I won’t lie to you: I consider myself a bit of an expert when it comes to televised baking shows. If you’ve ever opted into watching one yourself, you can rightly assume that you’re in for a treat with the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's latest offering Just Desserts, its book and lyrics by Barbara Campbell and its music by Brad Ross.

Each time I've attended a show at Augustana College's Brunner Theatre Center, I'm astonished by both the acting and technical brilliance. We had some great performers and techies during my St. Ambrose days, to be sure – but our theatre certainly wasn't equipped like this one. However, my justifiable envy doesn't lessen my enjoyment while at Augustana, including at Tuesday's dress rehearsal for The 39 Steps, directed by theatre professor Jeff Coussens.

I'll admit I was never a hearty fan of the Animaniacs approach, and as such, found it difficult to fully appreciate this production’s comedic offerings. But note: Just because this particular brand of comedy isn’t my personal favorite doesn’t mean that others on Saturday didn’t wholly love it.

It was thrilling to walk into the Playcrafters Barn Theatre on Saturday and see a large crowd for Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, as about four-fifths of the seats were occupied. And director Teresa Moore, along with her staff, crew, and cast, put together a smooth-running, well-paced, lively, and all-around-enjoyable production.