The good news from Broadway is that, assuming the curtain goes up, this fall can’t possibly be as bad as last year’s. Come to think of it, even an unraised curtain would be preferable to another season of “Oldest Confederate Widow,” “Six Dance Lessons” – the wounds are too fresh to continue.

Instead, New York finally gets to see “Democracy” (Brooks Atkinson, November 18), Michael Frayn’s lavishly celebrated play about loyalty and betrayal in West Germany. As Willy Brandt, the estimable James Naughton will try to wash away the stain of last year’s “Prymate”; Richard Thomas, excellent in “The Stendhal Syndrome,” plays his duplicitous assistant. It’s true that the British press has not been the sturdiest guide to good plays lately (see the over praised and disappointing “Oklahoma,” “Vincent in Brixton,” or “Guantanamo”). But this import arrives by way of Nicholas Hytner’s revitalized Royal National Theatre, so cautious optimism is in order.

Mostly the fall abounds in promising combinations. In “Frankie and Johnny” two years ago, Broadway made the happy discovery that Edie Falco is as dazzling onstage as on “The Sopranos.” She returns this fall opposite Brenda Blethyn in a revival of Marsha Norman’s “‘Night, Mother”(Royale, November 14 to February 27). Phylicia Rashad won a Tony last year for “A Raisin in the Sun.” In August Wilson’s “Gem of the Ocean” (Walter Kerr, November 11) she’ll finally get a leading man worthy of her talent: Delroy Lindo.

Credit the producers of a splashy new revival of “La Cage Aux Folles” (Marquis, December 9): They resisted the temptation to cast underachieving celebrities, trusting the leading roles to wily veterans Gary Beach and Daniel Davis. The Biltmore will host a collaboration, not of actors but companies: Second Stage and Manhattan Theatre Club will work together to stage Craig Lucas’s “Reckless” (October 14). Mary-Louise Parker leads a cast that includes Rosie Perez and Jeremy Shamos, one of the best young actors in town.

All these shows and more will come to Broadway between now and New Year’s. Since a depressing amount of the “more” consists of solo performances, let’s skip down to Off-Broadway, where the prospects are more agreeable.

Prophecy has long been a characteristic trick of Caryl Churchill’s. Her “Far Away” – paranoid, dystopian, Hobbes as high comedy – remains the best September 11 play yet written, even though it was written before September 11 and makes no reference to terrorism. New York Theatre Workshop follows that 2002 gem with Ms. Churchill’s “A Number” (December 7). The play apparently has something to do with cloning; Sam Shepard, who will star, was hilariously vague about the subject in a recent interview with New York magazine. Not that it matters: A Caryl Churchill play about sock puppets would be worth seeing.

The same goes for Charles Mee. At Lincoln Center, he reunites with his “Vienna Lusthaus” collaborator Martha Clarke in “Belle Epoque” (Mitzi E. Newhouse, November 21to January 2), a look at the life of Toulouse Lautrec. The Atlantic has “A Second Hand Memory,” a new play written and directed by Woody Allen. Details are scarce at this point, but the cast will feature Michael McKean, Martha Plimpton, and, most intriguingly, Dominic Chianese. In “Arturo Ui” and “Much Ado About Nothing,” he has shown there’s a lot more than Uncle Junior to him – maybe now we’ll find out how much.

The Roundabout offers another bright combination, as Matthew Broderick and Frances Sternhagen star in Larry Shue’s “The Foreigner” (Laura Pels, November 7). Meanwhile, MCC has a new play by Neil Labute, “Fat Pig” (MCC, December 9), and one by Bryony Lavery, “Last Easter” (Lucille Lortel, October 7). To judge by the playwrights’ past works, this does not have the makings of a frothy season; it may be an engrossing one.

With four hits last year, Doug Hughes proved himself one of the most adept directors in New York. This year he’ll continue to be one of the busiest. In addition to Ms. Lavery’s “Last Easter,” he’s directing John Patrick Shanley’s “Doubt” (MTC Stage 1, November 22) for the Manhattan Theatre Club. Cherry Jones and Brian O’Byrne lead his gifted cast. At the Public, Peter Dinklage, all four and a half feet of him, plays the usurping, seducing villain in “Richard III” (Public, October 11 to 24).

The theatrical attractions aren’t limited to Manhattan stages this fall. In November, the 92nd Street Y presents Rick McKay’s documentary “Broadway: The Golden Age (Steinhardt Building, November 21 only)” and a panel of Broadway stars. Then there’s Brooklyn. As usual, BAM’s Next Wave Festival abounds in potential wonders.

The promising imports include Martin Sherman’s adaptation of “A Passage to India” (Harvey Theater, November 2 to 6) and the return of the inventive Cheek by Jowl company, with “Othello” (Harvey Theater, October 5 to 10). It’s also gratifying to see so many American artists in this year’s mix. Director/ choreographer David Gordon and Valda Setterfield star in Ionesco’s “The Chairs” (Harvey Theater, December 1 to 4), which gets a new translation from Michael Feingold. John Jesurun, one of the more singular downtown playwrights, has concocted a new version of an old story: “Faust / How I Rose” (Harvey Theater, November 16 to 20) is adapted from a production by the Mexican company Teatro de Arena. Also, there is a new Robert Wilson piece, “The Temptation of Saint Anthony” (Howard Gilman Opera House, October 19 to 24) for those who like Robert Wilson pieces.

Though it is not, strictly speaking, a work of theater, the most exciting thing in the festival may be “Sun Rings” (Howard Gilman Opera House, October 6 to 9). The Kronos Quartet and a 70-person choir will perform a new Terry Riley score in front of 40-foot projections of NASA photographs of celestial sights. Other shows may be funnier, more moving, or more melodic, but if it’s sheer trippiness that you’re after – undiluted, mind-blowing, have-to-see-it-to-believe-it-ness – this might be the combination for you.