THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY OF STEVE JOBS
Mike Daisey created and performs this monologue, on the subject of how the whims of Steve Jobs have shaped our lives. Directed by Jean-Michele Gregory. Previews begin Oct. 11. (Public, 425 Lafayette St. 212-967-7555.)
BEYOND WORDS
The mime Bill Bowers wrote and performs in this comedy, which explores sound and silence in the confines of a small town. Scott Illingworth directs, for Urban Stages. Previews begin Oct. 7. (259 W. 30th St. 212-868-4444.)
THE BUS
James Lantz wrote this play, in which two small-town gay teen-age boys become embroiled in a tussle between a church and a gas station. John Simpkins directs. In previews. Opens Oct. 9. (59E59, at 59 E. 59th St. 212-279-4200.)
CHINGLISH
David Henry Hwang’s new comedy is about an American trying to do business in a Chinese province. Gary Wilmes and Jennifer Lim star; Leigh Silverman directs. Previews begin Oct. 11. (Longacre, 220 W. 48th St. 212-239-6200.)
THE DUMB WAITER
NAATCO presents Harold Pinter’s play, in which tensions mount between two hit men awaiting orders in a basement with a dumbwaiter. Directed by Andrew Pang. Previews begin Oct. 6. (DMAC, 62 E. 4th St. 212-868-4444.)
THE LYONS
Mark Brokaw directs the world première of this play by Nicky Silver, starring Linda Lavin and Dick Latessa, in which a group of family members learn about themselves when they gather around their dying patriarch. In previews. Opens Oct. 11. (Vineyard, 108 E. 15th St. 212-353-0303.)
MAN AND BOY
Frank Langella returns to Broadway in this drama by Terence Rattigan from 1963, on the centennial of the playwright’s birth. The story involves a finance broker in the Great Depression who reunites with his estranged son in order to save his company from going bankrupt. Maria Aitken directs, for Roundabout Theatre Company. In previews. Opens Oct. 9. (American Airlines Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St. 212-719-1300.)
THE MOUNTAINTOP
Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett star in a new play by Katori Hall, which imagines events on April 3, 1968, the night before the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. With original music composed by Branford Marsalis. Kenny Leon directs. In previews. (Jacobs, 242 W. 45th St. 212-239-6200.)
NIGHTLANDS
New Georges presents a play by Sylvan Oswald, directed by Tamilla Woodard, set in Philadelphia in 1964, about two women, a Jewish housewife and an African-American astrologist, who fall in love. Previews begin Oct. 5. Opens Oct. 10. (HERE, 145 Sixth Ave., near Spring St. 212-352-3101.)
RELATIVELY SPEAKING
Three one-act comedies, by Ethan Coen (“Talking Cure”), Elaine May (“George Is Dead”), and Woody Allen (“Honeymoon Motel”), all directed by John Turturro. The cast includes Ari Graynor, Steve Guttenberg, Danny Hoch, Julie Kavner, Fred Melamed, and Marlo Thomas. In previews. (Brooks Atkinson, 256 W. 47th St. 877-250-2929.)
SONS OF THE PROPHET
Roundabout Theatre Company presents a dark comedy by Stephen Karam, about the health-insurance woes of a Lebanese family in Pennsylvania. Joanna Gleason stars; Peter DuBois directs. In previews. (Laura Pels, 111 W. 46th St. 212-719-1300.)
THE SPEAKER’S PROMISE
SABAB Theatre presents this play, adapted and directed by the Kuwait-born Sulayman Al-Bassam, about a totalitarian Arab state where all forms of theatre have been banned. In Arabic and English, with English supertitles. Oct. 6-8. (BAM’s Harvey Theatre, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn. 718-636-4100.)
WE LIVE HERE
Manhattan Theatre Club presents a play by the actress Zoe Kazan (making her début as a playwright), about a wedding where the bride’s sister’s date brings unexpected trouble. Sam Gold directs. In previews. (City Center Stage I, 131 W. 55th St. 212-581-1212.)