Here’s a look at what’s happening with some of Boston’s favorite stage talents.

South Dublin native Karen Killeen is in Boston playing one of the lead roles in “The Hills of California,” kicking off The Huntington Theatre’s fall season.

In “Hills,” Olivier and Tony Award–winning playwright Jez Butterworth weaves a tender but bitingly funny tale of the four adult Webb sisters’ homecoming to a run-down Sea View Guest House in Blackpool, where they grew up.  It’s 1976 and a sweltering hot summer in the English seaside village.

As Variety noted: “In the mid-1950s, Veronica Webb, a disciplined but caring mother, drills her young teen and tween daughters to become a song-and-dance quartet, evoking the style and song list of the ‘40s girl group The Andrew Sisters. But 20 years later, the four-part harmonies have long turned flat as the emotionally damaged sisters gather at their childhood home to stand vigil for their dying mother.”

The sisters must reconsider secrets, betrayals, and complicated family bonds. Karen plays Jillian, the youngest of the four Webb sisters and her mother’s primary caregiver.

She recently told Boston Irish: “It is my first time in Boston and I'm loving it! I went to my first baseball game at the Fenway, which was great. Next is tasting my first lobster roll and finding the best Irish pub!

With an MFA from the Yale School of Drama, Karen has been seen off-Broadway in “The Dead, 1904” at the Irish Repertory Theatre.

Performances run through Oct 12 on the Huntington’s main stage at 264 Huntington Avenue. “The Hills of California” was nominated for seven Tony Awards including Best Play and is produced at the Huntington in association with Berkley Repertory Theatre

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Congratulations to Boston’s own Erica Spyres for her guest shot on NBC’s “Law and Order.”  The talented actress, singer, and classical violinist has been seen locally in “Company,” “Into The Woods,” “The Mikado” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe” at Lyric, “Camelot,” “Marry Me A Little” and “Master Class” at New Rep, and in “Light in the Piazza,” and “Tribes” at SpeakEasy Stage, among others.

Erica has also appeared in the Broadway productions of “Carousel” and “Paradise Square” in addition to the national tour of the hit Irish musical “Once,” which played a stop at Boston’s Shubert Theatre.

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Under the direction of Producing Artistic Director, Courtney O’Connor, the first offering of the new season at Lyric Stage is the Thornton Wilder classic, “Our Town.”  The sleepy town of Grover’s Corners is being brought to life by some of Boston’s most talented artists as they tell a story of community, family, and appreciating the moments both big and small.

Will McGarrahan, left, narrates as The Stage Manager, guiding audiences through the touching story.  The large cast includes John Kuntz, Josephine Moshiri Elwood, Dan Garcia, Amanda Collins, De'Lon Grant, and Kathy St. George who recently told Facebook friends, “I’ve been wanting to do this play for about forty years. It’s finally happening!”

Performances run through Oct 19.

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Award-winning Karen MacDonald stars in the stage adaptation of Stephen King’s psychological horror novel, “Misery,” at Merrimack Rep from Oct. 15 through Nov. 2.   

Karen plays Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates in the film version), the “number one fan” of famed novelist Paul Sheldon (played by Tom Conier at Merrimack). 

Wilkes rescues Sheldon from a wintery car crash only to terrorize him as she holds him hostage in her remote Colorado farmhouse.

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“The Jack of Hearts Club” is currently in its world premiere at The Provincetown Theater in Provincetown. 

 Written by Jon Richardson, the story takes place in a Provincetown gay bar in the summer of 1963, and "invites audiences to step inside the safe and celebratory confines of the storied old bar . . .where laughter, longing, and love take center stage," according to press notes.

The company includes, from left, Mary Callanan, James Jackson, Jr., Angelo McDonaugh, Marissa Miller, Jon Richardson, Brittany Rolfs, Joao Santos, Chris Spaulding, Mike Sullivan, and Peter Toto.

Performances run through Nov. 2.

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You’ve seen her as New York City socialite Aurora Fane on HBO’s hit series “The Gilded Age.” She’s enjoyed a stellar career on Broadway, starring in “South Pacific,” Lincoln Center’s “The King & I,” “Bridges of Madison County,” “Light in the Piazza,” and others.  

Now, Tony Award-winning Kelli O’Hara comes to town to appear in a Celebrity Series of Boston concert at Symphony Hall on Nov. 4 for a one-night-only evening celebrating music from her highly acclaimed career.

On a side note:  Kelly was born in Oklahoma to an Irish American family and studied voice with the highly respected Florence Birdwell, who also taught Kristen Chenowith.
 

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If you stop by King Richard’s Faire this fall, be sure and say a special hello to Queen Anne III, otherwise known as Elizabeth Clouse.  In addition to playing the queen (opposite Kirk Simpson, at left, as her king), the Rhode Island resident is a fashion designer as well as head costumer for the entire Faire cast.

In addition to her theatrical background, she once founded an improv group, has taught theater for youngsters, and maintains her own costume design business.

Her initial exposure to King Richard’s Faire was as a paying guest.  Many who attend the fair arrive in costume to become fully immersed in the fantasy experience.  On her visit several years ago, she wore an elaborate costume of her own making.  She subsequently caught the eye of the Faire’s costume designer and was invited to audition.  She’s now in her seventh year playing Queen Anne.

From court jesters to jousters on horseback, the Faire also offers Broadway musical parodies (featuring the king and queen, of course), eight eclectic performance stages, an artisan’s marketplace plus tempting epicurean indulgences.

For the 44^th annual fair, running through Oct. 19, Queen Anne and company are holding court in their new performance home on the grounds of the historic Edaville Entertainment Venue in Carver.  

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Look for award-winning actress, teacher, director and writer, Paula Plum to direct “Summer, 1976” at Central Square Theater next month. 

The setting is an Ohio college town.  The show notes state: The second wave of feminism is cresting. Two very different women are thrown together through a faculty babysitting co-op. An unlikely friendship forms between Diana, a fiercely iconoclastic artist, and Alice, a free-spirited yet naive young housewife, during the summer of the American Bicentennial.

An insightful piece about small moments that can have a major impact, “Summer, 1976” is from the pen of Pulitzer winner David Auburn, who gave us “Proof.”

Performances run Nov. 6-30.

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And finally, a passing to note. Judith L. Ross, a beloved teacher, musician, and mentor whose passion for music touched thousands of students around the world, has passed. 

Former chair of the Theory Department at the Longy School of Music, Judy was the Founder and Director of the Massachusetts Harp Ensemble, which was a beloved part of Reagle Music Theatre’s annual “A Little Bit of Ireland” celebrations. 

Describing the power of the Ensemble on stage, she once told Boston Irish, “I mean how often do you get to play the harp in a group? Violin, any other instruments, you do all the time. But the harp, you never do. So, this is really fun.”

As her obituary noted, in her private studio, she taught harp, piano, harmony, and theory to a wide range of students – from gifted children and doctoral candidates to prominent conductors and musicians seeking to refine their craft. By her own count, she taught more than 5,000 students in her lifetime.  She was a musical dynamo and will be missed