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Xanadu delivers a frothy, fun evening, and for such a show, who could ask for anything more?

For anyone fond of Shaw, or, for that matter, anyone who delights in the witty and thoughtful interplay of words and ideas on stage, this is an opportunity not to be missed.

Teenage youth: soulful, loving, open-hearted, emotionally confused, intellectually curious, sexually blossoming, honest, full of hope and energy, victimized. Adults: tyrannical, abusive, clueless, hypocritical, closed-minded, punitive, hard-hearted, caring more about their image in the community than their children’s lives.

When top-of-the-line acting and spectacularly good technical theater combine to bring Brecht’s vision to life with the power and immediacy of Arena’s production, it isn’t at all hard to move to the foreground of one’s mind the lives of the inevitable counterparts of Mother Courage and her children in places like present-day Syria.

Most nostalgia exercises don’t benefit from the dark wit and satirical edge of Vidal, whose palpable delight in skewering people and institutions, along with several strong performances from the Keegan company, keep life in the old script yet.

Execution at a high level of the acting, musical, movement, and technical aspects of a production is expected from an A-level theater company like LTA, and this production does not disappoint.

Reston Community Players justifies its reputation as a top-notch company with this production, succeeding brilliantly in meeting the musical, dramatic, and technical demands of Les Miserables.

Constellation Theatre company’s production of Scapin misses no opportunity to combine visual, physical, verbal, and musical humor to produce one of those roll in the aisles sort of evenings.

Written and performed by Daniel Beaty, The Tallest Tree in the Forest is one of the most ambitious and complex examples of the first-person biographical show.

The play is very funny, in a bitter sort of way, though the plot ultimately becomes rather convoluted in its attempt to provide a satisfying ending.