Bernard L. Madoff (or His Influence) Takes the Stage How to make sense of Bernard L. Madoff? After his $65 billion Ponzi scheme unraveled, cultural critics looked to literary and theatrical antecedents: the shady financier Augustus Melmotte in Anthony Trollope's "Way We Live Now"; the corner-cutting businessman Joe Keller in Arthur Miller's "All My Sons"; and, especially, the thieving investor in Harley Granville-Barker's play "The Voysey Inheritance." With time, this famous bamboozler has become a literary character in his own right, as have members of his family, whether directly represented or thinly veiled. It's hard to imagine Woody Allen not thinking of Ruth Madoff, the society wife brought low, as he created Cate Blanchett's indelible title figure in the new movie "Blue Jasmine." And this fall, another Mrs. Madoff-like figure will nurse her wounds in "The Commons of Pensacola," a Manhattan Theater Club production of Amanda Peet's play. "What makes you so sure I knew about my husband's business dealings?" she insists, as her two daughters (no Madoff sons here) figure out how to put their own lives back together. Ms. Peet's play is something of a comedy, and in its own blackhearted way so is Lee Blessing's, which begins previews at Atlantic Stage 2 on Sept. To a real-life saga replete with hubris, tragedy, faith and faithlessness, and innocent (or are they?) victims, this playwright makes room for "you think that's bad?" joking. Here's a guide to his play and others. Dan Steinberg/Associated Press Amanda Peet The Commons of Pensacola By Amanda Peet Begins previews Oct. 22 at City Center PLOT No sooner has Judith (Blythe Danner) adjusted to downsized life in a Florida condo than her daughter (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her daughter's boyfriend propose a reality TV series about the aftermath of the financial scandal that put her there. SPECIFIC INSPIRATION "I was curious about what happens to the wives and children of notorious people," Ms. Peet said. What would it be like if you found out, toward the end of your life, that your marriage wasn't what you thought it was? HOW CLOSE TO MADOFF STORY Similar to Ruth Madoff (and "Blue Jasmine"), though with comic dimensions and Hollywood knowingness. It's the first play from Ms. Peet, a TV and film actress. TELLING LINE "What matters is whether or not you had an inkling. A sense, fleeting, or not, that something wasn't as it should be. Erik Carter David Deblinger in rehearsal for the play "A User's Guide to Hell, Featuring Bernard Madoff." A User's Guide to Hell, Featuring Bernard Madoff By Lee Blessing Previews begin Sept. 5 at Atlantic Stage 2 PLOT Mr. Madoff (Edward James Hyland) is back home, but this New York isn't the place he left behind, as a satanic tour guide (David Deblinger) and various furious residents are quick to remind him. SPECIFIC INSPIRATION "What I wanted to do," Mr. Blessing told a video interviewer, "is examine my concept, and other people's concepts, of the afterlife - hell specifically - and I imagine that I chose Bernie Madoff because, you know, if there's anyone we can theoretically presume maybe going to hell, should there actually be a hell, Bernie would be a pretty universal candidate." HOW CLOSE TO MADOFF STORY Mohammed Atta and Josef Mengele make guest appearances, and the comedy is very, very, very black. When he hears that Mr. Madoff fleeced his fellow Jews, Mr. Atta announces: "You are my hero. God rain peace upon you. Lie down here. Stay a couple millennia. By Poh Si Teng and Erik Piepenburg In Steven Levenson's play "The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin," Mr. Denham plays James, the son of a disgraced former securities attorney who served a five-year prison sentence for fraud. The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin By Steven Levenson Concludes Sunday at Laura Pels Theater PLOT A disgraced lawyer (David Morse) moves in with his son (Christopher Denham) looking for forgiveness - and money. SPECIFIC INSPIRATION Mr. Levenson has said that the story is based on the father of a high school friend, a prominent Washington lawyer who went to jail for white-collar crime: "It made me wonder what it must be like for her father, who had recently been released from prison, how impossible a task to try to rebuild all that you've lost, to start over." HOW CLOSE TO MADOFF STORY The mortgage crisis is the backdrop, and the milieu is not nearly as high flying, but the familial brew of anger and self-justification rings true. TELLING LINE "Obviously I made mistakes, and I take every, I take full responsibility for that. But you know, we all make mistakes. And I for one have learned to live with that. C. Stanley Photography Rick Foucheux, left, and Mike Nussbaum in "Imagining Madoff" at Theater J in Washington. Imagining Madoff By Deb Margolin Played at Stageworks/Hudson, Theater J and other regional theaters; slated to open at New Repertory Theater outside Boston in 2014 PLOT The jailed financier debates philosophy and ethics with Solomon Galkin, a poet and Holocaust survivor. Interspersed are scenes of his longtime secretary providing testimony to the Securities and Exchange Commission. SPECIFIC INSPIRATION Ms. Margolin envisioned an encounter between Mr. Madoff and one of his most famous victims, Elie Wiesel, who lost a personal fortune in the Ponzi scheme. HOW CLOSE TO MADOFF STORY After Mr. Wiesel objected, the playwright wrote a new character, who still has strong echoes of the original inspiration. TELLING LINE "Let's go to a baseball game sometime together, I'll have my girl get some tickets, would you like to go? I think actually, Sol, we have a company box for visiting investors, I don't really keep track.