With an incomparable gift for musical pastiche and an unflappably deadpan performing style, singer/songwriter Tom Lehrer sent every sacred cow of the 1950s straight to the abattoir, especially the big three: race, sex, and the Cold War. His owlish, Stevensonian demeanor–he recorded his first album in 1953 while a mathematics grad student at Harvard–let him get away with singing things in his one-man shows that probably would’ve landed an edgier comedian before a Congressional grand jury. The mid-’60s essentially saw the end of his lifetime output and his public career (Gen-Xers may recall his later non-political songs, like “Silent E” and “L-Y,” from The Electric Company), and he retreated to Santa Cruz to teach math and musical theater, bemoan the political scene, and genially refuse ever to be coaxed back into performing. But his satirical tunes live on in Unexpected Productions’ revue, directed by Arne Zaslove (who’s received the 84-year-old satirist’s blessing). GAVIN BORCHERT Opens Thurs., Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. Ends Nov. 17.

Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Starts: Nov. 1. Continues through Nov. 17, 2012