OPENING AND CURRENT RUNS

AN INSPECTOR CALLS
A dead village girl, an engaged society girl, and an odd inspector. Taproot Theatre, 204 N 85th St, 781-9707. $15–$30. Thurs at 7:30 pm, Fri at 8 pm, Sat at 2 and 8 pm, Wed at 7:30 pm. Through March 4.

BEAT THE SUNSET
Opening. The American premiere of a Canadian play about childhood friends, HIV, and intimacy. ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave SW, 938-0339. $10–$24. Opening Wed March 1 at 7:30 pm. Through March 18.

BEDTIME STORIES
Final week. Classic children's stories, adapted by Bret Fetzer and Keri Healey. Printer's Devil Theatre at IKEA, 600 SW 43rd St, Renton. Free, no reservations required. Sat at noon. Through Feb 25.

BIRTH OF A NASIAN
One weekend only. Kate Rigg and Lyris Hung (from NYC) perform Birth of a nAsian, a combination of politics, comedy, spoken word, violin, and beats. Consolidated Works, 500 Boren Ave N, 800-838-3006. $12–$24. Fri–Sat at 8 pm, Sun at 2 pm.

BOSTON MARRIAGE
Extended. "In a weird hybrid of Mamet acerbity and formal Victorian flourish, characters toss around terms like 'twat' and 'douche' while delighting in sweetmeats in the drawing room." (Lindy West) Seattle Public Theater at Bathhouse Theater, 7312 W Green Lake Dr N, 524-1300. $12–$20. Thurs–Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. Through Feb 26.

CATCH 22
Final week. "The WWII comedy about the military and its maddening bureaucracy is broad, anarchic, and sometimes unconscionably sloppy, just like Joseph Heller's novel." (Brendan Kiley) Theater Schmeater, 1500 Summit Ave, 325-6500. $18, Thurs by donation. Thurs–Sat at 8 pm. Through Feb 25.

THE CODY RIVERS SHOW
"This Bellingham duo is funny—if you think an L.A. country singer forced to shoot a fluffy bunny in the head to prove he's a Heartland kind of guy is funny." (Brendan Kiley) Re-bar, 1114 Howell St, www.brownpapertickets.com. $12. Fri–Sat at 8 pm. Through March 11.

THE COMPENDIUM OF NASTINESS
Extended. "A twisted Gothic romance with Freudian undertones performed in a velvet-lined garage, including a junkie monk, a sodomy-happy she-devil, and terrorist servants." (Brendan Kiley) The Womb, tickets and directions available at 800-838-3006. $20. Fri–Sat at 8:30 pm. Through March 4.

COSÌ FAN TUTTE
Opening. Mozart's opera about fiancée swapping. Seattle Opera at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St, 389-7676. $20–$141. Opening Sat Feb 25 at 7:30 pm. Sun at 2 pm. Through March 11.

THE COWGIRL PLAY
"The Cowgirl Play is nothing groundbreaking, but it's totally fun to watch, with its cute shadow puppets, Greek chorus of cowgirls, and the bumbling 'Kentucky Kid.'" (Lindy West) Macha Monkey at Freehold Theater, 1525 10th Ave, brownpapertickets.com. $12–$15. Thurs–Sat at 8 pm. Through March 11.

DATE OF BIRTH
Final week. "John Kaufmann's pursuit of the poetic everyday continues with DOB, a play of excerpts from true-life transcripts—one from the day of Kaufmann's birth, the other from the day his nephew was born, 30 years later." (Brendan Kiley) Open Circle Theater, 429 Boren Ave N, 382-4250. $12. Thurs–Sat at 8 pm. Through Feb 25.

THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER
Webster (no, not Emmanuel Lewis) takes the devil to court to save the soul of a wayward farmer. By local Pulitzer winner Robert Schenkkan (The Kentucky Cycle). Seattle Children's Theatre, 201 Thomas St, 441-3322. $10–$31. Fri at 7 pm, Sat–Sun at 2 and 5:30 pm. Through April 1.

