Current Stage Shows

Summer Shorts:City Theatre's annual festival of short plays, a highlight of the South Florida stage scene, is back with mini comedies and dramas in all styles and sizes. Twenty playlets from one to twenty minutes long are presented in two separate programs, which can be taken in on separate nights or back-to-back with a catered meal in between. A versatile acting ensemble of nine assays all the plays, under the direction of eight veteran directors. The fest includes a few duds among the sizzlers but the fast pace means the next winner is only minutes away. -- Ronald Mangravite Through June 27. City Theatre at the University of Miami Ring Theatre, 1312 Miller Dr., Coral Gables. 305-365-5400

Crazy for You: This musical zings with one-liners, vintage glamour, and high-energy music and dance à la Fred and Ginger. Whether tap-dancing on house siding, swinging on a pickax, or creating music with a plunger, the cast leaves the audience wanting more. The lighting and clever scene changes add to the fun. Originally produced in 1992, this play is loosely based on George and Ira Gershwin's Girl Crazy and is filled with classics like "I've Got Rhythm" and "Someone to Watch Over Me." Wannabe dancer Bobby Child warms up in his character as a man trapped between his frustrated, over-the-top fiancée and his materialistic mother. At his mother's insistence, he goes to the dead-end town of Deadrock, Nevada, to foreclose on the Gaiety Theater. Things change when he meets the owner's daughter Polly, a cowgirl whose warm heart, strong voice, and even stronger will make him melt. She refuses him when she discovers his original intention but changes her tune when he disguises himself as the great Bela Zangler and wrangles bored locals and Zangler's Follies girls into putting on a show. -- Rachel Galvin Through June 20. Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave., Lake Worth. 561-586-3549.

Desert Storm: Jim Tommaney's antiwar fable balances three stories: soldiers on the war front, their concerned parents back home, and inside the Oval Office as the first President Bush and aides discuss U.S. involvement in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. The fictional plight of the soldiers and families hits hard, but is unnecessarily juxtaposed with tedious political talk that doesn't inform or add substantially to the heart-wrenching reality faced by people the war has affected. -- Dan Hudak Through June 27. EDGE Theatre, 3627 NE First Court. 305-531-6083.