asian actors speak mandarin—but you don’t have to, to understand Tony-award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s “comedy of mistranslation and manners” about an American businessman looking to cash in on China. Venture capitalists welcome. At the Lyric Stage Company, Boston (11/30-12/23)

 PIPPIN* I never thought I’d see a Bob Fosse musical onstage at the American Repertory Theater. But in the hands of their Tony Award-winning artistic director Diane Paulus, who brought us last year’s triumphantly re-imagined PORGY AND BESS, I can hardly wait. Newly staged in collaboration with the mind and body-bending theatrics of Montreal-based theater troupe Les 7 doights de la main at the Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge (12/5-1/20)

 OLIVER* Dickens’ classic served up by one of the most lauded family theaters in the country right here in Boston! See the musical at the Wheelock Family Theatre — and don’t forget to bring your own little urchins. (1/25- 2/24)