OPENING AND CURRENT RUNS

recommended 14/48: THE WORLD'S QUICKEST THEATER FESTIVAL

Opening. "A punishing artistic exercise in speed and endurance, 14/48 invites playwrights, actors, et al., to crank out 14 original short plays in 48 hours. The results are usually disastrous or hilarious or both." (Brendan Kiley) 3-Card Monty and One World Theatre at Capitol Hill Arts Center, 1621 12th Ave, 800-838-3006. $14.48. Opening Fri July 14 at 8 and 10:30 pm. Sat at 8 and 10:30 pm. Through July 22.

APPLES ON THE FLOOD

A new play from New Orleans about gays, newlyweds, and flooding. Northwest Playwright's Alliance at Theatre 4, Seattle Center House, no reservations required. $8–$10. Thurs–Sat at 7:30 pm. Through July 15.

AS YOU LIKE IT

"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool." Wooden O at Volunteer Park, no reservations required. Free. Sat July 15 at 2 pm.

recommended BUST

"A solo comedy wherein Lauren Weedman—an actor and former Daily Show with Jon Stewart correspondent who lives in Los Angeles—signs up as an inmate advocate in a women's jail. Her primary task is to listen, but talking is what she does best, sometimes with (brilliantly) disastrous results. While searching through the byzantine hallways of a social-services building, looking for her prison orientation, she talks loudly on her cell phone about a recent incident involving 'really, just the tiniest amount of cocaine' and making out with a stranger in a bathroom. Turns out she's blaring her sordid story into the open doorway of her volunteer orientation. Later, Weedman jokes that she signed up 'because a women's jail is the only place where I have a shot at being the prettiest girl in the room.' Comedy is clearly one of Weedman's gifts—the other is specificity. Sometimes it's easy to forget that Weedman is a solo performer, evoking the conflicting moods of a roomful of people all by her lonesome." (Brendan Kiley) Empty Space Theatre, 901 12th Ave, 547-7500. $25–$30. Thurs at 7:30 pm, Fri–Sat at 8 pm, Wed at 7:30 pm. Through Aug 5.

recommended CIRCUS CONTRAPTION'S GRAND AMERICAN TRAVELING DIME MUSEUM

Opening. The final remount of the cirque noir hit, with Circus Contraption's ace aerialists, musicians, jugglers, and impresarios. Magnuson Community Center Auditorium, Magnuson Park, Building 47, 7400 Sand Point Way NE, 800-838-3006. $20–$23. Previewing Thurs July 13 at 8 pm. Opening Fri July 14 at 8 pm. Sat–Sun at 8 pm. Through July 23.

DINNER & DREAMS

Ongoing. The dinner-theater extravaganza, with European-style cirque performances as garnish. Teatro ZinZanni, 2301 Sixth Ave, 802-0015. $99–$125. Wed–Sat at 6:30 pm, Sun at 5:30 pm.

FÊTES DE LA NUIT

Final week. "This production—38 short skits by Charles L. Mee of characters stumbling around in Paris—is the equivalent of the Lascivious French Laugh that is almost impossible to copy on paper: a horny, over-the-top attention-getter. I'll admit, I swooned; I simply can't imagine a more perfect summer-evening theater date than this play. Everything works together to duplicate the giddy, irrational sense of falling in love." (Paul Constant) Strike Anywhere Productions and the Shunpike at Re-bar, 1114 Howell St, 800-838-3006. $10. Fri–Sun at 8 pm. Through July 16.

KUWAIT

"This facile play by Vincent Delaney is about the distortions perpetrated by embedded reporters and their military keepers during times of war (Gulf War I, to be precise). Thank god it's a one-act." (Annie Wagner) Theater Schmeater, 1500 Summit Ave, 325-6500. $18, Thurs by donation. Thurs–Sat at 8 pm. Through July 22.

