Peter Pan

So much is being said about cross-dressing and drag now that we thought we’d take a look at how musicals have looked at this aspect of theatre on this week’s Dress Circle (4/16 7:00 p.m.). Men portraying women on stage were a major part of Greek and Roman theatre as well as early European theatre mainly because women weren’t allowed to appear on stage. However, once that taboo was overturned, women often portrayed men, especially in operas and British Pantomimes.

We’re starting a series on this week’s Dress Circle (11/9 7:00 p.m.). (We hope.) with four musicals that were based on literary originals. Three novels and a play are the basis for this week’s playlist that begins with songs from “The Color Purple" and includes songs from a variety of sources for "Little Women," "Mary Poppins," and "Peter Pan."

The first part of our centennial celebration of the life and career of Leonard Bernstein is this week’s Dress Circle (8/19 7:00 p.m.). Although he is…