Paul Coates’ “Boy in a Box,” directed by Thomas Zoeschg at the Whitefire Theatre, is an unsettling one-man examination of race, history and confinement. The show follows Alexander MacMillian (Coates), a history professor who adopts a homeless “crack baby” and raises him inside a box. Through direct narration and pointed audience interaction, Alexander dissects America’s racial legacy and forces us to confront the psychological and literal consequences of living within imposed

Maegan Mandarino describes her new solo show “Big Hair: A Rad and Wild Love Affair”   as “a musical dramedy about the short-lived love...