The 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.

It's hard to go wrong with a musical revue of 70's songs. Okay, actually a lot could go wrong: pitch problems, poor song selection, technical difficulties, weak performances. Fortunately, though, the Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse's 8-Track: The Sounds of the 70's suffered only a handful of pitch issues and a few missed microphone cues on Thursday's opening-night performance, and otherwise mirrored the fun of the decade's music.

To paraphrase one of Big River's best-known lyrics, I've been waitin' for the men to shine on the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre stage all summer long. In my estimation, and with the exception of a few notable performances - Antwaun Holley in Rent, Michael Oberfield in Show Boat - the male actors haven't really held their own against the female actors this season. That is, until Big River; on Saturday night, every single male performer in Mark Twain's boy-centric tale of Huck Finn offered a noteworthy performance.

Jennifer Noble is in the wrong role in the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre's production of Show Boat. That's to say, she's so good in the role of Julie that the part seems woefully small. It is, however, impossible for Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II to write more songs and dialogue for the character, so we must be content to enjoy what we can during Noble's time on stage. And enjoy it I did. Immensely.