With all the horrors that surround us daily, what a gift is laughter? The folks at the Theater Company of Lafayette (TCL) seem to know that it’s the best medicine, for they have brought forth the eighth iteration of their much-beloved tribute to one of the staples of TV’s bygone years with "Return to the Twilight Zone, A Parody."

When people say “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it,” it’s meant to be a bad thing. Note the word “doomed.” But for those involved in the upcoming

Did you know that Mauritius is a tiny island just east of Madagascar? Neither did I. That Mauritius was the sole, native home of the now extinct Dodo bird, and that Mauritius was only the fifth country ever to issue postage stamps, were also facts that had, until now, eluded me.

It´s human nature to want to be first. From something as simple as two friends on a morning jog to the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, people are driven to outstrip the next guy. It’s hardwired. It’s why both joggers push a wee bit harder with each passing mile until they’re sprinting the final block home.

For that reason alone, I encourage all you overwhelmingly white, privileged, sheltered Boulderites to get out of the bubble and make the trek down to Denver for a performance of Clybourne Park. Continuing its tradition of bringing intelligent, challenging plays to the stage, the Curious Theatre Company opens its 14th season with the regional premiere of Bruce Norris’ 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning examination of racial issues both in contemporary America and in its more, er, black-and-white past.

Seth Meyers is living the dream. The 37-year-old New Hampshire native has an impressive résumé, starting with his tenure as a cast member and head writer on Saturday Night Live, and leading to his stints hosting the ESPYs and performing after President Barack Obama at this spring’s White House Press Correspondents’ Dinner. Throw in the occasional acting gig, and he says his current career situation is “perfect.”

So, you owe me. Yes, you, the reader of this review who will not have to endure the gastronomical atrocities that I, Christ-like, have suffered for thee. Before you start flipping pages or reviewing the table of contents, this is not a restaurant review.

This year, from Aug. 17 to Aug. 28, there will be more than 350 un-juried events at 15 venues throughout Boulder and Denver. The first 25 percent of the artists are automatically approved by early-bird registration; the other shows/artists are selected by a lottery no one auditions, no one specifically decides what goes on.

The Comedy of Errors is not exactly known for being the most intellectually rigorous member of the Shakespeare canon, even though scholars, perhaps bored with several centuries of excessive analysis of the heavyweight plays, now project layers of new meaning onto the work.

And make no mistake, Nikolai Gogol’s The Inspector General, presented by the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, is but a Janet and Chrissy away from that sitcom hit of the ’70s and ’80s. As with pretty much every episode of Three’s Company, The Inspector General revolves around a case of mistaken identity. The corrupt leaders of a provincial Russian community learn that an inspector general has been dispatched to their little burg.