This solo performance by Kevin Thornton has strictly autobiographical roots, fusing music, spoken word and standup comedy into personal revelation.   

This narrative, autobiographical theater piece takes an original slant on the issues concerning gay life because the two male characters are 20 years apart and their sensibilities are often stretched by this generation gap.  

The curtain opens on a bare stage at Northern Kentucky University with a few gray geometrical objects scattered about. But when you see 39 cast members stream on (there were only 26 in the 2000 ATC production in Chicago), you realize director Ken Jones has planned his production of 'Working' as an extravaganza.   

Ken Jones has planned his production of Working as an extravaganza. For this simple but powerful show, based on a book of interviews by Studs Terkel, actors become American workers who talk about their working lives. The acting must be sincere and heartfelt, as 25 laborers divulge their deepest hopes, dreams, fears and resentments in words and song. Tuesday-Sunday through March 1 at Northern Kentucky University.  

1776 isn't your typical Broadway musical. It’s a re-enactment of the Second Continental Congress in the days leading up to the severing of the formal ties between the U.S. and Great Britain. The cast is comprised of historical characters such as John Adams and Ben Franklin as well as a chorus of lesser-known people. The Footlighters perform this show Wednesday-Sunday through Feb. 21 at the Stained Glass Theatre in Newport.  

'1776' isn't your typical Broadway musical. It's a re-enactment of the Second Continental Congress in the days leading up to the severing of the formal ties between the U.S. and Great Britain. The cast is comprised of historical characters such as John Adams and Ben Franklin as well as a chorus of lesser-known people. It's not an easy show to pull off. Written primarily in short segments, private wish-fulfillment scenes take place among the major characters and some long-winded debates within the congress itself.  

Arnold’s Bar and Grill, Cincinnati’s oldest tavern, is the cozy and congenial setting for Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s rendition of Every Christmas Story Ever Told. But if you're looking for a traditional holiday entertainment, be forewarned: This performance has more in common with wild and crazy sketch comedy than it does with a performance of a full-length Christmas play. The play doesn’t actually include every Christmas story ever told, just the most generic ones. But playwrights Michael Carleton, John Fitzgerald and Jim Alvarez manage to pack a lot of humor into the lines, redoubled by director Jeremy Dubin’s gift for devising hilarious physical comedy and the actors’ ability to carry this off seamlessly. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Through Dec. 30.  

If you're looking for a traditional holiday entertainment, be forewarned: This performance has more in common with wild and crazy sketch comedy than it does with a performance of a full-length Christmas play. Three actors perform novel interpretations of familiar Christmas tales. Oh, and there is a drunken Santa Claus who wanders about welcoming the crowd, operating the sound system in front of the stage and occasionally commenting on the stage action, usually by topping everybody else.  

'Alice in Wonderland' is Lewis Carroll's beloved whimsical tour de force, written as a cautionary lesson for the daughters of a friend. The story has been updated by Cincinnati playwright Joseph McDonough, with the addition of appropriately silly lyrics and catchy Pop tunes by David Kisor. McDonough's book remains faithful to the spirit of the original, but he hasn't shied away from adding elements familiar to contemporary young people.  

When done well, Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas can be a delightful blend of whimsical exuberance and lighthearted satire. Cincinnati Music Theatre's production of "H.M.S. Pinafore," directed by Rick Kramer, has a modicum of these qualities, but not enough.