Becca Meumann and Doug Johnson in barePassion counts for a lot in drama, and sincerity counts for a lot plus, and both qualities are in welcome abundance in the Center for Living Arts' presentation of the adolescent-angst musical bare. Another theatrical commitment kept me away during opening weekend, but if you haven't yet caught up with the show, I heartily recommend taking advantage of its three-weekend run; you could conceivably ask for a stronger production, but only a complete boor would dare ask for a more heartfelt one, or one that exuded more enthusiasm and feeling from its clearly, beautifully invested participants.

Haley Nellis, Garrin Jost, and Aaron Lord in Spring AwakeningFriday's performance of the Center for Living Arts' Spring Awakening wasn't perfect. But it was in the production's imperfections that its main strengths were revealed, because the earnestness in the actors' portrayals wound up overshadowing the pitch problems, and the enthusiasm of director Dino Hayz's young-adult cast - who performed the hell out of the piece - proved so infectious and stirring that the show still proved effective.