Ashley Hoskins, Lisa Kahn, and Sarah Ade Wallace in The Red Velvet Cake WarTwo of the things I miss most about reviewing theatre with greater frequency are raving about area artists whose talents I'm quite familiar with, and raving about area artists whose talents are brand-spanking-new to me. Happily, regarding the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's The Red Velvet Cake War, I get to do both. And that's especially gratifying because one of the things I absolutely do not miss is explaining why certain well-meaning, lighthearted endeavors designed solely to entertain simply don't work for me, and it looks like I have to do that, too.


Diane Greenwood and Eugenia Giebel in Christmas BellesThe audience at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's Saturday-night performance of Christmas Belles - a sequel to Dearly Beloved, which the theatre staged in 2008 - seemed to really want to enjoy this second visit with the eccentric Texans of the Futrelle family. Yet with its dull, predictable punchlines, the first act was filled with polite chuckles, but only peppered with honest laughs.