Now showing on Broadway

Now showing on Broadway

Broadway ticket availability and capsule reviews of shows as of March 3. Unless otherwise noted, tickets are available at the theaters' box offices for the shows listed. Details about how to obtain tickets appear at the end.

• A Chorus Line. Michael Bennett's classic musical about dancers auditioning for a big Broadway show is back. Gerald Schoenfeld. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•August: Osage County. Tracy Letts' drama, a hit for Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, concerns a venomous mother and her dealings with three daughters. Imperial. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•Avenue Q. Love blossoms among the 20-something set — a group that includes puppets — in this very funny, adult musical comedy. Golden. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Terrence Howard and Anika Non-i Rose star in a revival of the Tennessee Williams' classic. Broadhurst. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•Come Back, Little Sheba. S. Epatha Merkerson and Kevin Anderson star in a Manhattan Theatre Club revival of William Inge's drama about a lonely woman and her unhappy marriage. Biltmore. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000. Closes March 16.

•Curtains. A murder-mystery musical comedy with a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb. David Hyde Pierce and Debra Monk star. Al Hirschfeld. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•Grease. A revival of the venerable musical celebrating 1950s high school and featuring stars chosen during the recent NBC television reality series. Brooks Atkinson. ticketmaster or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•Gypsy. Patti LuPone stars as the mother of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee in a revival of one of the greatest of all Broadway musicals. Now in previews. Opens March 27. St. James. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•Hairspray. The cult John Waters movie set in 1960s Baltimore has been turned into a hilarious, tuneful musical. Neil Simon. ticketmaster or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•In the Heights. The lively off-Broadway musical about Latino residents in an area of upper Manhattan called Washington Heights moves to Broadway. Richard Rodgers. ticketmaster or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•Is He Dead? David Ives has adapted a farce by Mark Twain about a painter who fakes his death to increase the price of his artwork. Norbert Leo Butz stars. Lyceum. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000. Closes March 9.

• Jersey Boys. The musical story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Winner of four 2006 Tonys including best musical. August Wilson. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000. Difficult.

•Legally Blonde. Laura Bell Bundy stars in this musical version of the Reese Witherspoon movie about a determined young woman who goes to Harvard Law School. Palace. ticketmaster or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•Mamma Mia! The London musical sensation featuring the pop songs of ABBA makes it to Broadway. Die-hard ABBA fans will like it best. Winter Garden. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•Mary Poppins. The world's most famous nanny comes to the stage after her great success as a P.L. Travers book and a Disney movie. New Amsterdam. ticketmaster or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000, a special Disney hotline, 212-307-4747.

•Monty Python's Spamalot. A musical inspired by that demented film comedy, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Shubert. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•November. David Mamet's new comedy about a president facing a tough re-election campaign. Nathan Lane stars as the chief executive and the cast also includes Laurie Metcalf and Dylan Baker. Ethel Barrymore. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•Passing Strange. A musical created by the singer-songwriter known as Stew. A hit off-Broadway last season, the show follows a young man's journey from Los Angeles to Europe in search of truth and meaning. Belasco. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•Rent. Jonathan Larson's touching and now nostalgic look at struggling artists in New York's East Village. Loosely based on Puccini's opera La Boheme. Nederlander. ticketmaster or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000. Closes June 1.

• Rock 'n' Roll. Tom Stoppard's play takes place over several decades, from 1968 to 1990, and juxtaposes events in Czechoslovakia during the Soviet occupation with the lives and loves of three generations of an academic family in Cambridge, England. Bernard B. Jacobs. Closes March 9.

•South Pacific. Kelli O'Hara is nurse Nellie Forbush and Paulo Szot is French plantation owner Emile de Becque in a revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical based on one of the short stories in James A. Michener's Tales of the South Pacific. Now in previews. Opens April 3. Vivian Beaumont. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•Spring Awakening. A striking rock musical based on Frank Wedekind's classic drama about a dozen young people discovering their sexual identities. Music by Duncan Sheik. Book and lyrics by Steven Sater. Winner of the 2007 Tony for best musical. Eugene O'Neill. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•Sunday in the Park With George. A Roundabout Theatre Company revival of the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical about French painter Georges Seurat and the creation of his masterpiece. Studio 54. 212-719-1300. Closes June 15.

