The Showboat's former producing artistic director Matthew Teague Miller directed Always ... Patsy Cline, while Kory Danielson is music director and conductor, also playing piano during the performances. Much thought and work no doubt went into staging this production, but Miller, Danielson, and their crew make it seem like it came together spontaneously and organically.

In The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised], director Brent Tubbs has taken the dreary health precautions we've become inured to and turned them into comedic assets.

English people have a deserved reputation for rigid politeness, avoiding embarrassment, and keeping improprieties secret. These personality traits help drive much of the comedy of English farces. They drive this English story in an entirely different direction. Inside the proper tea kettle of this crowd, there's a bubbling mass of depravity and perversion threatening to boil, shriek, and spew forth secrets. Here, the unspeakable is spoken – for the most part … eventually … – with plenty of mystery yet to wonder over.

At Tuesday's preview performance of the Mississippi Bend Players' The Santaland Diaries at Augustana College, I had everything I needed for a respite from the relentless, forced holiday cheer outside. I had my seat in a cozy venue among a small passel of students revved up for their imminent academic break. I had a play by David Sedaris, one of my favorite writers. I had another lovely (and festively sparkly) Augustana set to gaze at, this one by technical director and scenic/lighting designer Mark Lohman. I had Keenan Odenkirk, one of my favorite actors. I had my cynical holiday exasperation dialed up to eight. It was the perfect storm.