The Stranger

Avenue Q is Sesame Street for adults: a puppet musical set in an "outer borough of New York," whose residents get drunk, have sex, fall for Scientology, and mourn their useless college diplomas. Song titles include "I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today," "The Internet Is for Porn," and "It Sucks to Be Me." Avenue Q opened in a 120-seat, off-Broadway theater in 2003 and surprised everyone by becoming a magnet for Tony and Drama Desk awards. (Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St, 292-2787. 1 and 6:30 pm, $25–$70. Through June 22.) by Brendan Kiley

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A lot of critics do not like this bold film. They accuse it of being a second-rate Dr. Strangelove. But how can War, Inc. be a second-rate Dr. Strangelove when its very content is completely different? The content of War, Inc., which stars John Cusack as 21st-century hitman for a privatized intelligence agency, is political from beginning to end. Kubrick's movie is ultimately apolitical. What makes one work political and another not? To be political is to care about human association, to care about the being-with-others. This is precisely the matter of War, Inc.and the anti-matter of Dr. Strangelove. by Charles Mudede

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Sometimes it seems like every bar, club, and Laundromat has an amateur burlesque night, with dilettante dancers who are as supple and sexy as a paper bag full of coat hangers. But the subterranean, candlelit Can Can remains a haven for the genuine article. You won't find any desultory shimmying here: These dancers are strong, limber, and explosive. They swing from chains, slam each other against walls, and generally steam up the almost-too-intimate stage. The Castaways are the soul and flower of burlesque. (Can Can, 94 Pike St, 652-0832. 9 pm, $5, 21+.) by Brendan Kiley

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Patte Loper's melancholy paintings and drawings of fluffy little dogs adrift in modernist interiors and fawns added to a series of famous minimalist installation photographs from the 1970s were charming to look at but also secretly thick with references and questions about art, sex, and nature. Now, in a show of new drawings and animation, she's taking on Antarctica. (Platform Gallery, 114 Third Ave S, 323-2808. Reception 5–7 pm, free.) by Jen Graves

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The marketing campaign for this play is horrifying—Seattle Shakespeare Company is calling the problematic problem play a "romantic comedy"—but the production doesn't seem to be much affected. The vibrant Sarah Harlett stars as Helena, a girl physician whose evident smarts don't prevent her from throwing herself at a snotty, unworthy boy. Bitterly funny, fast-paced, and well acted, All's Well That Ends Well is thoroughly enjoyable. Just don't call it a romantic comedy. (Seattle Shakespeare Company at Center House Theatre, Seattle Center, 684-7200. 7:30 pm, $20–$34.) ANNIE WAGNER by Annie Wagner

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