Short Review: Becky Shaw

The title character doesn’t even make her appearance until halfway through this dark comedy of family, death, marriage, and dating. And when she finally does, she’s not quite the heroic figure who will be diving in to fix things – instead Becky is just one more swimmer in a pool of emotional messes. This is a fascinating, though sometimes frustrating, look into murky human dynamics – where surprising twists are tossed in on a regular basis with most adding to the ongoing intrigue, though sometimes less would be more. Thu 8pm, Fri 8pm, Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm performance on 2/11. Through 2/17; $12-$22; Big Idea Theatre, 1616 Del Paso Boulevard; (916) 960-3036; www.bigideatheatre.org.