Michael Baron of Lyric Theatre, 1727 N.W. 16th, picked the musicals Cabaret (Reduxion Theatre Company, 1613 N. Broadway) and In the Heights (Pollard Theatre Company, 120 W. Harrison in Guthrie).

Cabaret “is one of my favorite musicals, and I’m interested to see what director Matthew Sipress does with it,” Baron said about Reduxion’s in-the-round Broadway Theater.

Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park’s Kathryn McGill has set sights on Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre, 201 N. Walker, and its four performances of Red, a drama about the life of abstract artist Mark Rothko.

“I love plays that investigate the artist’s life and the relationship between the artist and their creations,” McGill said. “It also helps if the artist is tormented, so this play hits me at all levels. I also love Rothko’s work.”

Pollard is reviving its production of Passing Strange, last staged to much acclaim in 2011. Lance Garrett of Ghostlight Theatre Club cited that production as well as Sylvia, A.R. Gurney’s 1995 comedy-turned-tearjerker about a man and his dog, as plays he wants to see. Sylvia will be staged at Oklahoma City Theatre Company, 201 N. Walker.

Incidentally, Garrett said Ghostlight will have an announcement soon about planned productions for the new season.

Donald Jordan of City Rep will spend some time in Guthrie this season seeing Passing Strange and Pollard’s new production of In the Heights. The latter, he said, is from a “fresh, new voice telling a positive, life-affirming story.” OKCTC’s Rachel Irick will be in the audience at Pollard’s The Vagina Monologues.

“I’ve never had the opportunity to see a live, professionally produced version of this show,” she said.

She makes a good point. Amateur readings of Monologues have become an annual ritual in this country and worldwide, but a professional production has never been staged around here.

W. Jerome Stevenson of Pollard will get a dose of that old-time religion at Godspell (City Rep) and Jesus Christ Superstar (OKCTC). A lot of people are certain to join him at the latter when they hear it stars Matthew Alvin Brown as Jesus and Renee Anderson as Judas. Veteran actor Jonathan Beck Reed will step across the footlights to direct Godspell.

Needlessly fearing predictability, Tyler Woods of the up-and-coming Reduxion looks forward to Much Ado About Nothing, which will be City Rep’s first staging of Shakespeare.

He’s also excited about One-Man Star Wars Trilogy at City Rep.

“I saw this show years ago in New York,” Woods said. “It was fantastic. So glad shows like this — quirky, off-the-wall an unusually, unexpectedly entertaining are coming to” the city.