The Syringa Tree: Pamela Gien's semiautobiographical one-woman show centers on a precocious white girl and her world-weary black nanny in apartheid-era South Africa. Joseph Adler's colorful, evocative production features the talented Claire Tyler playing dozens of characters in an intense, well-researched performance. There are drawbacks, though. Many unexplained references in the text and the thick accents make some of this hard going. Nevertheless several sequences are riveting. -- Ronald Mangravite Through May 1. GableStage at the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables; 305-445-1119.