Dozens of new plays and musicals open every week in theaters across New York City. Here are the shows that begin previews or open this week. Who knows? You may catch the next Avenue Q or Rent. Click on the show title for more information.

The Age of Iron - An epic retelling of the entire breadth of the Trojan War drawn from Shakespeare's Troilus & Cressida and Thomas Heywood's Iron Age. Adapted and directed by Brian Kulick. Taken together, these two authors create a grand Elizabethan Iliad that brings Homer's long lost world vividly to life.
 
Being Patient - An exhilarating solo turn by Samara, who plays a hospital patient walking a most thin line between reality and fantasy. Her lucid moments tainted by her dependency on pain killers are juxtaposed against flights of fantasy fueled by dance, disco balls and driving music.

Brits Off Broadway - The 2009 Holiday season is even more jolly this year as the Brits descend upon 59E59 Theaters for the 6th Annual Brits Off Broadway festival, now in its new time slot! Seven fabulous shows--topical, quirky, transporting, outrageous, mysterious and downright funny--are premiering on our side of the Pond.

Brownsville Bred...Growing Up Elaine - This award-winning work is the true story about a Latina's coming of ge in 1980's Brownsville Brooklyn NY. Crime, Drugs & Poverty mix with the Joys of Family, Hope, Salsa & the Birth of Rap!

Circumcise Me - Comedian Yisrael Campbell takes the audience on a hysterically funny and intensely personal journey through his struggles with drugs and alcohol and his eventual salvation in the Jewish faith. Though he was born Catholic, Yisrael (who changed his name from Christopher) charts an extraordinary spiritual, creative, and hilarious journey that includes three circumcisions along the way.

The Common Air - Alex Lyras who wrote this work with Robert McCaskill, portrays six characters – including an Iraqi cab driver, an art gallery owner, and a sinister philosophy professor -- during the mother of all delays at JFK airport. The reason is unknown and a spiraling game of "telephone" ensues in an effort to uncover the truth.

Dreamgirls - The rags-to-riches story of a 1960s Motown girl group, and the triumphs and tribulations that come with fame and fortune.

Itutu - In Itutu, the abstract world of the Armitage Gone! Dancers gradually finds itself in the world of African pop. The riveting African pop sounds of Burkina Electric are performed in several African languages as well as in French and English for a voyage beyond the barriers that separate geographic and artistic worlds to celebrate the meeting of many minds.

Loaded - Tapping into the climate of 21st-century gay culture as it seeks to make sense of the bewildering chasm that separates middle-aged and younger gay men, this new play by Elliot Ramon Potts centers on two men exploring whether or not their casual sexual relationship has the potential to be something more.

The Orphans’ Home Cycle - Set in Horton Foote's fictitious town of Harrison, Texas and based partly on the childhood of Foote's father and the courtship and marriage of his parents, the cycle is a wide-ranging, intricate work. Part I (performances begin November 5, opens November 19) begins at the turn of the 20th century with the plays Roots in a Parched Ground, Convicts and Lily Dale and follows Horace Robedaux in his formative years. Part II (performances begin December 3, opens December 13) focuses on the married life of Horace Robedaux and his new wife and is made up of the plays The Widow Claire, Courtship and Valentine's Day. Part III (performances begin January 7, opens January 24) consists of the plays 1918, Cousins and The Death of Papa and begins with the turmoil of World War I and ends with the characters looking to the future of their family and land. Three of the individual plays, Roots in a Parched Ground, Convicts and Cousins receive their world premieres as part of the cycle.

Quartett - Inspired by Choderlos de Laclos's novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, German playwright Heiner Müller's play is the basis for this stylized production, expanded into a stately danced prologue and eight scenes.

Red Sea Fish - Matt Wilkinson's new play tells a darkly funny and ultimately tender story about loss, identity and the folly of trying to control the world. Ray, a retired thief, sees out his days on the top floor of a tower block on the South Coast. Confined during the day by a rare skin condition, he's cared for by his son Terry. Ray merrily fills the air with accounts of lost love, past misadventure and the daily observations of a bitter old man. When Terry meets a young runaway Karen, looking for refuge, he invites her back to the flat. Immediately Karen's presence ignites passions in Ray.

Sholom Aleichem: Laughter Through Tears - The legendary Theodore Bikel wrote and stars in this new play with music bringing to life the vivid characters and keen observations of one of the most admired writers of the early 20th-century. Bikel, who played Tevye in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof, gives exceptional voiceto Aleichem, adding an enchanting trove of songs from Eastern Europe, inkling several of the Yiddish-language folk classics he’s popularized over the years.

This - In this new play by Obie-winner Melissa James Gibson, Jane is not okay. She's a promising poet without a muse, a single mother without lessons to pass along. Her dating life's a shambles, and her helpful friends are only helping make things more complicated. This bright, witty, un-romantic comedy captures the uncertain steps of a circle of friends backing their way into middle age. Featuring Julianne Nicholson of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.