As luck - and the Vikings' football schedule - would have it, Augustana College's opening- weekend performances of The Taming of the Shrew coincided with the school's homecoming weekend, which allowed me the chance to reconnect with some fellow theatre-department alumni both before and after Saturday night's show. At several points during the evening, we laughed 'til we cried at stories of shared friends and past Augie productions, and it wasn't until the next day that I realized why this version of Shakespeare's comedy felt like the perfect play for my mood that night: Just like college, it was all about the joy of getting up in front of people and acting like a first-class goof.

THE DARJEELING LIMITED

Regarding Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited, let's acknowledge the elephant in the room right away: Watching Owen Wilson play a damaged, bandaged dreamer who recently survived a suicide attempt and masks his sadness with optimism and good cheer is almost painfully poignant, and at times, more than a little tough to watch. Happily, though, you can easily imagine being just as moved by him without awareness of the actor's off-screen troubles.

To understand the Degree of Difficulty inherent in the Nova Singers' season-opening concert, first imagine singing a particular vocal line - be it soprano, alto, tenor, or bass - against the three other vocal lines, and doing it a cappella, to boot.

Then imagine singing your part while those four parts turn into eight.

Then imagine singing your part while those eight parts turn into 12.

And then, imagine staying on your part with 81 people around you attempting the exact same thing.

American Repertory Ballet

Galvin Fine Art Center

Saturday, October 27, 7:30 p.m.