Kiss of the Spider Woman: After two disappointing shows, the Public Theatre of South Florida comes roaring back to form with Manuel Puig's gay prison dialectic. In the middle of la guerra sucia, Argentina's "Dirty War," two prisoners try to keep themselves sane by arguing, telling stories, and, in the end, loving each other. The chameleonic Michael McKeever plays the convicted homosexual Molina with a wilting, yielding grace that is simply beautiful, and David Perez-Ribada imbues the convicted Marxist revolutionary Valentin with enough jittery ill temper to reveal his extremism as the shuck it is — a retreat from real life. The love scene in which he finally drops his pretensions is one of the most gut-twistingly sweet moments captured by any Florida stage in the past year. — Brandon K. Thorp Through February 4. Public Theatre of South Florida, the Soref Jewish Community Center, 6501 W. Sunrise Blvd., Plantation, 954-427-0784, www.publictheatre.com.
