Seat Filler

My Scandalous Life
Thomas Kilroy’s quietly touching play stars an uncannily convincing Des Keogh as Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde’s infamous lover. Addressing the audience in 1944 at the age of 74, Douglas — between Fiana Toibin’s interruptions as an Irish maid — rambles on in purple prose about his platonic marriage, sick son, and the indecency trials leading to Wilde’s imprisonment, but this stuffy drama needs some wilder dirt on Oscar himself.
Irish Repertory Theatre, through March 6.

Black Tie
In A.R. Gurney’s pleasant if lightweight comedy, a tuxedoed dad reconciles the lofty standards of his late father — a gentlemanly ghost played by The Nanny’s Daniel Davis — with modern mores as he prepares a rehearsal dinner toast for his son’s wedding. The family’s WASP-y tensions rise when the only other guest in a tie is a lesbian pal of the multiracial bride, whose gay ex-husband may steal the spotlight with stand-up comedy.
59E59 Theaters, through March 27.