CLO Cabaret ‘Girls Only’; ‘It Could Be Anyone of Us’ Playing Apple Hill (Thurs., 7/30/15)

1) Contrary to certain rumors, men are welcome to attend Girls Only—The Secret Comedy of Women. In fact seeing how readily they get the jokes may be a good test of their gender consciousness. The sketches and songs in this revue are built around the plot device of two women comparing notes as they read through their old diaries. In such a manner, one gets a double comical dose of women’s history: the characters re-trace their personal journeys from girlhood to adulthood while conjuring up social phenomena they’ve lived through. Girls Only was conceived in Denver by Barbara Gehring and Linda Klein. and has toured the country. CLO Cabaret has it for a nice long run. 7:30 p.m. Continues until August 16. CLO Cabaret Theater, 655 Penn Ave., Cultural District. (MV)

2) There are typical summer-stock murder mysteries, and then there’s the kind in which not even the actors know whodunit. Alan Ayckbourn’s It Could Be Any One of Us is that kind. The identity of the killer can vary from one performance to the next depending on a random event that occurs during Act 1. Some companies cheat a little, rigging the game in advance each time, though surely the folks at Apple Hill Playhouse are above such shenanigans. It Could Be Any One of Us also delivers the usual Ayckbourn quotient of comedy, with characters including an artistically inept trio—an out-of-tune composer, an ineloquent writer, and an unsightly painter—plus a clueless detective. 7:30 p.m. Through August 8. 275 Manor Rd., Delmont. (MV)

3) Irrational Man — Speaking of interventions … Irrational Man is Woody Allen’s 45th feature film (possibly his 46^th, 47^th, or 48^th, depending on whether you count What’s Up Tiger Lily? Don’t Drink the Water, and New York Stories.) That’s one hell of a lot of movies, and some of them have been just brilliant. But how many years has it been since he’s put out not necessarily a great one but just a good one? (Blue Jasmine doesn’t count since he stole the plot from Tennessee Williams, and, really, Cate Blanchett was the reason it was watchable.) We need to let him know that he has earned his place in the Hollywood Hall of Fame … and that he can stop now. Unfortunately advance word says Irrational Man isn’t going to solve the problem. Joaquin Phoenix plays a philosophy professor at a small college where he’s romancing a fellow teacher (Parker Posey). But he falls in love with a new student (Emma Stone) who has a big problem, which Joaquin sets out to solve. It’s described as a mystery comedy, but one reviewer said that it’s a mystery anybody would call it a comedy. Woody, really, you can stop. Check Fandango for screens and times.

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