Coraline

Something’s in the air: Neil Gaiman’s fable Coraline is undergoing its second major adaptation in less than a year. But where Henry Selick’s animated adaptation stressed lush visuals and the pluck of a major motion-picture heroine, the talented collaborators in MCC’s new musical adaptation promise something darker, funnier, and further afield. Twists abound: Jane Houdyshell, a mature actor who justly wins acclaim in just about everything she does (Well and The Receptionist included) plays Coraline; downtown legend David Greenspan wrote the book and will play The Other Mother; Leigh Silverman directs with the verve and guts she brings whether on Broadway or Off-Off, steers; and behind it all is Magnetic Fields songwriting hero Stephin Merritt, whose dry darkness seems almost too perfect to have written the songs and lyrics.