April 3, 1968. Having just delivered his magnificent oration “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” at Mason Temple in support of a sanitation workers’ strike, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. returns to Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. A maid comes to his door with coffee. An unlikely relationship is forged that ventures into the political and personal, compelling him to confront his destiny and the fate of the nation on the eve of one of the most critical moments in American History. Winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Play, The Mountaintop is presented in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Enter ancient Persia, and be transformed by the power of storytelling – again! The Nora Theatre Company and Underground Railway Theater revive their award-winning production (2012 Independent Reviewers of New England Awards for Best Ensemble, Best Puppetry, Best Costumes, and Best Director) of Dominic Cooke’s Arabian Nights. Based on One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of folk tales from the Middle East and Asia, Arabian Nights is rich with suspense, romance and hilarity – stories irresistible for all ages, At its heart is the power of the imagination to heal, inspire, and transform.

On the eve of a national conference Zelda (Underground Railway Theater Artistic Director, Debra Wise), an acclaimed evolutionary biologist, is visited by Rachel, an ambitious graduate student. The two women share a zeal for science, a bold and contrarian approach to the male-dominated field, and much more. During the course of the visit, the young scholar challenges the older woman’s “grandmother hypothesis” with a radical theory of her own that she believes will change the way people regard sex. Emotion and evolution clash with humor and passion in Sarah Treem’s (HBO’s In Treatment) new play about the competitiveness and sacrifices needed to succeed as a woman in science.

A new musical comedy inspired by the legendary National Public Radio show! Our hero – the overweight, always-late invertebrate Rusty Fenders – has racked up as many miles as his ‘93 KIA. Attempting to salvage happiness from the junkyard of his life, he collides with his ruthless boss Beaulah Gasket, his unrequited office romance Sheila, and the red-hot fantasy car Miata C. LaChassis. Can the Wizard of Cahs put the brakes on Rusty’s musical wipe-out? Car Talk: The Musical!!! is low-brow, high-octane fun. Car and Theater Magazine named this show the “best automotive musical of the twenty-first century, so far.”

How Do You Spell Hope? are true stories of overcoming obstacles to literacy – a Cambridge high school athlete, Frederick Douglass, a Latina immigrant – woven together by puppets and actors in a world of giant pop up books. A play for all ages.