Here are some of the shows running in our local theaters this month:

“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night” 15-year-old Christopher has an extraordinary brain: He is exceptional at mathematics but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. Now it is seven minutes after midnight and Christopher stands beside his neighbor’s dead dog, Wellington, who has been speared with a garden fork.

Written by Simon Stephens and directed by Kate Jopson, it runs through Dec. 8 at the Greenway Court Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets, visit www.GreenwayCourtTheatre.org.

“Elijah” Hurricane Elijah has closed down all the roads in a small town in Texas. A disparate group of people takes refuge in a TGIFridays restaurant while, weather permitting, a high-profile execution is scheduled in a nearby prison.

Written by Judith Leora and directed by Maria Gobetti, it runs through Dec. 15 at the Big Victory Theatre in Burbank. For tickets, call (818) 841-5421 or visit www.thevictorytheatrecenter.org.

“Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play” brings a heartwarming and classic tale of faith, love and the gift of miracles to the holiday season, featuring live Foley effects and a score of holiday carols this beautiful story is sure to ring in Christmas for all.

Written by Lance Arthur Smith, with music by Jon Lorenz and directed by Leo Bwarie, it runs through Dec. 15 at the Actors Co-op David Schall Theatre in Hollywood. For tickets, call (323) 462-8460 Ext. 300 or visit www.actorsco-op.org.

“Ruthless, The Musical” Eight-year-old Tina Denmark knows she was born to play Pippi Longstocking, and she will do anything to win the part in her school musical “Anything” up to and including murdering the leading lady!.

Written by Joel Paley, with music by Marvin Laird, lyrics by Joel Paley, and directed by Alta Abbot, it runs through Dec. 8 at the Theatre Palisades Pierson Playhouse in Pacific Palisades. For tickets, call (310) 454-1970 or visit www.theatrepalisades.org.

“The Best Man” An ideally timed race to the finish line between two candidates at the presidential national nominating convention gets personal.

Written by Gore Vidal and directed by Gary Lee Reed, it runs through Dec. 8 at the Lounge Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets, call (323) 960-7787 or visit www.onstage411.com/bestman.

“La Vie en Rose” Grammy-winning chanteuse Julia Migenes travels back to the Paris of Edith Piaf, Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway in this evening of nostalgic French chansons by Charles Aznavour, Léo Ferre, Jacques Brel, Michel Legrand and others. Accompanied on piano by Victoria Kirsch.

Written by Julia Migenes and directed by Peter Medak, it runs through Dec. 14 at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets, call (310) 477-2055 Ext. 2 or visit www.OdysseyTheatre.com.

“The Great Leap” When an American basketball team travels to Beijing for an exhibition game, the coaches find themselves in a conflict that runs deeper than the strain between the countries and a young player’s actions abroad become the accidental focus of attention.

Written by Lauren Yee and directed by BD Wong, it runs through Dec. 1 at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena. For tickets, call (626) 356-7529 or visit www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org.

“Fruition” In a lawless near future, decades of unchecked greed, bigotry and fear have led to the collapse of governments and society as we know it.

Written by Alexis DeLaRosa and directed by Lauren Smerkanich, it runs Nov. 7 through Dec. 7 at the Theatre of NOTE in Hollywood. For tickets, call (323) 856-8611 or visit www.theatreofnote.com.

“Eight Nights” Set during eight different nights of Chanukah over the course of eight decades, “Eight Nights” tells the story of Holocaust survivor Rebecca Blum who arrives in America at age 19 to forge a new life.

Written by Jennifer Maisel and directed by Emily Chase, it runs Nov. 8 through Dec. 16 at the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center in Glendale. For tickets, call (818) 506-1983 or visit www.Antaeus.org.

“Defenders” follows three American G.I.s who are shipwrecked on the remote island of Hrisey off Iceland’s northern coast. The stranded G.I.s find themselves with missing weapons, few supplies and a broken radio.

Written by Cailin Harrison and directed by Reena Dutt, it runs Nov. 9 through Dec. 8 at the Broadwater Black Box in Los Angeles. For tickets, call (323) 960-5770 or visit www.Onstage411.com/defenders.

“The Lion in Winter” It’s Christmas 1183 and King Henry II is planning to announce his successor to the throne. The jockeying for the crown, though, is complex. Henry has three sons and wants his boy, Prince John, to take over. Henry’s wife, Queen Eleanor, has other ideas.

Written by James Goldman and directed by Sheldon Epps, it runs Nov. 10 through Nov. 24 at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach. For tickets, call (949) 497-2787 or visit www.lagunaplayhouse.com.

“Before” Inside Clery’s of Dublin, on the very day this iconic department store shuts for good, Pontius is trying to choose a gift for his estranged daughter whom he hasn’t seen for almost 20 years.

