The Pitmen Painters

This period drama by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot) is an art-class play in several senses of the term. The English import is literally about painting instruction: It sketches a portrait of art teacher Robert Lyon (Ian Kelly) and a group of rural English coal miners who became art-world successes in the 1930s. The first act is devoted primarily to art; the second is increasingly concerned with the English class system. Although the play's notes of socialist disillusionment may resonate less emotionally for American audiences, it’s a well-crafted evening of theater.—Adam Feldman