Current Stage Shows

Josephine's Bakery: A small bakery in France is given a rambunctious welcome by two overtly gay proprietors of the establishment and an orchestra of misfits. By mistakenly attempting to be a topical, biting black comedy instead of taking solace in what it really is -- a rowdy, raucous farce -- the play misses its mark with heavy-handed emotional scenes that come with little character development and fewer laughs (which there should be in a black comedy). -- Dan Hudak Through July 25. Prometeo Theatre, Bldg. 1, MDC Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Ave. 305-237-3262.

King Lear andA Midsummer Night's Dream: The New Theatre's annual Shakespeare fest is played in true repertory, with King Lear, the Bard's greatest tragedy, alternating nightly with A Midsummer Night's Dream, that popular comedy of lunacy, love, and poetry. Director Rafael de Acha and his superior design team deliver two visually striking productions, but while the journeyman acting company is competent, few individual performances soar. Lear is given a formal, stark staging that's powerful if not emotionally stirring. Dream has an interesting East Indian look with the battling faerie king and queen -- Oberon and Titania -- presented as dancing dervishes, but the show's comic antics are more amusing than flat-out funny. -- Ronald Mangravite Through August 22. New Theatre, 4120 Laguna St., Coral Gables. 305-443-5909.

QED: David Kwiat's performance in Peter Parnell's QED is a sight to behold. Frantically and methodically recounting the life and times of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, Kwiat captures our attention and makes us laugh, question, and feel sorry for him with seemingly little effort. -- Dan Hudak Through July 18. GableStage, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables. 305-445-1119.

Take Me Out: This Tony Award-winning drama takes on an ambitious range of subjects -- homophobia, tolerance, and the lure of baseball being chief among them. The play offers two stories. One is a dark drama about a major-league slugger who is revealed to be gay, pitting him against a bigoted teammate. The other plot is a comedy, as the slugger befriends a gay accountant who is thrilled to discover the joys of the sport. The Caldwell's visually striking production features a fine acting ensemble, but both the story and the staging feel somewhat flat. The overall effect is somewhat less than might be hoped for. -- Ronald Mangravite Through August 1. Caldwell Theatre Company, 7873 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton. 561-241-7432.