Weekend Theatre: May 8-10

ALSO PLAYING

Lovetanic @ the Historic University Theatre. Local comic geniuses Wing-It Productions are halfway through the run of Lovetanic, a semi-improvised musical based on the story of the Titanic. (5510 University Way NE. Thurs. & Fri. 8 p.m. Tix $10.)

Rabbit Hole @ Hugo House. "It's easy to enjoy the cast--you meet the family at their most fragile point, so unable to keep it together that they're reduced to a caricature of miscommunication, but then you gradually get to know (or guess at) the vibrant personalities so distorted by grief and stress. But that still leaves the question of why to go see a play that, for all its brusque, mordant humor, has such sadness at its heart." [Read our review.] (1634 Eleventh Ave. Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 & 7 p.m. $15.)

Embarrassed! @ VoxBox. "The ensemble of actors take the stage for 12 or so minutes each to recount what's supposed to be the most embarrassing moment of their lives, and while the first half is decidedly weaker than the second, there's enough real laughs by the end to justify the ticket price." [Read our review.] (1205 Pike St. #BA. Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m. $10.)

Love's Tangled Web @ Annex Theatre. "Love's Tangled Web reminded us sharply of how hilariously queeny things used to be around here. It goes on far too long--what starts out with a full head of bitchy, biting steam somersaults into the ridiculous, then faceplants." [Rad our review.] (1100 E. Pike St. Fri. & Sat., 8p.m. Tix $12/$5.)

Gutenberg! the Musical @ ArtsWest. "Gutenberg, Johann. 'German printer born around the year 1400. Detailed records of his life and work are scant.' Or so the audience is told by the fictional playwrights Doug Simon and Bud Davenport, based on their internet research. With what little info they do know about the inventor of the printing press, the fictional friends write and compose Gutenberg! The Musical!, filling in the missing details of his life with what they charitably call 'historical fiction.'" [Read our review.] (4711 California Ave. SW. Thurs.-Sat. 7:30 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. Tix $32/$10.)

CLOSING

Keefee's House of Cards @ Theatre off Jackson. Local theatre artist Stephen Hando, with Printer's Devil Theatre, have expanded Hando's character/caricature "Keefee" from a comic routine into a full-length installation show. Keefee, "a fixture of the Tallahassee gay bar culture for longer than anybody cares to remember," has recently pulled up stakes and headed out west to Vegas, setting up shop at "Shenanigans," the “Gaming House of Broken Dreams.” (409 Seventh Ave. S. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m. $15.)

Jekyll & Hyde @ ACT. "Dr. Jekyll must be the loser if Hyde is the winner, and Bradford Farwell injects his Jeykll character with healthy doses of arrogance and sanctimony in ACT's production. Jekyll's an asshole, and a creepy asshole to top it off. Everyone else in the show--but chiefly David Anthony Lewis--plays a Hyde whose blood runs pretty hot in a violent outbursty sense, but is otherwise shy and thoughtful. Is it a spoiler if we tell you which of the two get the girl?" [Read our review.] (700 Union St. Thurs. 7:30, Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2 & 8, Sun. 2 & 7:30. Tix $10/$15/$37/50+.)

Wishful Drinking @ Seattle Rep. "[I]f diseased lung is what it takes to keep the rest of going in these dark times, Carrie Fisher has enough to qualify as a stimulus package in and of herself." [Read our review.] (Fri. 7:30 p.m., Sat. 2 & 7:30 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. Tix $20-$75.)

Sunday In the Park With George @ 5th Avenue. There are two sorts of musical theatre people: the Andrew Lloyd Webber sort, and the Stephen Sondheim sort. This writer squarely falls in the latter category. Sondheim rejects the jazz and pop oriented simplicity of his forebears, composing brilliantly complex and off-kilter music, perfectly matched to the thematic complexity of his stories. Sunday in the Park isn't Sweeney Todd, quite, but it's a fantastic piece of musical theatre in its own right and well worth the effort--even if you don't care for musicals much at all, Sondheim could win you over. (1308 Fifth Ave. Fri. 8, Sat. 2 & 8, Sun. 1:30. Tix $22-$81.)