The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
The cult-like lovers of Glee, distressed by the show's current hiatus, will find sweet succour in this musical about a pack of geeks competing for faint, regional fame. Charmingly spiked with songs like Woe Is Me and My Friend, the Dictionary. Granville Island Stage, until July 31 (www.artsclub.com).
Antony and Cleopatra
Andrew Wheeler is the Roman triumvir Antony and Jennifer Lines is Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen he's dangerously infatuated with. Bard vet Scott Bellis directs. Vanier Park, June 17 to Sept. 24 (www.bardonthebeach.org).
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story
Against the uproarious and glamorous catastrophe that is Lady Gaga, the music of Buddy Holly might seem laughably sedate to today's youth. But that Holly was indeed a revolution (and a revelation) for his legion of fans has become self-evident in the ovation-fuelled performances currently running at the Arts Club's Stanley stage. The uncanny Holly interpreter on offer is Zachary Stevenson (whose only problem is that he's markedly better looking than Holly ever was). For Buddy, he sings Peggy Sue, That'll Be the Day, Oh Boy and the rest of the brief but wondrous songbook. Don't ask about the play's script, which (for 17,000 performances around the world) has been a perfect example of what we might call a "Tostito script" - it has no nutritional value itself, but helps us consume what we're after. In this case, that something else is classic rock expertly delivered. Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, to July 11 (www.artsclub.com).
Godspell
A team of mostly "emerging" artists has been assembled to stage this revisionist (and ever-popular) series of musical parables drawn from the Bible by Steven Schwartz in 1970 (think of a cross between Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar). Schwartz was only 23 when he composed this music, decades away from his more recent masterpiece, the Broadway musical Wicked. Schwartz relied heavily on actual hymns for the songs in Godspell but is a smart lyricist in his own right - he wrote lyrics for several Disney flicks ( Enchanted, Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame). His lightly twisted, yet somehow reverential treatment of his biblical ur-text is in keeping with Pacific Theatre's mission to earnestly explore religious themes while never succumbing to blind religiosity. Pacific Theatre, to July 3. (pacifictheatre.org).
Much Ado About Nothing
Beatrice and Benedick, the quarrelling wits in Much Ado who inevitably discover their hatred to be a childish abstraction of love, are an absolute delight in Bard on the Beach's mainstage comedy. Jennifer Lines, perhaps the single best-loved actor at the Shakespeare festival, masters the role of Beatrice, dishing out supremely confident airs and moments of subtle bemusement. But it's John Murphy who surprises. As the fast-talking Benedick he's brilliant. His hands move as though he were conducting his own words, and the poetry does spill out like some hilarious form of music. The same praise can't be heaped on their co-stars. Hero (Almeera Jiwa) and Claudio (Gaelan Beatty), for example, are a more "romantic" pair, wholly unironic in their lurching toward and away from each other. (And not half so fun to watch.) Under the tents at Vanier Park, to Sept. 25 (www.bardonthebeach.org).