Post-Florence theater in the Wilmington area

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These stage shows are back up and running.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Because of ongoing issues from Hurricane Florence, continue to double-check before you makes plans to attend any of these shows.

‘Shakespeare, Inc.’

Five Wilmington theater companies put on plays by William Shakespeare on a regular or semi-regular basis. One of them is TheatreNOW, which has grown an audience for its “Shakespeare Brunch” series of staged readings. TheatreNOW’s latest dinner production is “Shakespeare Inc.,” a farcical comedy written and directed by area resident Don Fried about whether ol’ Bill really wrote all those plays. The comedy is pretty mild, for the most part, but Fried cooks up a conspiracy that’s competently acted and plausible enough to be intriguing, with a rogue’s gallery of well-known, and not-so-well-known, authors teaming up to concoct work under Shakespeare’s name. Details: The show has extended its run due to missed dates from Hurricane Florence. New dates are 6 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show Fridays and Saturdays Sept. 28-Oct. 13 at TheatreNOW, 19 S. 10th St., Wilmington. $42, includes dinner and show but not beverages or tip. $18-$24 show only. 910-399-3669 or TheatreWilmington.com.

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‘Christmas Belles’

Sneads Ferry Community Theatre gets into the Christmas spirit a little early with this Southern-style comedy from the writing team of Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten. The story centers on the various plights of the three Futrell sisters of Fayro, Texas, one of whom is in the county jail for allowing the yard fire she set with her cheating ex’s NASCAR memorabilia to spread to a neighboring trailer park. Throw in a disastrous Christmas pageant rehearsal tainted by a mass outbreak of food poisoning and an equally explosive Futrell family secret, and the audience is in for an outlandish spectacle. Details: 7 p.m. Sept. 28-29, 2 p.m. Sept. 30 at the Sneads Ferry Community Center, 126 Park Lane, Sneads Ferry. $10, $5 for students with ID and active-duty military on Saturdays. Free wine and cheese reception on Friday. Cash door sales only. 910-327-2798 or visit SneadsFerryCommunityTheatre.com.

‘Pippin’

The Thalian Association presents the beloved musical from Stephen Schwartz (“Godspell,” “Wicked”) about a young prince (Joe Basquill in the title role) on a search for a life with meaning and adventure. Featuring such songs as “Corner of the Sky” and “Magic to Do.” Details: First weekend was canceled by Florence, show will run for three dates only. 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5-6 and 3 p.m. Oct. 7 at Thalian Hall, 310 Chestnut St., Wilmington. $32. 910-632-2285 or ThalianHall.org.

‘Getting Out’

The University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Department of Theatre opens its first show of the fall semester with this play by Marsha Norman, best known for her dark, Pulitzer-winning drama “‘Night, Mother.” “Getting Out,” directed by UNCW professor Anne Berkeley, is about a woman trying to start over after her release from prison. But when her difficult mother, problematic ex-boyfriend and former prison guard re-enter the picture, getting free of her past proves challenging. Details: This show has been postponed due to Hurricane Florence. New dates are forthcoming. It will be staged at the Mainstage Theatre in the Cultural Arts Building, UNCW campus. $15; $12 for seniors, UNCW employees and alums; $6 for students. 910-962-3500 or UNCW.edu/theatre.

‘Cannibal: The Musical!’

Before Trey Parker co-created cable TV hit “South Park” and Broadway smash “The Book of Mormon,” he wrote “Cannibal: The Musical!” The gory, satirical comedy is based on the culinary exploits of real-life Colorado cannibal Alferd Packer. Wilmington comedy and theater troupe Pineapple-Shaped Lamps last staged the show in 2011, and they’re bringing back the Halloween-appropriate romp in October to revisit such songs as the double-entendre-laden “When I Was On Top of You” (an ode to a horse) and the endlessly catchy, intentionally nonsensical “It’s a Shpadoinkle Day.” Details: The show has changed its dates due to Hurricane Florence. 8 p.m. Oct. 11-13 and 18-20, 3 p.m. Oct. 14 and 21 at the Hannah Block USO/Community Arts Center, 210 S. Second St. $23-$26. PSLcomedy.com

‘Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery’

 Big Dawg Productions stages this farce from Ken Ludwig (“Lend Me a Tenor,” “Moon Over Buffalo”), a send-up of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes mystery “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” Performed at breakneck speed with actors playing multiple roles, it’s similar in style to “The 39 Steps,” the Alfred Hitchcock comedy Big Dawg staged last year. Details: 8 p.m. Oct. 11-13, 18-20 and 25-27, 3 p.m. Oct. 14, 21 and 28 at the Cape Fear Playhouse, 613 Castle St., Wilmington. $18-$25. 910-367-5237 or BigDawgProductions.org

Contact John Staton at 910-343-2343 or John.Staton@StarNewsOnline.com.