Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Shakespeare headed to Cape stages

Now that the holiday season is over, local theater companies are taking to the stage with a range of offerings. Over the next few weeks, shows will range from classic comedy to searing drama, with a little bit of mystery thrown in for good measure.

Here are some sure cures for the winter blues:

Through January 29: Falmouth Theatre Guild will present “Harvey,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy by Mary Chase. It is the story of Elwood P. Dowd, a perfectly pleasant man who sees something special in everyone he meets. The problem is that he also sees, and befriends, a six-foot tall, invisible rabbit named Harvey. See the Cape Cod Times review in this week's CapeWeek.

February 2-19: Eventide Theatre Company in Dennis will present Arthur Miller’s 1946 classic, award-winning critique of the American dream, “All My Sons.” Based on a true story, the show weaves together themes of the ravages of corruption and unfettered power and the effects of misplaced loyalties.

February 9-26: The Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans will offer Tennessee Williams' “A Streetcar Named Desire,” a searing and complex look at human relationships and former southern belle Blanche’s despairing struggle to cope with aging. Williams spent large chunks of time on the Cape, and is said to have completed his “The Glass Menagerie” in Provincetown.

February 10-11: The Young Company at Cape Rep Theatre (YoCo) will present Shakespeare's comedy "The Winter's Tale," directed by Maura Hanlon. The Young Company has 40 students from Plymouth to Truro, ages 8 to 12, who train for the season and produce a show at season's end. From the director's notes: "Winter's Tale": "Jealousy, desire, power, betrayal redemption, and Shakespeare’s most famous stage direction, 'Exit, pursued by bear' all come together to weave a sweeping tale of the triumph of love and forgiveness."

February 17-March 12: The Cape Cod Theatre Company in West Harwich will present “Peter and the Starcatcher,” which offers a different view of the century-old Peter Pan story. The show is based on the novels of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. In the end, it is a story about the power of friendship and love.

March 2-19: Barnstable Comedy Club will offer “An Inspector Calls,” which has themes of responsibility, class structure, and social duty. Set in 1912, Arthur Birling, a wealthy factory owner, is celebrating his daughter's engagement to the son of another industrialist. The celebration is interrupted by Inspector Goole who is conducting an investigation of the suicide of a working class woman. As the Inspector questions family members in the dining room, it becomes obvious that each person had a connection to the young woman and had treated her badly.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: From comedy to tragedy, Cape theater troupes take on the masters