Coming up in Philly theater: A month of musicals

November brings the promise of Thanksgiving turkeys and boffo Black Friday deals — but in Philadelphia, it also ushers in one of the busiest points of the theater season. Before everyone roundly turns their attention to Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa — or it simply gets so cold that most audiences decide to stay in with Netflix and a good glass of wine — local companies unveil a cornucopia of choices for savvy theatergoers. And this year, the attention in and around Philly theater seems squarely on musicals.

Another hit at Quintessence?

Quintessence Theatre Group had an unprecedented success last season with their first musical production ever, Lerner & Loewe’s My Fair Lady, which was extended twice due to demand. The Mt. Airy-based company hopes lightning will strike twice with Lionel Bart’s Oliver!, on stage at the Sedgwick Theater November 14 through December 23. Wallace Acton, a company member at Washington’s Shakespeare Theatre Company, makes his local debut as the pickpocket Fagin, alongside Philly stage regulars Marcia Saunders, Steven Wright, Hanna Gaffney, and Eleni Delopoulos. Lyam David-Kilker and Ben Synder share the title role, under the direction of Quintessence founder Alex Burns.

Walker and Sheridan in song

In Norristown, Theatre Horizon presents The Color Purple, staged by Broadway veteran and Temple professor Amina Robinson (November 8 through December 16). The chance to see this heartfelt, ebullient musical in such an intimate space should be relished. Rising local performer Jessica M. Johnson takes on the pivotal role of Celie, which won Tony Awards for LaChanze and Cynthia Erivo on Broadway. Barrymore Award nominee Ebony Pullum (Lantern’s Red Velvet) plays the seductive blues singer Shug Avery; the cast also includes Donnie Hammond, Victoria Aaliyah Goins, Tyson Jennette, and Garrick Vaughan.

Bristol Riverside Theatre hosts the world premiere of The Rivals, a musical adaptation of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s classic Restoration comedy, with a score by Stephen Weiner and libretto by Peter Kellogg (October 30 through November 18). Eric Tucker, founder of the influential classics company Bedlam, directs a pedigreed cast, led by Tony Award-winner Harriet Harris as the delightfully dotty Mrs. Malaprop. Broadway vets Ed Dixon, Erin Mackey, and John Treacy Egan take on additional roles. Given the high wattage of the cast and crew, this is sure to be one of the season’s hottest tickets.

Matilda at the Walnut

Those preferring to stay in Center City can catch Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical at Walnut Street Theatre (WST), running November 6 through January 6, 2019. The stage adaptation, by Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly, ingeniously envisions the vicious, hammer-throwing teacher Miss Trunchbull as a sort-of panto dame from hell, played by a male actor in heavy makeup and prosthesis. The versatile Ian Merrill Peakes picks up the hammer for WST’s production. The title role, a put-upon girl who realizes her powers, will be shared by Ellie Biron and Jemma Bleu Greenbaum at alternating performances.

For the tragically song-less

If, after reading this, you find that you don’t have a song in your heart, you still have plenty of options. Lantern Theater Company presents the Philly premiere of David Ives’s The Heir Apparent (November 8 through December 16), a witty spoof of door-slamming farces. Arden Theatre Company brings back their smash production of Every Brilliant Thing for a limited return engagement (November 8 through December 16), once again starring perennial favorite Scott Greer. And in Red Bank, New Jersey, Two River Theater stages August Wilson’s late-career masterpiece King Hedley II (November 10 through December 16), under the direction of stage and screen star Brandon J. Dirden.