DINA MARTINA
All-new "multimedia" mindfuckery by the queen of surreal cabaret. Rendezvous, 2320 Second Ave, 448-8464. $14. Fri–Sat at 8 pm. Through March 11.

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.

THE FALL CLASSIC
Final week. "This knobby-kneed play (it clocks in at less than an hour) is about a recluse modeled after Norman Bates but denied the succor of his mother's corpse. The dialogue is weak and the pathos is pasted on." (Annie Wagner) Outsiders-Inn Collective at Studio-Current, 1417 10th Ave, no reservations. $8 suggested donation. Fri–Sat at 8 pm. Through Feb 25.

FOOL FOR LOVE
Final week. Whiskey, lust, and a cheap hotel room in the Mojave Desert. By Sam Shepard, of course. Ghost Light Theatricals at Odd Duck Studio, 1214 10th Ave, 234-2123. $10–$12. Fri–Sat at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. Through Feb 26.

THE GOOD BODY
One weekend only. The latest empowerment play by Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues). See www.thestranger.com for Brendan Kiley's interview with Ensler. Seattle Theatre Group at Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave, 292-2787. $29–$39. Fri–Sat at 8 pm, Sun at 7 pm.

THE IKEA CYCLE: TINY DOMESTIC DRAMAS
Vignettes performed in the IKEA showrooms—a remount of Keri Healey's site-specific theater experiment. Printer's Devil Theatre at IKEA, 600 SW 43rd St, Renton. Free, no reservations required. Sat and Mon at 7 pm. Through April 1.

KNOCK ME A KISS
One weekend only. Charles Smith's play about 1920s Harlem and the real-life love triangle involving the daughter of W.E.B. DuBois. Mirror Stage Company at Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, and Pigott Auditorium, 900 Broadway, 686-3729. By donation. Sun Feb 26 at 2 pm at Pigott Auditorium, Mon Feb 27 at 7 pm at Hugo House.

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 April 30.

ONE ARROW, ONE HEART
Opening. A play about work and meaning. One man plays eight characters, each represented by a 36-by-48-inch expressionist oil painting. PathsCrossing at Northwest Actors Studio, 1100 E Pike St, 800-838-3006. $12. Opening Fri Feb 24 at 8 pm. Sat at 8 pm. Through March 4.

PETER AND THE WOLF
The classic fable, with clowning. Seattle Children's Theatre, 201 Thomas St, 441-3322. $15–$22. Fri at 7 pm. Sat at 2 and 5:30 pm, Sun at 5:30 pm. Through March 18.

PLAINSONG
An adaptation of Kent Haruf's 1999 novel about bachelor farmers, a pregnant high schooler, and other characters on the Colorado plains. Directed by Myra Platt. Book-it at Center House Theatre, Seattle Center, 216-0833. $15–$30. Wed–Fri at 7:30 pm, Sat at 2 and 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. Through March 5.

QUODIA
One weekend only. Storytelling, film, and music by Trey Gunn (of King Crimson) and Joe Mendelson (formerly of Rise Robots Rise). PONCHO Concert Hall, 710 E Roy St, 325-6500. $7.50–$15. Fri–Sat at 8 pm.

THE ROAD TO MECCA
Art, patriarchy, and friendship in small town South Africa. Stone Soup Theatre, 4035 Stone Way N, 675–8497. $15–$20. Thurs–Fri at 8 pm, Sat at 3:30 and 8 pm. Through March 11.

ROOMS
Final week. See review this issue. EXITheatre at Live Girls!, 2220 NW Market St, brownpapertickets.com. $12. Thurs–Sat at 8 pm, Sun at 2 pm. Through Feb 26.

