Seat Filler: NYC Theater Guide for March 2012

An Iliad
Homer’s epic poem gets a searing, achingly relatable retelling that condemns mankind’s bloodlust by giving Trojan warriors a contemporary context — including “close friends” Achilles and Patroclus. Out actors Denis O’Hare and Stephen Spinella alternately perform this one-man tour de force; I saw True Blood’s quirky O’Hare, who created the piece with director Lisa Peterson, and I’ll fight to defend that it’s his finest work to date.
New York Theatre Workshop, through April 1.

Carrie
Based on Stephen King's novel, the 1988 musical version of Carrie was Broadway’s bloodiest flop. The original authors have teamed with Altar Boyz director Stafford Arima and MCC Theater for a tastefully subdued revamp starring Molly Ranson as a telekinetic misfit and Marin Mazzie as her religious mom. This camp-free antibullying PSA takes itself very seriously, but you’re all gonna laugh at Corey Boardman as a questioning jock.
Lucille Lortel Theatre, through April 22.

The Maids
Set in a lady’s boudoir into which the audience peers as if through one-way mirrors, Red Bull Theater’s deliciously manic revival of Jean Genet’s 1947 revenge fantasy stars Ana Reeder and Jeanine Serralles as disgruntled housemaids and kissing sisters who engage in dangerous role-playing games to vent contempt for their mistress. This grandiose affair borders on drag — apropos since the gay playwright originally wanted men in the roles.
Theatre at St. Clement's, through April 1.