‘Shrek: The Musical’ At CT Rep; ‘Last Train…’ At Playhouse

It’s Jeanine Tesori season in Connecticut. Three of the composer’s musicals happen to be at local theaters this spring, offering a convenient career retrospective of a versatile artist that’s as comfortable with 1920s jazz/pop pastiches as she is with post-modern dramatic concepts.

First up is “Shrek: The Musical,” which Connecticut Repertory Theatre is presenting April 20 through 30. The stage version of the Dreamworks film (based on the William Steig kid’s book) matched the high standards set by the movie when it got David Lindsay-Abaire (“Rabbit Hole”) to adapt it and Tesori to score it.

(More from Tesori is nigh: “Thoroughly Modern Millie” is at the Goodspeed Opera House April 21 through July 2, and the national tour of “Fun Home” is at The Bushnell June 20 to 25.)

“Shrek” is the final show of the CT Rep school-year season. Performances are Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. with added performances April 26 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and April 30 at 2 p.m. in the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre, 2132 Hillside Road, Storrs. Tickets are $27-$36. 860-486-2113, crt.uconn.edu.

The Planets Align

“Men Are From Mars — Women Are From Venus” is a one-person show — which may already make you think that its advice about how couples can get along has failed. It’s not sketch comedy, however; couples are not required. It’s more like a lecture crossed with a stand-up routine, a la “Defending the Caveman.”

The show is based on the best-selling 1993 self-help book by John Gray, and it’s not the first time this material has been adapted for the stage. This version, scripted by Eric Coble, was first staged in Europe in 2007, has toured the United States since 2013 and had a New York run in 2015.

It plays The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford, April 21 at 8 p.m.; and April 22 at 4 and 8 p.m. Tickets are $50. 860-987-5900, bushnell.org.

Take The Last Train To Nibroc

F. Scott Fitzgerald is back in our collective consciousness, but the celebrated chronicler of the Roaring ’20s has been recast as a supporting cast member. He’s one of many bon vivants who party with Owen Wilson’s character in “Midnight in Paris.” He gave sage advice to Thomas Wolfe in the movie “Genius.” His wife is the star of the TV series “Zelda.”

In the play “Last Train to Nibroc,” Fitzgerald is a corpse. His dead body is in a baggage car, alongside the dead body of another great novelist of the era, Nathanael West. The reclining deceased literary lions set an eerie background for a trainbound romance (or is it?) between a soldier/aspiring writer named Raleigh and a young religious woman named May.

Playhouse on Park is presenting “Last Train to Nibroc” April 26 through May 14 at 244 Park Road, West Hartford. Tickets are $30 to $40. 860-523-5900, playhouseonpark.org.