The torture of performing Inishmore 

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No, we won't tell you how the Inishmore roller coaster winds up. But beware: There will be brains up the wall on the way.

Top picks for fall theater

Sept. 13: Miles & Coltrane: Blue – On Q Productions (McGlohon Theatre) – After triumphs at the Mint and the Levine, Charlotte's hottest new theater company brings their populist excitement out of museums and into Spirit Square, where writer/actor/director Quentin Talley will find his own unique way to celebrate two of jazz's most intriguing icons and the music they made together.

Sept. 26: Peter Pan – Children's Theatre of Charlotte (McColl Family Theatre @ ImaginOn) – What curmudgeonly critic would ever pan Peter Pan? Armed with the most technically advanced space in all of toddlerdom, Children's Theatre can produce the classic musical version of the James Barrie classic for the first time and deliver all the delicious trimmings. We gotta crow!

Oct. 7: Traces – Broadway Lights Series (McGlohon Theatre) – The PAC successfully opened a more intimate theater outpost for their flagship subscription series last fall with The Rat Pack Is Back. What better way to follow up that hymn to Vegas than with "a fantastical blend of circus, physical theater and music"? Runs at Spirit Square for six full weeks.

Oct. 9: Die Mommie Die – Queen City Theatre Company (Duke Energy Theatre) – Putting the queen back in their programming, QC presents Charles Busch's new send-up of Hollywood movie queen/monster Joan Crawford. Will Hank West cross-dress again in the title role? Rest assured, somebody will.

Oct. 23: Monster: The Real Story of Frankenstein – Carolina Actors Studio Theatre (1118 Clement Ave.) – Last October, CAST impresario Michael Simmons donned the fangs for Dracula, but this year, Mary Shelley's immortal creation gets the love. With all of CAST's environmental-multimedia-SFX expertise lavished on the fiendish lab, this should be one tasty treat.

Oct. 18: Faust – Opera Carolina (Belk Theatre) – The Devil's bargain is back! With soprano vixen Maureen O'Flynn opposite demigod James Valenti in the title role, this production should have chemistry to burn. Basso Chester Patton is the manipulative Mephisto.

Oct. 30: Innovative Works – N.C. Dance Theatre (Booth Playhouse) – Artistic director Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and spouse Patricia McBride are justly celebrated for their affinity with Balanchine (opening 9/18 at Belk Theater), but dance aficionados reserve their deepest affections for NCDT's annual unveiling of new pieces. Up close for two weekends, Mark Diamond, Sasha Janes, and Dwight Rhoden serve up new choreographies.

Oct. 31: Symphonie Fantastique – Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (Belk Theatre) – CSO hasn't paid much heed to Halloween before (Olivia Newton-John in 2003?), but Berlioz' satanic hallucinations will counterbalance the sublimity of Faure's Requiem as guest conductor Thierry Fischer makes his bid in the artistic director sweepstakes. All Hallow's Eve alternatives include Turn of the Screw, presented by Actor's Scene Unseen at Duke Energy and – maybe, just maybe – CPCC Theatre's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Halton Theater if they follow the lead of the recent Broadway revival and present an all-black Cat.

Nov. 12: Rabbit Hole – Actor's Theatre of Charlotte (650 E. Stonewall) – After Inishmore, the ATC season lineup is crammed with goodies, including Evil Dead: The Musical, a glorious shower of gore next June. Meanwhile get serious with David Lindsay-Abaire's examination of a young couple's grief, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for drama.

More theater listings

August

SLUT A rock musical inspired by South Park and bent on booty. Composer Stephen Sislen and lyricist/dramatist Ben Winters have tuned up the original script and added new songs. $25. Aug. 21-23, 8 p.m. Actor's Theatre of Charlotte, 650 E. Stonewall St. 704-342-2251. www.actorstheatrecharlotte.org.

EDUCATING RITA Two people, Frank and Rita, cross paths only to face an educational experience about life. Directed by Glenn T. Griffin. $20. Aug. 21-23, 8 p.m. Duke Energy Theatre, 345 N. College St. 704-372-1000. www.blumenthalcenter.org.

September

FOXFIRE By Hume Cronyn and Susan Cooper. Sept. 11-Oct. 4. Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2:30 p.m. CAST, 1118 Clement Ave. 704-455-8542. www.nccast.com.

SITCOMS LIVE Collaborative Arts presents your chance to become a member of the studio audience for live productions of classic television sitcoms from the '60s and '70s. Sept. 11-27. Thurs.-Sat. performances, 8 p.m. Sept. 21, 2:30 p.m. Duke Energy Theatre, 345 N. College St. 704-625-1288. www.collaborativeartstheatre.com.

GODSPELL Based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew, this musical features classic songs such as: "Day by Day," "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord," "Learn Your Lessons Well," "By My Side," and more parables. $10-$24. Sept. 11-28. Theatre Charlotte, 501 Queens Road. 704-376-3777. www.theatrecharlotte.org.

THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE This comedy by Martin McDonagh tells the story of a ruthless Irish Liberation Army enforcer seeking to uncover the circumstances surrounding his cat, Wee Thomas. Sept. 24-Oct. 11. Actor's Theatre of Charlotte, 650 E. Stonewall St. 704-342-2251. www.actorstheatrecharlotte.org.