The 2008-2009 State Theatre season opens in September with a variety of music and dance performances. Starting mid-September, laugh with the finalists of NBC's 'Last Comic Standing' for the Live Tour (9/17/08); two days later see "America's favorite string band," ETHEL in the world premiere ETHEL's Truckstop: The Beginning (9/19/08); and watch the intense physicality and emotion of the Stephen Petronio Company (9/23/08).

For the first time in company history, Michigan Opera Theatre is offering an all-new Children's Discovery Subscription Series, providing the cost savings and benefits of a subscription for family-oriented events at the Detroit Opera House.

This August, rhythmic performance ensemble Be the Groove fuses percussion and dance to spark a rhythmic revolution in an eruption of energy, music, and movement.

The Mayflower Theatre is delighted to announce the return of Craig McLachlan (Neighbours, Home And Away and Bugs on TV) to play Prince Charming in Cinderella The Musical Pantomime. He previously won the hearts of the people of Hampshire in the role of Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and as Bob Wallace in Irving Berlin's White Christmas the Musical.

This season, along with Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story of Christmas, which runs on the Hubbard Stage, the Alley Theatre will present a second holiday production, David Sedaris' The Santaland Diaries on the Neuhaus Stage. Based on the outlandish, and true, chronicles of David Sedaris' experience as Crumpet the Elf in Macy's Santaland display, this hilarious cult classic features comic encounters during the height of the holiday crunch.

The State Theatre presents the New Jersey Blues & Jazz Festival at the Backstage Jazz Club, September 25-27. It's an all-star musical lineup in an intimate setting for serious and casual jazz and blues fans alike.

Glengarry Glen Ross, David Mamet's scalding Pulitzer prize-winning ensemble play, opens Actors Theatre of Louisville's seven-play 2008-09 Brown-Forman Mainstage series August 26 - September 20 in the 637-seat Pamela Brown Auditorium. This fast-paced drama brings home Louisville native and stage and screen actor William Mapother of ABC's Lost.

After a hit run in New York City, the new comedy about Gay-Indian self-identity and angst makes its West Coast debut at Theatre Rhinoceros, from Wed., August 13 – Sat. to August 16, at 8:00 PM. Before you can make the journey to self-enlightenment, you’ll need to prove you aren’t carrying a bomb.

West Side Story changed the course of musical theatre when it opened on Broadway in 1957. It remains one of the most successful stage shows of all time. This production of the greatest dance musical of all time arrives at The Mayflower, Southampton for a two week run next year, 27 January to 7 February 2009.

York Theatre Royal and the National Railway Museum (NRM) team up for the must-see event of the summer as they stage a spectacular new production of E Nesbit’s much loved children’s tale, The Railway Children, through 23 August. This family theatrical event incorporates a coup de theatre never seen before as a real steam locomotive is used to bring the story to life in a specially constructed theatre space at the NRM.

US stand-up legend Louis CK is one of the most respected comedic voices of his generation. An Emmy Award-winning writer as well as an acclaimed director, producer and actor, Louis makes his UK debut fresh from filming a starring role in Ricky Gervais's new movie.

While many of the staff at York Theatre Royal are decamping to the National Railway Museum to work on this summer’s production of The Railway Children, and while there will be no shows in the theatre itself during August, there’s still plenty going on in the building during the holidays. Write Through Summer is a series of three three-day workshops led by some of the leading writers in the region - radio playwright Susan Stern, playwright and broadcaster Nigel Forde, and poet Pete Morgan.