THE SHOP OF WILD DREAMS
Opening. A music, painting, video, and text performance collaboration between Tiptons Sax Quartet and Drums, Danijel Zezelj, and Aric Mayer. Consolidated Works, 500 Boren Ave N, 800-838-3006. $9–$18. Opening Wed March 1 at 8 pm. Through March 5.

STONES IN HIS POCKETS
"This two-man show is like a well-made sandwich—warm, charming, and full of cheese. There's nothing challenging about its predictable Irish clichés, but watching actors Tim Hyland and Darragh Kennan fall in and out of over a dozen characters—from a Hollywood diva to an old town drunk—is a pleasure." (Brendan Kiley) Capitol Hill Arts Center, 1621 12th Ave, 388-0569. $15 adv/$18 DOS. Thurs–Sat at 7:30 pm. Through March 11.

SWIMMING IN THE SHALLOWS
See Stranger Suggests, page 23. WET at the Little Theatre, 608 19th Ave E, 800-838-3006. $10–$15. Thurs–Mon at 8 pm. Through March 6.

Final week. See review this issue. Annex Theatre at Trinity Parish Episcopal Church, 609 Eighth Ave, 728-0933. $10. Fri at 10 pm, Sat at 8 pm. Through Feb 25.

TRIGGER KIDS
See review this issue. Consolidated Works, 500 Boren Ave N, 800-838-3006. $6–$12. Fri–Sat at 8 pm. Through March 11

DANCE

STAU
One weekend only. A dance piece that explores the porous border between performer and audience by Dutch dancer Anouk Van Dijk. Velocity Dance Center, 915 E Pine St, 325-8773. $13 adv/$15 DOS. Fri–Sat at 8 pm

DARK ROOM
Dancers in the dark and an audience with infrared glasses. Crispin Spaeth Dance Group at Western Bridge, 3412 Fourth Ave S, 325-6500. $10. Fri–Sat at 8, 8:45, and 9:30 pm. Through March 4.

CABARET

12 MINUTES MAX
One weekend only. See Stranger Suggests, page 23. On the Boards, 100 W Roy St, 217-9888. $7, no reservations. Sun–Mon at 7 pm.

DRUNK PUPPET NITE #6
Opening. A cabaret by the puppeteers behind Frankenocchio and The Mermaid Who Broke My F*cking Heart. Monkey Wrench Puppet Lab at Columbia City Theatre, 4916 Rainier Ave S, 528-7799. $15, no reservations, 21+ w/ID. Opening Fri Feb 24 at 8:30 pm. Sat at 8:30 pm. Through March 11.

LAST YEAR'S KISSES
"This is not Rudinoff at her best." (Brendan Kiley) Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave S, 325-6500. $14–$20. Thurs–Sat at 8 pm. Through March 4.

IMPROV & COMEDY

Sam Griesbaum 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. Harold Gomez at Giggles Comedy Club, 5220 Roosevelt Way NE, 526-5653. $12. Fri at 8 and 10:15 pm, Sat at 6 and 10:15 pm. Jet City Improv at Historic University Theater, 5510 University Way NE, 325–6500. $8–$10. Fri at 8 and 10:30 pm. Sat at 10:30 pm. Theatresports at Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, 781-9273. $8–$12. Fri and Sat at 8 pm.

REGGIE WATTS
One night only. With grand piano! And dancers! Triple Door, 216 Union St, 838-4333. $16. Thurs Feb 23 at 7:30 pm.

LATE NIGHT

THE BRIDESMAID
Keria McDonald's solo comedy/film performance about 13 weddings in 10 years, featuring horny groomsmen, mean Christians, and a black eye. Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave S, 325-6500. $9–$10. Fri–Sat at 10 pm. Through March 11.

CAPITOL HILL HIGH
Final week. What if Capitol Hill were high school? Capitol Hill Arts Center, 1621 12th Ave, 800-838-3006. $10, 21+ w/ID. Fri–Sat at 10:30 pm. Through Feb 25.