What is your first thought when you hear the phrase “the phantom of the opera?” Unless you’re an unabashed bibliophile or literary-minded Francophile, it’s almost certainly not the novel, Le Fantome de l’Opera, written by Gaston Leroux in 1910. Still, that early 20th century flight of fancy introduced the world to the grotesquely deformed music lover and catacomb dweller, Erik, he of the half mask and three-quarters madness.

’Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the town, some people were up while others were down. Some loved the snow and the cold and the lights; some felt the whole thing just wasn’t right. Whether this time of year makes you joyful or crass, the holidays can be one big pain in the ass. So take a quick break from the candles and bows, and enjoy a guffaw from these thespian pros.

Experiencing a theater company for the first time is very much like going on a blind date. High hopes compete with trepidation. The possibilities are limitless. You might discover your soul mate, or you could end up with a hefty tab and a nasty case of crabs. Thankfully, my first go around with Devil’s Thumb Productions, a relatively new Boulder troupe, was much more the former than the latter. She may not be my soul mate, but I’d definitely ask her out again.

If you gave Girl in a Coma’s new CD, Exits & All The Rest to 10 different people, you’d likely receive in return 10 different opinions about which established female vocalist lead sing

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."

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.

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.

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.