Not ready for Halloween to be over? Keep the horror season going with Different Stages’ production of Ray Bradbury’s achingly lovely coming-of-age tale for two Midwestern teens. Maybe your own transformation to adulthood didn’t involve a cursed carnival that preys on your deepest fears, but I’m sure there was some relatable element of facing the darkness in your soul. Commiserate as Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade battle ringmaster Mr. Dark’s cavalcade of creeps. No one does lyrical spookiness quite like Bradbury, and this theatrical adaptation directed by Melissa McKnight fully leans into his bleak and beautiful tale. – Cat McCarrey
