It’s that time of year again. The air is getting crisper, Starbucks is charging $4 for a latte with a shot of neon orange and all the newspapers and magazines are letting us know that it’s a New Theater Season. With the amount of shows opening on and off Broadway these next few months, it’s hard to figure out what’s worth the time and money. If you’re only going to see ten shows this fall (and let’s be honest, that’s exactly the number of theatrical productions you were planning on seeing!), let it be these ten.

10. The Break of Noon, Neil LaBute’s latest play, seems to be a break from his usual form. As the writer of The Shape of Things, bash and the film, In the Company of Men, LaBute seems to derive great joy from his exploration of the dark side of the human soul, but in “The Break of Noon,” his focus is on a man who turns from skeptic to believer. David Duchovny is making his professional stage debut and Amanda Peet co-stars. Jo Bonney is directing this off-Broadway production, producing by MCC Theater. Previews begin October 28^th, with a November 15^th opening and it is set to close on December 12th at the Lucille Lortel, 121 Christopher St. Buy tickets.

9. The Scottsboro Boys brings together several traditional Broadway names to tell an untraditional Broadway story. John Kander and Fred Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago) had been working on this musicalization of nine black teenagers falsely accused of rape in 1931 when Ebb died in 2007. Kander completed the work and, with the help of director/choreographer, Susan Stroman (The Producers, Contact), brought it to the Vineyard Theatre off-Broadway last spring. After a summer of retooling out of town, it’s coming to Broadway and while the story may be unexpected, the excitement of a new Susan Stroman outweighs any doubts. Previews begin October 7^th for an October 31rst opening at the Lyceum Theater, 149 W. 45th St. Buy tickets.

8. Brief Encounter is coming to Broadway via Cornwall, England and Brooklyn and if you missed it when it was a hot ticket last winter at St. Ann’s Warehouse, you can see it now at Studio 54. A combination of the Noel Coward one-act, Still Life, and the titular film upon which it is based, Brief Encounter uses a myriad of techniques, traditional and not-so-traditional, to tell its story. The production promises to be magical, inventive and romantic. It’s currently in previews, set to open on September 28 and play through December 5th at Studio 54, 254 W. 54th St. Buy tickets.

7. There aren’t too many Will Ferrell movies I’m dying to see on stage (Anchorman: the Musical, anybody?), but Elf is definitely one that won’t get lost in translation. With a book by the team behind Hairspray and music from the team behind The Wedding Singer (ok, yes, that was not a great musical, but it wasn’t the music’s fault), Elf is destined to be a wonderful holiday treat for Grinchs and non-Grinchs alike. Previews begin November 2^nd for a November 14^th opening and the show will close on January 2nd at the Al Hirschfeld Theater, 302 W. 45th St. Buy tickets.

6. While the Vineyard Theater’s shows have become more and more buzzworthy since they premiered Avenue Q many moons ago, Middletown doesn’t seem like a traditional candidate for pre-preview gossip. It’s a straight play off-Broadway with no major stars (Heather Burns, best known as Sandra Bullock’s ditzy friend in the Miss Congeniality movies, takes the lead). However, for once, what has people talking is the quality of the writing in Will Eno’s story of a small town that is more than meets the eye. Middletown looks ready to live up to the hype and then some. Previews begin October 13 for a November 3^rd opening and it is set to close on November 21rst at the Vineyard Theater, 108 E. 15th St. Buy tickets.

5. Elling was a hit in London, but that’s not has me excited about this production. For once, star casting might actually be a good thing. You may know Brendan Fraser as the hero from The Mummy or that guy who kept getting the crap kicked out of him by woodland creatures in all those weird previews last spring for some movie your cousins saw, but I remember him as the guy who gave breathtaking performances in Gods and Monsters and The Quiet American. Combine him with Jennifer Coolidge and Denis O’Hare and there’s some serious potential for theatrical greatness. Adapted from a 2001 Norweigian film, Elling tells the story of two very different men who become roommates after being released from a mental institution. Previews bgin November 2^nd for a November 21rst opening at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, 243 W. 47th St. Buy tickets.

4. Maybe you’ve heard about GATZ. You might have read the article in this week’s New Yorker or maybe you’ve just heard rumors about “that play where they read The Great Gatsby.” And if you’re at all normal, you probably recoiled at the idea of paying good money to sit and have a book read to you for 6 and a half hours (there is a dinner break!). Fight that feeling though. The Elevator Repair Service has been trying for years to bring this production to New York and all signs point to amazing. As workers in a random office read aloud from this classic, the text will transport you back to another era and another time – and that time is not 7^th grade English. Previews begin September 26^th for an October 6^th opening and it is set to close November 28th at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St. Buy tickets.

3. Most movies that get the musical treatment seem like odd choices, filled with characters who aren’t really begging to burst into song. That is not the case with Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. All of Pedro Almodovar’s films are so theatrical, it was only a matter of time before one was brought to the stage and with Barlett Sher at the helm, it looks like it’s going to be a successful transfer. David Yazbeck of The Full Monty wrote the music and lyrics and the cast is bursting at the seams with Broadway stars, from Patti LuPone to Brian Stokes Mitchell to Laura Benanti to Sherie Renee Scott. There are so many Broadway stars, in fact, you can almost forget that Justin Guarini (yup, American Idol Justin Guarini) is in the cast as well. Previews begin October 2^nd for a November 4^th opening and it is set to close on January 23rd at the Belasco Theater, 111 W. 44th St. Buy tickets.

2. Not many musicals open with the lead actor inviting you into his very tight pants, but Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is no ordinary musical. After a successful and much-extended run at the Public, the show is coming to Broadway. The clever, tongue-in-cheek approach to a particular chapter in our nation’s history was so much fun at the Public, it’ll be hard to resist returning to see its Broadway engagnement, especially with Benjamin Walker’s star turn in the lead. Previews are underway for an opening on October 13th at Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, 242 W. 45th St. Buy tickets.

1. The first New York production of Angels in America since its Broadway premiere over a decade ago is reason to rejoice on its own, but with Michael Greif directing a first rate cast including Zachary Quinto (yes, Spock Zachary Quinto), Christian Borle and Zoe Kazan, it becomes the theater event of the season. Even if you saw the brilliant HBO miniseries a few years ago, nothing compares to seeing Tony Kushner’s works on stage. Signature Theater’s production has the two halves, Millennium Approaches and Perestroika, running in repertory, with the opportunity to do a marathon day on certain Saturdays. It is currently in previews, set on October 28th and close on February 20th at the Peter Norton Space, 555 W. 42nd St. Buy tickets.