In Anthony Lawton's vision, heaven welcomes even murderers as long as they display good manners at the pearly gates. Is this really what C.S. Lewis had in mind?

Clybourne Park deals with changing racial attitudes in a Chicago neighborhood. Unfortunately, playwright Bruce Norris opts for easy wit over genuine substance— and his wit isn't all that witty.

When I first saw this tribute to the Beatles in 2008 I was bothered by its inconsistencies. Now I see that being many things to different people is what Rain is all about.

The theatrical power of the minstrel show framing worked successfully on many levels in The Scottsboro Boys. My criticism with the minstrelsy device here is that it was often too tame, and the play didn't push it much further to heighten the impact of racism's destructiveness and inherent tragedy. The Scottsboro Boys. Music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb; book by David Thompson; Susan Stroman's original direction and choreography recreated by Jeff Whiting. Philadelphia Theater Company production through February 19, 2012 at Suzanne Roberts Theater, 480 S. Broad St. (at Lombard). (215) 985-0420 or www.philadelphiatheatercompany.org.

Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park is in some respects a sequel to A Raisin in the Sun, set in the same Chicago neighborhood 50 years later. But you don't need knowledge of that play to appreciate this excellent drama about how racial attitudes have changed over the past 50 years, and how they haven't.

What do the Scottsboro boys have in common with Sacco, Vanzetti, Alfred Dreyfus and Neil Ferber? All were innocent victims of the justice system— and none of them was nearly as interesting as the heroes and villains of their respective cases.

When a professor of metaphysical poetry encounters the ultimate metaphysical challenge, the result is a dazzling and unforgettably heroic struggle.

At a pre-wedding party, three single women fast approaching 30 chase down their sour grapes with pot, pills, and champagne. Notwithstanding its lack of plot, Bachelorette scores some perceptive points about the “happiness gap” suffered by young professional women who lack traditional families.

The Scottsboro Boys, a reminder of not so distant racial attitudes, deserves more exposure than it received on Broadway in 2010. In its focus on miscarriages of justice, it resembles Kander and Ebb's hit Chicago. But Scottsboro packs more substance.

Anyone who complains about Kevin Spacey's larger-than-life, over-the-top performance as Richard III is just plain jealous. What makes Spacey's Richard so fascinating is the way he seduces the audience along with his amorous conquests onstage.