Now playing
THE KITE RUNNER
Directed by Elaine Vaan Hogue from Matthew Spangler’s adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel, and featuring an excellent performance by Nael Nacer, “The Kite Runner’’ (right) is a compassionate, deeply moving, event-packed journey across eras, cultures, national boundaries, and the emotional terrain of tumultuous lives. The fact that the trip also includes a detour into melodrama and hard-to-swallow coincidence doesn’t diminish its overall power. Through Sept. 30. New Repertory Theatre, Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown. 617-923-8487, www.newrep.org
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT
OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
A screening of the current world-premiere production at the National Theatre in London. Simon Stephens’s adaptation of Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel is directed by Marianne Elliott, who codirected “War Horse.’’ The broadcast kicks off the fourth season of the National Theatre Live series. Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline. 617-734-2500, www.coolidge.org
HOMESTEAD CROSSING
Massachusetts playwright William Donnelly has crafted a gem that celebrates connection within the confines of an upscale suburban living room. A quartet of wonderful actors breathe life into Donnelly’s quirky, comic characters in this lyrical look at longtime relationships. Through Sept. 30. Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Lowell. 978-654-4678, www.mrt.org
Last chance
CAR TALK: THE MUSICAL!!!
Based on NPR’s popular call-in program, this show might seem an unlikely proposition. But with the help of Tom and Ray Magliozzi, who contributed their voices to the project, Wesley Savick has cobbled a wacky plot, song parodies, the brothers’ trademark outrageous puns, and a fine cast into a production that’s running like a top. Through Sept. 16. Presented by Underground Railway Theater and Suffolk University. Central Square Theater, Cambridge. 866-811-4111, www.centralsquaretheater.org