•The 39 Steps. A stage adaptation by Patrick Barlow of Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 movie thriller about a man on the run. Four actors, including Charles Edwards (who starred in the hit London production) portray over 150 roles. American Airlines. 212-719-1300. Closes March 29.

• The Homecoming. A revival of Harold Pinter's Tony-winning play about a most unusual family. The cast includes Ian McShane, Eve Best and Raul Esparza. Cort. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000. Closes April 13.

•The Lion King. Director Julie Taymor is a modern-day Merlin, creating a stage version of the Disney animated hit that makes you truly believe in the magic of theater. Minskoff. ticketmaster or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000, a special Disney hotline, 212-307-4747. Difficult on weekends.

•The Little Mermaid. Disney's stage version of its popular animated film about a sea maiden who longs to live on land. Lunt-Fontanne. ticketmaster or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000, a special Disney hotline, 212-307-4747.

•The Phantom of the Opera. The one with the chandelier. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about a deformed composer who haunts the Paris Opera House is the prime, Grade A example of big Brit musical excess. But all the lavishness does have a purpose in Harold Prince's intelligent production, now the longest running show in Broadway history. Majestic. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•The Seafarer. Conor McPherson's play about two brothers and a couple of their buddies, whose boozy card game is interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious, vaguely satanic stranger. The cast includes Jim Norton and David Morse. Booth. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000. Closes March 30.

•Wicked. An ambitious, wildly popular musical about the witches in The Wizard of Oz as young women. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire. Gershwin. ticketmaster or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000. Difficult.

• Xanadu. A fast, funny roller disco musical loosely adapted from the cult 1980s film. The cast features Kerry Butler, Cheyenne Jackson and Tony Roberts. Helen Hayes. telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

•Young Frankenstein. Mel Brooks transfers his comedic monster mash of a movie from screen to stage — only with more song and dance. Hilton. ticketmaster or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000.

Ticket information

The telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000 number is 212-239-6200 unless otherwise indicated. There is a $6.50 service charge per ticket, plus a handling fee per order that varies from $2.50 to $4.00 depending on method of delivery.

ticketmaster or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000 is 212-307-4100. There is a $7 "convenience" charge per ticket, plus a handling fee per order that varies depending on method of delivery.

All theaters owned by Jujamcyn — the St. James, Martin Beck, Virginia, Eugene O'Neill and the Walter Kerr — have a $1.50 surcharge per ticket for theater restoration. Shows in Shubert theaters have a "facilities" surcharge of $1.25 per ticket.

Both telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000 and ticketmaster or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000 will provide information on specific seat locations. They also have toll-free numbers for theater ticket calls outside New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. For telecharge or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000 call 800-432-7250; for ticketmaster or Www.wwwtixx.com 1-800-688-4000 call 800-755-4000.

The League of American Theaters and Producers has a special telephone line called the Broadway Line for information on most Broadway shows (except The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast) and how to purchase tickets. Calls must be made on a touch-tone phone. The number is 1-888-BROADWAY. The line also will provide information on Broadway touring productions. Consumers in the New York tri-state area may call 212-302-4111.

The TKTS booth in Times Square is currently in a temporary location just outside the New York Marriott Marquis hotel on West 46th St., between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. It sells same-day discount tickets to Broadway, off-Broadway, music and dance productions. There is a $4 service charge per ticket. Cash or travelers checks only. Hours of operation are Monday through Saturday evening performances, 3 p.m.-8 p.m.; matinees Wednesday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

The downtown TKTS booth is in the South Street Seaport at the corner of Front and John Streets. Hours of operation are Monday through Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m., closed Sunday through the winter.

Tixx.com is a full service ticket broker able to obtain tickets to the best shows on Broadway the same day prices vary from below face value to above face value

Matinee tickets must be purchased at South Street Seaport the day before, meaning Wednesday matinee tickets are available Tuesday, Saturday matinee tickets are available Friday and Sunday matinee tickets are available Saturday.

Full-price tickets and information on Broadway and off-Broadway shows are available at the Broadway Ticket Center, located on the east side of Broadway between 46th Street and 47th Street. There is a $4.50 service charge per ticket.