Written by Pat Kinevane, with music by Denis Clohessy, and directed by Jim Culleton, it runs Nov. 14 through Dec. 8 at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets, call (310) 477-2055 Ext. 2 or visit www.OdysseyTheatre.com.

“Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” Chicago, June 1920. The Republican National Convention is in full swing. Warren G. Harding is overwhelmed by the prospect of being the nominee of the Republican Party for President.

Written by Colin Speer Crowley and directed by Jules Aaron, it runs Nov. 14 through Dec. 15 at the Theatre 40 in the Reuben Cordova Theatre in Beverly Hills. For tickets, call (310) 364-0535 or visit www.theatre40.org.

“Key Largo” is a bold reimagining of Maxwell Anderson’s Broadway hit that became the iconic noir film starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Returning from World War II, disillusioned Frank McCloud travels to a hotel in Key Largo to pay his respects to the widow of a fallen friend.

Written by Maxwell Anderson, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and Andy Garcia, with music by Arturo Sandoval, and directed by Doug Hughes, it runs Nov. 14 through Dec. 10 at the Gil Cates Theater at Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. For tickets, call (310) 208-5454 or visit www.geffenplayhouse.org.

“Little Women, The Broadway Musical” The story follows the lives, loves and tribulations of the sisters growing up during the American Civil War. Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy live in Concord, Massachusetts with their “marmee” while their father is on the battlefield.

Written by Louisa May Alcott, adapted by Jason Howland, Mindi Dickstein and Allan Knee, with music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, and directed by Jennifer Richardson, it runs Nov. 15 through Dec. 21 at the Westchester Playhouse in Westchester. For tickets, call (310) 645-5156 or visit www.kentwoodplayers.org.

“Ragtime” Set in the volatile melting pot of turn-of-the-century New York, three individuals – a stifled upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant, and a daring young Harlem musician – are united by their courage, compassion and belief in the promise of the future.

Written by Terrence McNally, with music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and directed by Kelly Todd, it runs Nov. 15 through Nov. 23 at the Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University in Malibu. For tickets, call (310) 506-4522 or visit www.arts.pepperdine.edu.

“Unraveled” Joy is a professor of physics and philosophy who has spent her life exploring theories of space and time. None of that has prepared her for the reality of watching cancer unravel her mother’s mind and body.

Written by Jennifer Blackmer and directed by Steve Jarrard, it runs Nov. 15 through Dec. 8 at the Sherry Theater in North Hollywood. For tickets, call (323) 860-6569 or visit www.unraveled.bpt.me.

“Punkplay” Mickey and Duck are two teenage boys trying to make sense of the world in the mess of ’80s America. Through the music and culture of punk rock, they patch together a precarious identity, skating (literally) between the demands of an increasingly strict subculture and an authentic desire to break free from convention.

Written by Gregory S. Moss and directed by Matt Bretz and Lisa Sanaye Dring, it runs Nov. 16 through Dec. 21 at the Atwater Village Theatre in Atwater Village. For tickets, visit www.buytickets,.at/circlextheatrecompany/304274.

“Salvage” Having a dream is like running with scissors. Harley, a singer-songwriter whose wife is expecting their first child, has decided to hang up his dream before it destroys his family. On his way to pawn his guitar, he stumbles across the bar where his musical hero, Floyd Whitaker, died. Upon entering, he finds an inhospitable bartender and a single surly customer who’s strumming the blues on an old guitar.

Written by Tim Alderson and directed by Damian D. Lewis, it runs Nov. 16 through Dec. 15 at the Lounge Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets, call (323) 960-7712 or visit www.Onstage411.com/Salvage.

“Love Actually Live” uniquely brings together friends and family alike to experience the unforgettable holiday classic in a three-dimensional world where the film and live action seamlessly intertwine throughout the London setting. Iconic scenes displayed on screens that travel throughout the set, share the stage with an all-star cast of singers and 15-piece orchestra as they reimagine the film’s hit soundtrack including “Christmas is All Around,” “Trouble with Love” and “Both Sides Now.”

Written and directed by Anderson Davis, it runs Nov. 27 through Dec. 29 at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. For tickets, call (310) 746-4000 or visit www.TheWallis.org/Love.

“The SantaLand Diaries” An unemployed writer taking a job as an elf at Macy’s department store in New York City takes a wry look at how the holiday season brings out the best – and the worst – in us all.

Written by David Sedaris, adapted by Joe Mantello, and directed by Chris DeCarlo, it runs Nov. 30 through Dec. 20 at the Santa Monica Playhouse in Santa Monica. For tickets, call (310) 394-9779 Ext. 1 or visit www.SantaMonicaPlayhouse.com.

Steve Zall and Sid Fish of Scene in L.A. know a lot about L.A. theatre and are ready to share with CV Weekly readers. You can read more at CVWeekly.com/LEISURE.