LATE NITE CATECHISM

Ongoing. "The real point is not the adult-catechism monologue, but the script's gaps, in which Sister Aubrey Manning dispenses tissues to cover salacious displays of flesh and kitschy prizes to reward the dumbstruck targets of her improvisations." (Annie Wagner) Cloud 9 Productions at ACT Theatre, 700 Union St, 292-7676. $24.50–$29.50. Thurs–Sat at 8 pm, Sun at 2 pm. Tickets available through Aug 27.

MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL™

Final week. "What makes this toweringly formulaic crap about dusty uteruses even moderately bearable? The consummate cast was ferocious and fast." (Adrian Ryan) ACT Theatre, 700 Union St, 292-7676. $45. Thurs–Fri at 8 pm, Sat at 4 and 8 pm, Sun at 2 pm, Tues–Wed at 8 pm. Tickets available through July 16.

QUICKIES VOLUME 7

See review this issue. Live Girls! Theater, 2220 NW Market St, 800-838-3006. $10–$15. Thurs–Fri at 8 pm. Sat at 4 and 8 pm. Through July 22.

REWIND 1987

Opening. An interactive dinner-theater show about high school in the 1980s—the decade of Chernobyl, no-fault divorce, Michael Jackson, and other disasters. (Developed by Joel Thielke, brother of Rob, who did all those immortal Vern Fonk commercials.) The Last Supper Club, 124 S Washington St, 748-9975. $49–$69. Opening Fri July 14 at 7:30 pm. Sat at 7:30 pm. Through Aug 12.

recommended RICHARD III

Final week. "The play, and the production, come alive in Richard and his intimate relationship to the audience. Richard is a hunchbacked butcher (whose victims include his wife, his child nephews, and his brother, who is stabbed and drowned in a barrel of wine), but he is weirdly charismatic, especially in the hands of actor Stephen Pelinski, who gives a no-bullshit, no-histrionics performance that emphasizes Richard's magnetic will to power and grim sense of humor. His frequent soliloquies—delivered front and center—turn the audience into his confessor and co-conspirator, and Sher heightens the effect by turning up the house lights for the speeches, launching Richard off the stage and into our laps." (Brendan Kiley) Intiman Theatre, 201 Mercer St, 269-1900. $10–$46. Thurs at 7:30 pm, Fri at 8 pm, Sat at 2 and 8 pm. Through July 15.

THE ROETHKE

An "improvised celebration of poems, poets, and our visceral response to the startling, ephemeral nature of lyrical forms." Directed by Jeremy Richards. Unexpected Productions at the Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, 781-9273. $10. Fri–Sat at 8 pm. Through July 29.

THE SECRET RUTHS OF ISLAND HOUSE

Opening. "Ruth, Ruth, and Ruth are old. They inhabit the quiet, in-between spaces of the Island House retirement home." Nebunele Theatre at Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave S, www.nebunele.com. $8–$10. Opening Thurs July 13 at 8 pm. Fri–Sat at 8 pm. Through Aug 6.

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION

See review this issue. ReAct Theatre at Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 325-6500. $9–$15. Fri at 8 pm, Sat at 2 and 8 pm. Through July 30.

SMOKE ON THE MOUNTAIN

Opening. A musical comedy about a bluegrass "Saturday Night Sing" in Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, circa 1938. Taproot Theatre, 204 N 85th St, 781-9707. $15–$30. Previewing Thurs July 13 at 7:30 pm. Opening Fri July 14 at 8 pm. Sat at 2 and 8 pm. Wed at 7:30 pm by donation. Through Aug 12.

recommended STONES IN HIS POCKETS

Extended. "This two-man show about Irish extras in a Hollywood movie is like a well-made sandwich—warm, charming, and full of cheese." (Brendan Kiley) Capitol Hill Arts Center, 1621 12th Ave, 800-838-3006. $18–$20. Thurs–Sat at 7:30 pm. Through July 29.

TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA

Final weekend. "That man that hath a tongue, I say, is no man, if with his tongue he cannot win a woman." Snoqualmie Falls Forest Theater, 36800 SE David Powell R, Fall City, 425-736-7252. $6–$16, optional dinner an additional $16. Fri at 8 pm, Sat at 3 and 8 pm, Sun at 3 pm. Through July 16.

CABARET

BURLESQUE BEHIND THE PINK DOOR

Ongoing. Novelty acts, puppets, crooners, and old-fashioned burlesque. With Paula the Swedish Housewife. Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley. No reservations required. $10. (21+ w/ID.) Sat at 10:30 pm.

COLUMBIA CITY CABARET

Ongoing. A "saucy cabaret," hosted by Tamara the Trapeze lady. Columbia City Theatre, 4916 Rainier Ave S, no reservations required. $15 (21+ w/ID). Fri at 9 pm.

LITTLE RED STUDIO

One night only. "Beauty, art, and the erotic." Little Red Studio, 1506 Franklin Ave E, www.littleredstudioseattle.com. $30. Fri July 14 at 9 pm.

LIVE BURLESQUE

Ongoing. Tassels, teats, and a dirty blues band. SeaMonster Lounge, 2202 N 45th St, 633-1824. Free, no reservations required. Tues at 11 pm.

IMPROV & COMEDY

Jan Barrett at Comedy Underground, 222 Main St, 800-325-7328. $6–$15 (21+ w/ID required). Thurs at 8:30 pm, Fri–Sat at 8:30 and 10:30 pm. Jet City Improv at Historic University Theater, 5510 University Way NE, 325–6500. $8–$10. Fri at 10:30 pm. Sat at 8 and 10:30 pm. Theatresports at Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, 781-9273. $8–$12. Fri–Sat at 10:30 pm, Sun at 7 pm. Comedy Night at Mirabeau Room, 529 Queen Anne Ave N, www.prokomedy.com. $5. Wed at 8 pm.

REALITY WORLD: SEASON 2

A reality show that's actually improvised. Wing-It Productions at Historic University Theater, 5510 University Way NE, www.wingitpresents.com. $10. Thurs–Fri at 8 pm. Through July 28.

LATE NIGHT

CRESCENDO FALLS

"The story involves the sex-and-violence machinations of a wealthy family—a mother held hostage in a wine cellar, brothers killing brothers, inadvertent incest ('she's your long-lost sister!'), and gay jokes galore. For instance: Husband to angry wife: 'I'm in prison. Do you know what that means?' Angry wife to husband: 'Yes! For the first time in your life, you don't have to pay for gay sex!' (Groan.) Crescendo Falls proudly wears the stripes of late-night theater: gleeful sloppiness, confusing and mostly irrelevant plots, over-over-over-over-the-top performances, filthy jokes, and a bar." (Brendan Kiley) Theater Schmeater, 1500 Summit Ave, 325-6500. $12. Fri–Sat at 11 pm. Through July 22.

LATE NIGHT WITH SATAN

See review this issue. Wing-It Productions at Historic University Theater, 5510 University Way NE, www.wingitpresents.com. $5. Sat at midnight. Through August 28.

LET THEM EAT PORK: LIBERTÉ, ÉGALITÉ, MOCHA LATTÉ

Late-night sketch comedy, including something called "Gridlocked! The Gary Locke Story." Pork Filled Players at Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 325-6500. $6–$9. Fri–Sat at 10 pm. Through July 29.

SPECIAL EVENTS

recommended CONWORKS GARAGE SALE

One weekend only. See Theater News. Consolidated Works, 500 Boren Ave N, no reservations required. Free. Sat–Sun 10 am–4 pm.

LITTLE BOOKSTORE RIOTS

One night only. A reading of a new play by Josh Beerman (Eulogy for a Citizen). Seattle Dramatists at Theater Schmeater, 1500 Summit Ave, 720-0083. $2. Mon July 17 at 7 pm.