"Carrie: The Musical"
As a horror movie, the 1976 "Carrie" is a classic; as a 1988 musical, it became one of Broadway's legendary bombs. But after its five initial performances, "Carrie: The Musical" had a surprising number of fans and an equally surprising afterlife. A revision was presented Off-Broadway in 2012, was recorded, and has been performed all over the world. Now it comes to the Fringe Festival, and no musical theater fan in Rochester will want to miss it. (Wednesday, September 12, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, September 15, and Sunday, September 16, 9 p.m. Lyric Theatre Cabaret Hall. $6-$12. Appropriate for ages 12 and older.)
Phil Shakespeare and The Lord Chamberlain's Other Men present "The Tempest"
A Shakespeare classic performed by a "drunken, miscreant group of vagabond actors" (aren't they all?) sounds like just the thing to me. Phil S directs the miscreants in "The Tempest," penned by his somewhat better-known brother Will, in what should be a livelier-than-usual production. (Thursday, September 13, 7 p.m. MuCCC. $5. All ages.)
"The Violet Hour"
The great American soprano Leontyne Price retired in 1985, but she is still going strong at the age of 91 (you may have seen her earlier this year, reminiscing in the documentary "The Opera House"). Joelle Lamarre portrays this diva of divas, recounting her career from its beginning to her culminating Met performance in one of her signature roles, "Aida," with the help of projections and audio — lots of audio, I hope. (Friday, September 14, 8 p.m. Lyric Theatre Main Stage. $20. All ages.)
"The Kitchen Revue and Other Enticing Treats"
This show defines multidisciplinary in a troika of artistic offerings: a ballet of kitchen utensils danced to a jazzy, delightful score from the 1920s by Bohuslav Martinu; a narration of Roald Dahl's story Dirty Beasts; and the premiere of "It All Boils Down," choreographed by Anne Wilcox to another jazzy classic: Claude Bolling's Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano. (Sunday, September 16, 1 p.m.; Wednesday, September 19, 5:30 p.m. School of the Arts: Allen Main Stage Theatre. $10. Ages 5 and older. )
"Color and Light: Celebrating Sondheim"
The songs of Stephen Sondheim have been a staple of cabaret singers for decades, but in Rochester, for some reason, you don't hear them often in an intimate venue. Singer Leah Creary, a Rochester native, will remedy this with guest performers and pianist Alexandra Barbato, in selections from "Sunday in the Park with George," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," "Assassins," and more. (Wednesday, September 19, 7 p.m. Lyric Theatre Cabaret Hall. $12. Appropriate for ages 13 and older.)
SUNY Geneseo String Quartet
In the wildly multidisciplinary world of Fringe festivals, the idea of presenting a straight-ahead, nothing-but-music concert by a string quartet seems almost revolutionary. This group of faculty members and students from SUNY Geneseo will do just that, with music by Dvoràk, Tchaikovsky, and Mendelssohn. It's one of several Fringe performances by different SUNY Geneseo musicians. (Saturday, September 22, 11 a.m. Lyric Theatre Cabaret Hall. Free. All ages.)
