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This new version of Shakespeare’s beloved tale – directed by Katie Van Winkle for ACC Drama, is set in a Neo-Elizabethan dystopia and weaves together "an exploration of shame and honor with enchanting screwball comedy."

Salvage Vanguard Theatre roars back to the foreground of Austin's stagework scene with this second annual showcase of works and workshops curated by Kate Taylor. Examine the power of curses, the stranglehold of categorization, and the courage to overcome in two weekends of solo performances featuring dancer and choreographer Kelsey Oliver, actor and visual artist Kriston Woodreaux, and actor and activist Crystal Bird Caviel. Also: a pre-show interactive exhibit by Alyssa Dillard, a movement class led by Oliver, and that grotesquely gorgeous (and vice versa) Rogue at Rogge Monsters’ Ball. Ah, there's so much to see and do, we reckon that a full-festival pass is the best way to go. See website for details!

Theorist Fest, a four-day weekend of creative wonderment, features 85 multidisciplinary artists from across the United States – and Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, England, South Korea, and India – performing all over the heart of Downtown Austin (but mostly centered at the MACC). Listen: In collaboration with Jennifer Chenoweth's Fisterra project, XYZ Atlas interviewed more than 200,000 people about why they feel a sense of belonging to a place. Now witness the myriad answers, as vividly and kinetically evoked by the likes of Maleek Washington, Manuel Vignoulle, Compañia Sunny Savoy, Daniel Martinez, Vivian Olviedo, Alberto Hiromoto, Group Acorde, and so many others. Aye, there will be informative panels and installations, too – this is a free and many-splendored explosion of arts from your Theorist friends, and highly recommended.

This new adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire tale is a sensual fantasy with a surprising twist: a bold heroine who dares to defy the ruler of the night. "Seductive, romantic, and empowering, this foray to the dark side is a juicy date-night," we're advised – and that seems, yup, just about right. Written and directed by Steven Dietz for Zach Theatre, with a kickass cast featuring Sarah Kimberly Becker as Mina Harker and Keith Contreras-McDonald as the titular bloodsucker.

We all die alone, right? Or … do we? This Austin premiere – nominated for a Pulitzer, penned by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins – is equal parts Christian Morality Play, 2017-soaked dialogue, and lottery draw, transporting the audience into themselves and each other. To evoke the randomness of death, each show will feature a different arrangement of the cast (out of a possible 120 combinations). Anybody who happens, by sheer coincidence, to actually die during the performance of this macabre thing … well, they'll likely get a standing ovation, don'tcha think?

Penfold Theatre brings a bounty of ghostly elegance to your Halloweening season, as Liz Fisher directs Dave Malloy's happily haunted musical about love, death, and whisky. Listen in as four friends drink and spin yarns about two fairy-tale sisters, a tree house astronomer and a lazy evil bear, a subway tragedy, and the ghost of Thelonious Monk, the disparate narrative threads interweaving into a centuries-long tale of encounters with the otherworldly. (Note: The final two performances will be at the Driskill Hotel, with pre-show entertainment beginning at 7:30pm. Oct. 31: Ghost stories told by paranormal expert Nathan Jerkins. Nov. 1: Round Rock Ballet Folklórico share traditional Día de los Muertos dances and discuss the importance of the holiday.) Also? Our reviewer? Was rather blown away.