Stage Reviews

All in the Timing If you go to the theater regularly, you already may have encountered one or more of the six funny one-acts by David Ives in this show. They are short, literate, effervescent and absurd—a good choice to show off the buoyant energy of Lookout! Players, which represents a youth movement in local community theater. Recovering English majors will giggle over Words, Words, Words, which sets three chimpanzees at typewriters, with echoes of Hamlet and Paradise Lost. Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread interprets an everyday transaction through the composer’s trademark repetitive minimalist style. There are several good, strong laughs, along with a smattering of expletive, done with a dash of college sophomoric style. Old Eagle Theatre, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, $10-$12. 925 Front Street, Old Sacramento, 265-4125. Reservations via www.lookoutproductions.org. Through November 23. J.H.

The Canoe This Interactive Asian Contemporary Theatre production isn’t a comedy or a drama. It’s more of a fable, set on a magical Polynesian island with talking animals and plants. The central character is a bookish teenage girl who decides to learn how to paddle one of those oceangoing canoes. The story moves on Hawaiian time as the girl learns and grows. But the mood is nicely sustained, with pleasing performances by community actors. Broadway Playhouse, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, $12-$14. 4010 El Camino Avenue, 452-6174 or iactdy@cs.com. Through November 17. J.H.

Copenhagen At long last, a local production of Michael Frayn’s physically compact, intellectually vast script. The occasion is a mysterious meeting in Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1941. German physicist Werner Heisenberg, on the Nazi payroll, makes a difficult re-acquaintance with his former mentor Niels Bohr, who is part Jewish and who will escape to the West soon. The topics include science, geopolitics, theories of racial supremacy, and the long shadows that extend from the death of a child. Director Ken Kelleher and actors Julian López-Morillas, Jessica Powell and Alex Moggridge do a bit of magic with an enormously potent piece of writing. B Street Theatre; 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Additional Wednesday matinees are November 27; December 4, 11 and 18; and January 8. $16.50-$20.50. 2727 B Street, 443-5300. Through January 12. J.H.

The Full Monty This stage version (based on the British movie) transfers the action to economically depressed Buffalo, N.Y., where a closed factory has put six guys out of work. Short on cash and suffering from a loss of social status, they embark on an unlikely new career path as male strippers. There are numerous underwear scenes and plenty of teasing references to penis size, but, basically, it’s a buddy story and a fun one at that. Sacramento Community Center Theatre; 8 p.m. daily with 2 p.m. matinees on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday; $10-$65. 1301 L Street, 557-1999 or 264-5181. Through November 17. J.H.

Fully Committed Our tour guide into the culinary confusion and demanding upscale clientele of a four-star New York restaurant is Sam, an out-of-work actor and restaurant employee in charge of the reservation list. This one-man theatrical tour de force is presented by Matt K. Miller, who masterfully portrays more than 40 different characters—changing personalities and accents within nanoseconds. Miller plays Sam as well as the pushy patrons, the chaotic kitchen staff and the cantankerous chef. The actor deftly keeps all the plates spinning in air, with accents, lines and characters whizzing by while he continually sprints across the stage to answer phones and intercoms. Sacramento Theatre Company; 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; $18-$36. 1419 H Street, 443-6722. Through January 5. P.R.

Just the Guy Jack Gallagher returns for another limited run of his recent one-man show. Gallagher contrasts his working-class youth (as an Irish-American kid back east) against his close encounter in Lotus Land with prime-time TV stardom. The show is peppered with jokes, reflecting Gallagher’s past as a stand-up comic, but also contrasts two very different work ethics. It’s also a cautionary tale about Hollywood. B Street Theatre; 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; $20-$25 or $15-$19 for subscribers. 2711 B Street, 443-5300. Through November 17. J.H.

The Odd Couple This is one of Neil Simon’s most uncomplicated and genuinely funny plays. When you combine the winning script with this winning production, it’s a win-win scenario all the way around. The Odd Couple revolves around the unlikely relationship between the slovenly sportswriter Oscar and his persnickety, anal-retentive friend Felix. Much of the credit for this male-bonding sentimentality goes to the Chautauqua’s great cast. Chautauqua Playhouse, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (November 10 and 17), $12. 5325 Engle Road, Carmichael, 489-7529. Through November 23. P.R.

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest Several aspects of this large-scale show deserve high commendations, most notably Scott Divine’s rebellious, taut performance as the personally magnetic mental patient R.P. McMurphy opposite Sandra McCord as the icy, controlling nurse Ratched. It’s also hard to keep your eyes off tall, often silent Derek Byrne (as Chief Bromden). And Susan McCandless’ set is the essence of impersonal, pale green institutionalism. But Divine’s direction isn’t quite as sustained as his acting, and one or two technical glitches cropped up in the performance reviewed. Still, this ambitious production by Main Street Theatre Works trembles on the brink of a higher rating. If you’re a fan of this script, this production’s well worth a try. Sutter Creek Theatre, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, $10-$14. 44 Main Street (Highway 49), Sutter Creek, (209) 267-5680. Through November 30. J.H.

The Queen of Bingo Sisterhood really is powerful—and pretty funny, too—in this winning little comedy. But the two middle-aged characters in this show are anything but self-empowered; they’re playing bingo in a church hall, grousing about another lady who’s taken their lucky chairs, relating tales of junk-food excess and getting giddy when they get a winning card. Sue Madden and Trish DeBaun bring sympathy, energy and insight to what easily could have been less-dimensional characters. Thistle Dew Dessert Theatre, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, $14-$18. 1901 P Street, 444-8209. Through November 23. J.H.

The Woman in Black A woman in black is haunting the Delta King. Her ghostly figure is beckoning from aboard the Old Sac paddleboat. You say you don’t believe in ghosts? Well, this production of a chilling story of creaking floors and spooky English moors will make a believer out of skeptics. This play is truly theater of the mind, with language and illusions locking this haunting story in your head and fear in your heart. Delta King Theatre; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; $14-$16. Delta King, 1000 Front Street, Old Sacramento, 995-5464. Through November 16. P.R.