They’re baaaaack.

The area’s theater companies, that is. September marks season opener time for quite a few groups around town. Here are some of the highlights:

This weekend kicks things off with the Kennedy Center’s Page to Stage festival. Get a free first look at some of the new plays premiering around town this season. Lots of stuff looks interesting — a new take on Kafka’s The Trial from Catalyst, Ken Ludwig’s version of The Three Musketeers, a new offering from 3/4 of a Mass for St. Vivian prodigy Phoebe Rusch, etc. (Sept. 1)

Sondheim. Signature. Will Gartshore. ‘Nuff said. Merrily We Roll Along is the next offering from the Shirlington-based company. (Sept. 4)

Batboy definitely falls into the pantheon of Weird But Worth Watching productions. Landless Theater, always up for cult favorites, tries their hands at it. (Sept. 21)

Our last brush with Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” was likely in high school lit class (or possibly an AMC classic movie rerun?). No doubt, though, Synetic’s take on the chilling work will be no schoolboy endeavor. (Sept. 22)

True confession: Our favorite version of the Bard’s classic might be the “Moonlighting” episode which parodies it. For a bit more substance, see Shakespeare Theater Company’s The Taming of the Shrew (Sept. 24).