Local theatergoers have a rare opportunity to see new works by a score of Utah female playwrights, including Aden Ross, Julie Jensen, Debora Threedy, Kathleen Cahill and Elaine Jarvik and Kate Birch Jarvik.

Plus, Pioneer Theatre Company offers a steampunk-inspired "Tempest," and Broadway Across America — Utah series brings the new revival of "South Pacific."

Pioneer Theatre Company

Oct. 22-Nov. 5 • Shakespeare's "The Tempest"

Dec. 2-Dec. 17 • "Annie"

Jan. 13-Jan. 28 • "Find and Sign" world premiere

Feb. 17-March 3 • "Emma"

March 23-April 7 • "Laughing Stock"

May 4-May 19 • "Man of La Mancha"

Location • Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 300 S. 1400 East, University of Utah campus, Salt Lake City

Contact • Show tickets $26-$56; season tickets $77-$286, at 801-581-6961, or www.pioneertheatre.org

Curtain • Monday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Saturday matinees at 2 p.m.

Salt Lake Acting Company

Oct. 12-Nov. 6 • "God of Carnage" by Yasmina Reza

Nov. 2-Dec. 4 • "A Man Enters," by Elaine Jarvik and Kate Jarvik Birch

Dec. 6-30 • "How I Became a Pirate"

Feb. 8-March 4 • "RED," by John Logan

Feb. 15-March 11 • "Dottie — The Sister Lives On!" by Charles Lynn Frost

April 11-May 6 • "Course 86B in the Catalogue" by Kathleen Cahill

June 27-Sept. 2 • "Saturday's Voyeur" by Allen Nevins and Nancy Borgenicht

Location • Salt Lake Acting Company, 168 W. 500 North, Salt Lake City

Contact • Show tickets $15-$31; season tickets $61-$186, at 801-363-7522 or visit www.saltlakeactingcompany.org

Curtain • Wednesday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m. and Sundays, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Plan-B Theatre Company

Oct. 27-Nov. 6 • "Lady Macbeth," a world premiere by Aden Ross

March 8-18 • "The Third Crossing," a world premiere by Debora Threedy

April 12-22 • "The Scarlet Letter," a world premiere by Jenifer Nii

May 12 • Ninth Annual Slam, five short plays by local playwrights, created in 23 hours

Location • Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 148 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City

Contact • $20 ($10 students), 801-355-ARTS or www.planbtheatre.org

Curtain • Thursday-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday at 4 and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.

Broadway Across America — Utah

Dec. 6-11 • Blue Man Group at Kingsbury Hall

Dec. 8-10 • A Kurt Bestor Christmas at Abravanel Hall

Dec. 23 • Christmas Music of Mannheim Steamroller at Abravanel Hall

Jan. 3-8 • "South Pacific"

March 2 and 3 • "Rock of Ages" at Kingsbury Hall

March 20-25 • Disney's "The Beauty and the Beast"

March 24-25 • "Rain: A Tribute to The Beatles" at Kingsbury Hall

May 5 and 6 • "Cirque Dreams-Pop Goes the Rock" at Kingsbury Hall

May 29-June 3 • "Million Dollar Quartet"

July 18-Aug. 26 • "Wicked"

Location • Capitol Theatre (unless specified), 50 W. 200 south, Salt Lake City; also Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City, and Kingsbury Hall, 1395 E. Presidents Circle, University of Utah campus, Salt Lake City

Contact • $30-$130; for individual show prices, visit www.newspaceentertainment.com/saltlakecity, or call 801-355-5502 for season tickets.

Curtain • Visit www.newspaceentertainment.com/saltlakecity for times and dates.

Utah Shakespeare Festival

Through Oct. 21 • "Noises Off!"

Through Oct. 22 • Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale" and "Dial M for Murder"

Location • Randall L. Jones Theatre, 351 W. Center St., Cedar City.

Contact • $25-$59 at 800-PLAYTIX (800-752-9849) or online at www.bard.org

Curtain • Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. through Oct. 23, with matinees at 2 p.m.

Tuacahn Amphitheatre

Through Oct. 20 • "Grease"

Through Oct. 21 • Disney's "The Little Mermaid"

Oct. 22-31 • "Thriller"

Location • Tuacahn Amphitheatre, 1100 Tuacahan Drive, Ivins

Contact • $17.50-$59 at www.tuacahn.org or 435-652-3300; 800-746-9882.

Curtain • Most October shows begin at 7:30 p.m.

Pygmalion Theater Company

Nov. 3-19 • "Last Lists of My Mad Mother," by Julie Jensen

Feb. 23-March 11 • "Seven," by Paula Cizmar, Catherine Filloux, Gail Kriegel, Carol K. Mack, Ruth Margraff, Anna Deavere Smith and Susan Yankowitz

May 3-20 • "In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play," by Sarah Ruhl

Location • Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City

Contact • Tickets, $20 (discounts for students) available at 801-355-ARTS or www.Arttix.org

Curtain • Thursday, 7:30 p.m., Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m. and Sunday 2 p.m.; visit www.pygmalionproductions.org for more information.

