Tamarin Lawler, Stacy Phipps, Brad Hauskins, and Morgan Griffin in Tales of a Fourth Grade NothingI'm not personally familiar with author Judy Blume's children's book Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, but judging by the almost-packed house for Saturday's opening-day performance, I'm pretty sure many elementary-school students are. And based on the kids' relative silence and lack of fidgeting while observing the production, I'm guessing the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's stage production is, for them, just as much of a hit as the book.

the Promises, Promises ensemble During a recent post-show conversation, an actor friend and I agreed that perhaps the most exciting moments at any theatrical production are those few seconds before the production even starts, when the lights dim, cell phones (please God) are turned to silent or vibrate, and the venue becomes alive with possibility - with the awareness that, in this live art form, absolutely anything can happen.