Curtain calls: January performing arts performances

Taking the stage around San Diego to start the year are A Jewel in the Crown City, Hello, Dolly!, Familiar and The Hour of Great Mercy.

1.9-2.3: Moon Over Buffalo

The new year starts with a whole lot of farce, as NCRT revives the comic master Ken Ludwig’s saga of mistaken identities and plentiful pratfalls among actors in early-1950s Buffalo.

North Coast Rep, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Dr., Solana Beach, 858.481.1055, northcoastrep.org

1.11-2.17: A Jewel in the Crown City

A Coronado institution, Lamb’s Players celebrates its quarter-century of making theater in the beachside city (whose name means “Crowned One” in Spanish) with this stage celebration featuring 14 performers.

Lamb’s Players Theatre, 1142 Orange Ave., Coronado, 619.437.6000, lambsplayers.org

1.15-20: Hello, Dolly!

The one and only Betty Buckley – the Tony Award-winning musical-theater icon and voice behind the Cats smash Memory — hits town as the star of the touring Dolly, revived last year on Broadway.

Broadway/San Diego, San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown, 619/858/760.570.1100, broadwaysd.com

1.16-2.16: Marie and Rosetta

Music becomes the language of both hardship and freedom in George Brant’s play about two real-life figures — Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the soulful singer-guitarist who helped birth rock ’n’ roll, and her young gospel protégé Marie Knight — who unite to raise the roof in the segregated South of 1946.

Cygnet Theatre, 4040 Twiggs St., Old Town, 619.337.1525, cygnettheatre.com

1.19: An Evening With Lorna Luft

The stage and screen veteran (and daughter of Judy Garland) opens Moonlight’s ClubM cabaret season with an evening of storytelling as well as music from the great American songbook and beyond. (Maybe even over the rainbow.)

Moonlight Stage Productions’ ClubM, Moonlight Amphitheatre, 1250 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista, 760.724.2110, moonlightstage.com

1.20-2.17: Herland

The women-centered Moxie stages the local premiere of Grace McLeod’s comedy about a woman in her 70s who rebels against a retirement-home existence and strives to set up a utopian alternative in her garage.

Moxie Theatre, 6663 El Cajon Blvd., Rolando District, 858.598.7620, moxietheatre.com

1.24-2.17: Aubergine

From the playwright and TV scribe Julia Cho (Big Love) comes this food-centric saga of a gourmet chef grappling with loss and finding family connection through something as simple as soup.

San Diego Repertory Theatre, Lyceum Theatre, 79 Horton Plaza, downtown, 619.544.1000, sdrep.org

1.25-3.10: Smokey Joe’s Cafe

The go-to choreographer Michael Mizerany brings his dynamic dance sense to this much-revived celebration of the songs of Leiber & Stoller — including such eternal favorites as Jailhouse Rock and Stand By Me.

New Village Arts Theatre, 2787 State St., Carlsbad, 760.433.3245, newvillagearts.org

1.26-3.3: Familiar

You might know Danai Gurira as Okoye, the heroic warrior from the movie Black Panther. But she’s also a Tony-nominated playwright, and the Globe stages the San Diego premiere of this comedy-laced work about a Minneapolis family thrown into turmoil by their daughter’s wish for a wedding ceremony like those in Zimbabwe, the country of their heritage.

Old Globe Theatre, Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, Balboa Park, 619.234.5623, theoldglobe.org

1.31-3.3: The Hour of Great Mercy

The LGBTQ-focused Diversionary, a key incubator for new work here, stages the world premiere of Miranda Rose Hall’s play about a gay Jesuit priest reconnecting with family and reconciling with the past.

Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Blvd., University Heights, 619.220.0097, diversionary.org