Grand Theatre

Oct. 13-29 • "The Wizard of Oz"

Feb. 2-18 • "Miss Evers' Boys," by David Feldshuh

March 7-24 • "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller

May 9-26 • "Xanadu," by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar

Location • Grand Theatre, 1575 S. State St., Salt Lake Community College South City campus, Salt Lake City

Contact • $10-$24 at 801-957-3322 or visit http://the-grand.org/

Curtain • 7:30 p.m. nightly, 2 p.m. Saturday matinees.

Pinnacle Theater Company

Nov. 3-5, 10-12 and 17-19 • "The Sunshine Boys" by Neil Simon

Location • Midvale Performing Arts Center, 695 W. Center St. (7720 S.), Midvale

Contact • $12-$15. Call 801-634-5802 for more information or visit www.pinnacleactingcompany.org.

Curtain • 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

Hale Centre Theatre

Oct. 4-Nov. 26 • "My Fair Lady"

Dec. 3-Dec. 23 • "A Christmas Carol"

Dec. 31-Feb. 4 • "The Game's Afoot," Utah premiere

Feb. 15-April 11 • "Zorro-The Musical"

April 17-May 26 • "Father of the Bride"

June 6-Aug. 4 • "The Sound of Music"

Aug. 15-Sept. 29 • "9 to 5: The Musical"

Oct. 10-Dec. 1 • "Oliver!"

Dec. 8-Dec. 22 • "A Christmas Carol"

Location • Hale Centre Theatre, 3333 S. Decker Lake Drive, West Valley City

Contact • $22-$26 adults, $15-$16 children; tickets and show times for "A Christmas Carol" vary from regular season shows; call 801-984-9000 for more information or visit www.halecentretheatre.org

Curtain • 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturdays; Saturday matinees at 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Hale Center Theater Orem

Oct. 13-Nov. 26 • "The Marvelous Wanderettes"

Dec. 2-Dec. 23 • "A Christmas Carol"

Dec. 31-Feb. 11 • "The 39 Steps"

Feb. 23-April 7 • "Xanadu"

April 19-June 2 • "The Secret Garden"

June 14-Aug. 4 • "Crazy for You"

Aug. 16-Sept. 22 • "Arsenic and Old Lace"

Oct. 4-Nov. 24 • Rodgers and Hammerstein musical TBA.

Nov. 30-Dec. 22 • "A Christmas Carol"

Location • Hale Center Theater Orem, 225 W. 400 North, Orem

Contact • $13.50-$19.50. Call 801-226-8600 or visit haletheater.org for more information.

Curtain • 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturdays, with 3 p.m. Saturday matinees. —

Aden Ross' 'Lady Macbeth'

Aden Ross — author of poetry, prose, stage works and an opera liberetto as well as the owner of two Harley-Davidson motorcyles — isn't your father's playwright. A transplanted Utahn, Ross claims that the two most powerful pieces of literature to recur throughout her life were Shakespeare's "King Lear" and "Hamlet." Now, with the coming world premiere of her play "Lady Macbeth" at Plan-B Theatre Company, Ross can add a few more. Among them? "Twelfth Night," "Othello," "The Merchant of Venice" and, of course, "Macbeth." They all form the mix — mash-up, if you will — of her unique take on what makes Shakespeare not just great, but always entertaining. After her recent play "Amerika," a bracing examination of how fear has scarred the national conscience, this work has all the markings of a writer eager to try on new shoes. It's billed as a comedy, after all, and it's sure to open Plan-B's new 2011-2012 season with a bang. The work took root as part of Utah Shakespeare Festival's New American Playwrights project, and received a Plan-B staged reading. With a playwright likely to compare the composition of plays to quantum physics, you can also be certain Ross's newest play will work on more levels than one — or even three.

When • Oct. 27-Nov. 6; Thursdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m.

Where • Studio Theatre at the Rose Wagner, 138 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City.

Info • $10-$20. Call 801-355-ARTS or visit http://planbtheatre.org for more information. —

Pioneer Theatre Company's 'The Tempest'

Intellectuals love "Hamlet," the tragic at heart prefer "King Lear," while fatalists rave over "Macbeth." The romantics, meanwhile, fill their frosted glasses to the brim before sitting down to a seaside view of the Bard's beloved play set on an enchanted island, "The Tempest." While Caliban's lines about the oppression of foreign rulers engages post-colonial scholars, few plays deal more with the nature of theater itself than this one. So forget the famous line about "this insubstantial pageant faded." Famous directors from Derek Jarman to Peter Greenaway to Julie Taymor have all tried their hand at cinematic adaptations. Here in Utah, it's the favorite Shakespeare play of Charles Morey, Pioneer Theatre Company's long-time artistic director. So it's fitting that he direct this very production as swan song of sorts to the end of his esteemed 28-year run, which concludes at the end of this season. With an Actors' Equity cast that includes Craig Wroe as Prospero, Emily Trask as Miranda and Paul Kiernan as Caliban, this production promises to be "such stuff as dreams are made on."

When • Oct. 21-Nov. 5; Mondays-Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturday matinees, 2 p.m.

Where • Pioneer Theatre Company, 300 S. 1400 East, Salt Lake City.

Info • $26-$56. Call 801-581-6961 or visit www.pioneertheatre.org for more information.