HEROES
This is the Keen Company’s New York premiere of a play that won London’s 2006 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Written by Gerald Sibleyras, translated by Tom Stoppard, and directed by Carl Forsman, the play is about three World War I soldiers living in a veterans’ home who plan one final assault -- on a distant strand of poplar trees. The French playwright describes his work as being “about the universal desire to escape the confines of life.” A trio of terrific Broadway veterans play the determined men: John Collum, Jonathan Hogan and Ron Holgate.
The Clurman Theatre, 410 W. 42nd St., (212) 279-4200. Previews Feb. 24, opens Mar. 8.

GUYS AND DOLLS
This has always been one of Broadway’s most fun musicals, partly because it is about the crap-shooting gamblers and Salvation Army types of Times Square itself, set in the post-War 1940s. But it’s also fun because of the wonderful music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. In this revival, director Des McAnuff and choreographer Sergio Trujillo (both responsible for Jersey Boys) bring new players to the scene: Oliver Platt, Lauren Graham, Craig Bierko and Kate Jennings Grant.
Nederlander Theatre, 208 W. 41st St., (212) 307-4100. Previews Feb. 4, opens Mar. 1.

33 VARIATIONS
Jane Fonda on Broadway. If more need be said, let’s give credit to author/director Moises Kaufman (he wrote The Laramie Project and directed the I Am My Own Wife), for getting Fonda to play a family matriarch/musicologist who is trying to solve some kind of mystery about a piece of music by Beethoven. Her obsession takes her from present day New York to 19th-Century Austria. Samantha Mathis plays her daughter and Zach Grenier plays the composer himself in a cast of eight, with Diane Walsh providing the necessary piano playing.
Eugene O’Neill Theatre, 230 W. 49th St., (212) 239-6200. Previews Feb. 9, opens Mar. 9-May 24.

MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA
No one ever doubted Eugene O’Neill’s ability to write a powerful family tragedy; but for this one he referenced the ancient Greeks. The New Group, directed by Scott Elliott, presents his re-telling of the myth of Orestes. A general and his son return home after fighting in the American Civil War and the matriarch and her daughter find themselves in a battle over the father. Freud, adultery, murder and madness all take a part. The large, fine cast includes a number of movie names like Lili Taylor, Jena Malone, Joseph Cross and Anson Mount. Jazz musician Pat Metheny did the score.
The Acorn Theatre, 410 W. 42nd St., (212) 279-4200. Previews Jan. 27, opens Feb. 19- Apr. 18.

THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY
The reliable and very creative docu-dramatists, The Civilians (Canard, Canard, Goose?, Gone Missing), are back with a new show that explores the growth of the Evangelical Christian movement. All of their intriguing and entertaining shows are based on first-hand interviews and research. Here they spent 10 weeks talking to people in Colorado Springs, a veritable hotbed of the mega-church movement. The play is written by Steve Cosson and Jim Lewis, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman, and directed by Cosson.
The Vineyard Theatre, 108 E. 15th St., (212) 353-0303. Previews Feb. 3, opens Feb. 22- Mar. 15.