Wonderful Town

Classic musicals like 1953’s Wonderful Town may be dated and hokey, but they are also wittier in their way than anything greenlighted on Broadway today. When was the last time you saw a new musical that threw in passing jokes about Andre Gide, Constantin Stanislavski, Ernest Hemingway, and Leopold Stokowski? The lyrics of Betty Comden and Adolph Green (On the Town) more than compensate for the inane storyline of this smalltown-girls-move-to-the-big-city show. The 5th Avenue’s production isn’t perfect (the comedy is milked a little too luxuriously), but it gets a lot right: The bright, picture-postcard backdrops (by set designer Tom Sturge); the dynamic choreography (Jamie Rocco); and most of all the sweet pairing of Billie Wildrick and Sarah Rudinoff as mismatched but devoted sisters. When they launch into song together something celestial happens. Is this heaven? No, it’s “(Why Did I Ever Leave) Ohio?” The 5th Avenue, 1308 Fifth Ave., 206-292-2787, www.ticketmaster.com, www.5thavenuetheatre.org. $19-$71. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sun. April 9. LYNN JACOBSON

Mark Haim

The story has it that Bach wrote his “Goldberg” Variations for an insomniac count “that he might be a little cheered up by them in his sleepless nights,” but beyond the anecdote they’ve become a touchstone for keyboard masters. Choreographers who have taken them on have dealt with their reputation in many ways, but Mark Haim confronts them directly, in a collection of solo dances as beautiful and as varied as the Variations themselves. He’s set these pieces on a group of local dance virtuosi, but will also perform them alone on Friday. (Pictured: Tonya Lockyer.) On the Boards, 100 W. Roy St., 206-217-9888, www.onthe boards.org. $18. 8 p.m. Thurs. March 30-Sat. April 1. SANDRA KURTZ

Trio Mediaeval

Norwegian folk music and contemporary works on the same program? Oooh, push my buttons. These three sopranos present 13th-century laudae, conductus, and the like; new works written for them by Gavin Bryars, Andrew Smith, and others; and traditional songs from their native Norway, all to be sung (from the evidence of their recordings for the über-prestigious ECM label) with otherworldly purity, resonance, and blend. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 206-325-7066, www.earlymusicguild.org. $15-$34. 8 p.m. Sat. April 1. GAVIN BORCHERT