"Calendar Girls" at Lakeshore Players Theatre

Just in time for Women's History Month, Lakeshore Players Theatre is bringing us the true story of a group of women in the UK who bared it all in a calendar to raise money for cancer research after one of the women lost her husband to the disease. Calendar Girls is a story of female friendship and support, of ordinary women defying expectations, taking a risk, and making a difference. It's funny and poignant and a little risqué, with a genial cast that makes you root for these women and their friendship. See it in the beautiful Hanifl Performing Arts Center in White Bear Lake now through March 26.

"Kodachrome" streaming from Locally Grown Theatre

One good thing to come out of this extended intermission from live theater is discovering new theater companies. I had not previously heard of Locally Grown Theatre, a community theater in "Cottage Grove, St. Paul Park, Newport, Grey Cloud Island, and the surrounding area," but this week I watched a virtual play in the zoom style of theater and quite enjoyed it. Kodachrome is a sweet little Our Town-ish play about life in a small town, with all the mundanity and profundity that entails. Even though they're each performing in their own little box, the seven-person cast (although disappointingly lacking in diversity) all give wonderful performances that create a feeling of community in this story of love and loss.

"Odd Couple" at Lyric Arts

Sometimes all you need is to laugh at a good old-fashioned comedy. Neil Simon's 1965 play The Odd Couple fits the bill. Yes, it's a "first world problems" kind of play, and the depiction of women as playthings is problemantic in today's world. But there's a reason it had such long-lasting success (it was made into not just a movie, but also a TV sitcom and a recent reboot). The reason being that Simon's sharply drawn characters and fast witty dialogue are just plain funny. And yes it's been done a lot, but Lyric Arts' production makes this old chestnut worth seeing again with their perfect casting, spot-on direction, and fantastic set. So take a trip back to 1960s NYC and have a good time with "divorced, broke, and slobby" Oscar and his reluctant roommate Felix, who "wears a seat-belt at a drive-in movie."