THE WONG KIDS IN THE SECRET OF THE SPACE CHUPACABRA GO! A rollicking outer-space adventure, written by Lloyd Suh, about a pair of siblings on the rocky threshold of adolescence who set out to defeat a planet-gobbling monster, save the universe, and maybe conquer self-doubt along the way. Starring Sasha Diamond and Alton Alburo. Directed by Ralph B. Pena. Through March 6. Ma-Yi Theater Company, presented by ArtsEmerson at Paramount Center Mainstage, Boston. 617-824-8400, www.arts emerson.org

BALTIMORE Students at a small New England college are brought face-to-face with the searing reality and troubling resilience of racism. Written by Kirsten Greenidge, one of Boston’s leading playwrights, this new play carries echoes of a generation having a necessary conversation with itself. Directed by Elaine Vaan Hogue. (Pictured: Desiré Hinkson.) Through Feb. 28. Boston Center for American Performance and New Repertory Theatre at BU Theatre, Lane-Comley Studio 210. 617-933-8600, www.bu.edu\cfa\bcap or www.newrep.org

AUGUST WILSON’S HOW I LEARNED WHAT I LEARNED Eugene Lee portrays the late August Wilson in a solo show that focuses on the playwright’s years in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, where most of the dramas in his Century Cycle are set. As a young man Wilson worked odd jobs to support himself, confronted racism, spent a brief stint in jail for not paying his rent, and forged friendships with other writers that helped shape his art and worldview. March 5-April 3. Huntington Theatre Company, at BU Theatre, Boston. 617-266-0800, www.huntingtontheatre.org DON AUCOIN

Don Aucoin can be reached at aucoin@globe.com.