New Ground Theatre's Clybourne Park, written by Bruce Norris as a sequel, of sorts, to Lorraine Hansberry's classic play A Raisin in the Sun, takes quite a bit of time to get rolling. But once it does, this exploration of racial tensions at different points in American history is wickedly hilarious. Director Chris Jansen effectively employs a slow, nearly dull pacing to build to a significant payoff, particularly in the second act, when the purposefully bland tone fits the play's scene of a neighborhood-association meeting. Following Friday's performance, I was amused at how, during the presentation, I went from being almost bored to laughing heartily.

It was with eager anticipation that I sat down to watch Friday's performance of the QC Theatre Workshop's Bat Boy: The Musical, especially knowing that Calvin Vo would be portraying the title role.

There's a line in the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's production of Sherlock Holmes & the Case of the Jersey Lily, delivered by Tommy Ratkiewicz's Oscar Wilde (yes, that Oscar Wilde), that goes, “People are either charming or tedious.” His observation is true of director John VanDeWoestyne's staging, too, and particularly of the show's cast members. Thankfully, though, several of the supporting actors bring a charm to the stage that lightens the mood, and makes playwright Katie Forgette’s script more bearable.

Thank goodness for second acts, because Saturday's production of the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's Funny, You Don't Look Like a Grandmother, with its first act that almost put my own mother-who-doesn't-look-like-a-grandmother to sleep, had us laughing fairly heartily during its second half. Director Ann Nieman's staging of this modern-granny revue is fun and comfortably paced, and her choreography is oftentimes peppy and clever, especially in the yoga-class number and the jazzy, early-20th-Century-styled footwork of the musical's high-energy "Grandmas to Go," which features the play's three leads - Karen Pappas, Deborah Kennedy, and Andrea Moore - singing gorgeous, tight, impressive Andrews Sisters-type harmonies.