Sometimes you just want to dress up and pretend you’re not a college student who spends more time at frat parties than wine bars, and a night at the theater is the perfect excuse to do that. Although many may think of St. Louis as a cultural desert, the Gateway to the West is actually a popular stop for many nationally touring Broadway shows, and reasonable prices at the two main venues (The Fabulous Fox Theatre and Peabody Opera House) combined with student discounts make a night feeling like a sophisticated consumer of culture much easier than you might think. Here are four Broadway shows coming through St. Louis this semester that you might want to check out.

‘Nice Work If You Can Get It’

Oct. 10-12, Peabody Opera House

One of the few original musicals that have been produced in the last five years (though admittedly with a songbook full of Gershwin classics), “Nice Work If You Can Get It” premiered on Broadway in 2012 and throws audiences back to the glamor and excess of the Roaring ’20s. As a motley crew of characters gathers to celebrate Jimmy Winter’s bachelor party, bootlegger Billie Bendix throws a cog into Jimmy’s future, marriage and the rest of the extravagant 1920s New York society. Full of screwball comedy and light-headed romance, “Nice Work If You Can Get It” should be a classic Broadway experience full of big numbers and electrifying choreography.

‘Dirty Dancing’

Oct. 21—Nov. 2, The Fabulous Fox

“Dirty Dancing” offers audiences the chance to relive the ’80s power-pop soundtrack of the hit movie in musical form, including classics like “Hungry Eyes” and “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.” The adaptation will star Samuel Pergande and Jillian Mueller as leading duo Johnny Castle and Frances, aka Baby, an unlikely pair that come together on vacation in upstate New York. When Baby runs into the resort’s dance teacher, Castle, she can’t help but be swept up by the intoxicating rhythms and passion of dance, and Castle himself. It may be a familiar story, but the choreography-filled, brightly staged adaptation promises to be crowd-pleasing and entertaining without being too taxing on the brain; a perfect break from the library.

‘Motown: The Musical’

Nov. 18-30, The Fabulous Fox

The story of the founder and king of Motown Berry Gordy’s rise to fame, “Motown: The Musical” follows Gordy on the trajectory from a career in boxing to becoming the kingpin of Motown music, the genre that blended soul with rhythm and blues and launched a range of illustrious careers from Michael Jackson to Marvin Gaye. “Motown: The Musical” is another crowd-pleaser designed to delight the Broadway masses and their love of a good throwback, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be an infectiously enjoyable night. Much like “Dirty Dancing,” the music won’t be anything new or groundbreaking, but it will be chock-full of comforting and joyous Motown hits like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “I Want You Back”—it’s hard not to dance to the likes of Diana Ross or Stevie Wonder.

‘Annie’

Dec. 2-7, The Fabulous Fox

Another sing-along favorite, “Annie” will hit The Fabulous Fox this December, bringing with it the legendary soundtrack and well-known story about Little Orphan Annie who secretly knows that her parents are still out there somewhere. And that life will be better “Tomorrow.” After generous benefactor Mr. Warbucks offers a reward to help Annie find her parents, some unsavory characters see an opportunity to collect the money at the little redhead’s expense. The new take on the original music is directed by original lyricist and director Martin Charnin, and promises to provide the same big-scale staging and uplifting songbook that we all know and love. A night out watching “Annie” will be like slipping on a warm, well-worn sweater in the December cold.