Every musical tries to make a point, perhaps teach us something about family, friends or the pursuit of happiness. But every now and then, a musical comes along in which the creation of the show itself becomes part of the message.

Take “The Drowsy Chaperone.” It essentially began as a wedding gift, a token of affection and good will. It was the toast of the wedding party, and — after the stops and starts that are typical of any musical lurching its way to the stage — it became the toast of Broadway. “The Drowsy Chaperone” snagged more Tony Awards than any other musical in 2006 while competing against heavyweights like “Jersey Boys,” “The Wedding Singer” and “The Color Purple.” And now the first national tour stops at the Opera House in Boston, April 22 to May 4.

The ray of sunshine on the other end of the phone line is Georgia Engel, but with her unmistakable, cooing falsetto — part Marilyn Monroe, part Betty Boop — she could just as easily be her alter-ego, Georgette, the devoted girlfriend/wife of Ted Baxter on the iconic “Mary Tyler Moore” show. Chatting with her for a half-hour on the phone, you start to suspect why Engel so easily conveyed Georgette’s irresistible sweetness. That’s just the way Engel is. She comes across as charming, considerate, generous and humble.

Monologist Pieter-Dirk Uys is on the phone from San Francisco, promising that his new show, “Elections & Erection,” isn’t about Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Well, maybe it is. A little bit. But that’s not where he got the title.

Uys, who performed his show “Foreign Aids” at Zero Arrow Theatre in Cambridge in 2005, just opened his latest show at the same theater, where it runs through May 4. The material is new, but some of the themes are similar. Apartheid is gone in Uys’ native South Africa, but now the country is dealing with apartheid’s ugly stepchild — discrimination. That’s one of the subjects he tackles in his new show, along with his ongoing battle to educate people about AIDS in South Africa. And when he talks about politics and the upcoming elections in South Africa, it may remind Cambridge audiences of the United States.

    The Boston theater community recently lost one of its most committed and talented actors when Phillip Patrone died of cancer on Saturday. He was 48.

Theater Review

It turns out that the warm and fuzzy characters that once populated Sesame Street have grown up, moved out, and are now struggling to find jobs, happiness and sexual fulfillment on Avenue Q.

That’s the inspired idea behind “Avenue Q,” the hit, Tony-winning musical that’s making its first Boston tour stop, through March 23, at the Colonial Theatre. The show cleverly (and sometimes crassly) plays on all our deep-seated notions about puppets as clean, thoughtful perky creatures that care only about friends and the letter “K.”

Theater Review

The Huntington Theatre’s production of “Shining City” delivers one of those rare moments in theater — an ending so exhilarating that it sends a shiver of excitement through the audience. Patrons spill out onto the night street with a buzz. It’s powerful.

It’s also a little surprising, because most of the 90-minute one-act is a tad sleepy. Playwright Conor McPherson, who also wrote “The Weir,” has a reputation as one of the hottest playwrights working today. But he has a tendency to bring his characters out on stage, plop them down on a barstool or therapist’s couch, and let them yammer. They tell stories. Long stories.

Let’s hope that Henry Jewett, who’s been dead for 78 years, enjoys the new ghost story play at the Huntington’s B.U. Theatre. Based on his history, he’ll probably let us know if he doesn’t.

The play, Conor McPherson’s “Shining City,” seems like just the kind of play that could stir his spirit. It’s about a guy who goes to a psychiatrist because he’s battling insomnia. He’s also seeing his wife, which is a problem because she recently died in a car accident.

The New York Times hailed the play as “absolutely glorious.” The Huntington stages it through April 6.

“It’s a psychological drama, but not without humor,” explains Director Robert Falls. “It’s not a ghost story, in the traditional sense, but people will jump at certain moments. At least, we hope they do. The play is really about loneliness and despair, and how the modern life alienates people.”

Despair. Jewett may have known something about that. He founded the Jewett Repertory Theatre in 1925 where the Huntington’s B.U. Theatre now stands. It housed the Henry Jewett Players, the nation’s first resident professional theater company. But the theater failed in 1930 and later that same year, Jewett was dead. The Boston Globe obituary reported that he died at home, but many theorized that Jewett committed suicide by hanging himself on stage.

Even puppets grow up and find that singing about a rubber ducky or taking refuge in the number three can’t solve the complex problems of adult life.

 That’s the kind of world presented in “Avenue Q,” the Broadway hit that won the 2004 Tony for Best Musical, beating out a little show called “Wicked.” “Q” plays the Colonial Theatre, March 11-23.

 Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez, who wrote the music and lyrics, imagine a world that is a cross between “Sesame Street” and “Friends” where the 20-somethings — in the form of puppets — struggle with work, relationships, identity, and unrealized dreams.

Wow. More than 30 shows get mentioned in this preview of the fall theater season. And that’s just for shows running between now and Thanksgiving. And this listing is far from complete. But it’s not so much the quantity of shows that’s so impressive, it’s the quality. So you may want to grab your calendar and make a few notes as you read about the remarkably wide range of shows — everything from returning favorites to some intriguing world premieres.

Call us crazy, but we like “Dancing With the Stars.” It sends a good message: If any goof with two left feet (hello, Jerry Springer) can get up there and dance in front of the entire nation, why can’t you get up and do your pathetic dance moves in the relative obscurity of your local dance establishments?

Dance: There’s not enough of it in our lives. Here are some chances to get some more.