| theater opening |

Meadow Muffin Mafia Fri 8pm; continues Sat 8pm. Western vaudeville hijinks from the Barbary Players. A villain, Osama Bendover, rolls into the town of Meadow Muffin and disrupts life for the colorful community, which includes a female sheriff named Charley Parker, a bar named Dolly Partson’s, town fathers Chief Big Bird and Chop Stix, and a loose mail girl named Easy Pleasures. Barbary Coast Theater, 320 Hoffman Ave, Monterey. $14/regular admission; $13/seniors; $8/students; $6/active military. 655-4992. Ends 12/18.

| theater now playing |

Children Fri 7pm; Sat 8pm; Sun 2pm. Written by A.R. Gurney. In 1970, an upper-class New England family gathers to face a challenge to its comfortable status quo: the widowed mother plans to remarry and give the house to her children. Family members re-examine their lives, but can the family stay together while they adapt to change? SRO Studio Theatre, Monterey Peninsula College, 980 Fremont, Monterey. $18; $15/students and seniors. 646-4213. Ends 9/26.

The Drawer Boy Fri-Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2pm. Morgan and Angus, two middle-aged farmers, take in an actor who asks questions that delve deeper than the price of eggs. When the answers find their way into his theatrical production, Angus recovers his memories of the war, two beautiful girls, and the day everything changed. Magic Circle Center, 8 El Caminito Rd., Carmel Valley. $22/adults; $18/members, seniors, students, military. 659-1108. Ends 9/26.

Elizabeth Rex Thurs 7pm; Fri-Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2pm. The Queen has summoned Shakespeare and his company, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, to ease her grief by performing the comedy Much Ado About Nothing on the day before her lover, the convicted traitor Essex, is to die. After the performance, the actors are housed in one of the royal stables, and Elizabeth visits them there, seeking further distraction through the long night. While Shakespeare (Kevin Black) serves as the narrative agent in this intriguing play, the real story is the intense interplay between Queen Elizabeth and the company’s veteran “leading lady,” Ned Lowenscroft, a tension that revolves dominantly around role-playing and gender. Golden Bough Theater, Monte Verde between 8th and 9th, Carmel. $27; $21/seniors; $15/students, military, teachers. 622-0100. Ends 9/26.

Henry VI, Part 3 Fri 7:30pm; Sat 2pm. The Duke of York seizes the crown only to lose it…and more. War rages and heads roll as a crookbacked Richard plots to seize the throne. Circle Theatre, Monte Verde and 8th, Carmel. $20-$35/adults; $15-$25/seniors and students; $6/children under 12. 622-0100 or www.pacrep.org. Ends 10/16.

Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat  Thurs-Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2pm and 7:30pm. Rice and  Webber’s retelling of the Biblical story of Joseph with contemporary music. Driven by tongue-in-cheek humor, Joseph’s adventurous journey from the desert to the Pharaoh’s court is filled with equal parts love, jealousy, anger, redemption and joy. The Outdoor Forest Theater, Mountain View and Santa Rita, Carmel. Sat: $25/adults; $20/seniors; military and students; $15/youth; $6/children under 12. Thurs-Sun: $20/adults; $18/seniors, military and students; $12/youth; $6/children under 12. 622-0100 or www.pacrep.org. Ends 9/26.

Love Letters Sat-Sun 4pm. The Staff Players Repertory Company kicks off its 35th Anniversary season with A.R. Gurney’s poignant and romantic Love Letters. Tracing the lifelong correspondence of staid, dutiful lawyer Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and lively, unstable artist Melissa Gardner, the story of their bittersweet relationship unfolds from what is written—or left unsaid—in their letters. Part of SPRC’s High Tea Series. Indoor Forest Theatre, Santa Rita and Mountain View, Carmel. $16/general; $12/students and seniors; $6/children 12 and under. 624-1531. Ends 10/10.

Richard III Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2pm. Richard III is a schemer, a liar, a manipulator and a ruthless murderer, yet his winter of discontent is indeed made glorious for the audience by this son of York. Monstrous he may be, but Richard’s charm is nearly irresistible. Circle Theatre, Monte Verde and 8th, Carmel. $20-35/adults; $15-$25/seniors and students; $6/children under 12. 622-0100 or www.pacrep.org. Ends 10/16.

The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife Fri-Sat 8pm; Sun 2pm. Marjorie Taub (Carol Daly) is deeply depressed. She derives some pleasure from discussing literature with Mohammed (Jody Gilmore), her building’s Iraqi doorman, but generally spends her days writhing on the couch and kvetching to her good-as-gold husband (Rob Foster). Enter a childhood friend who appears unexpectedly. Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, 4th and Guadalupe, Carmel. $18/adults; $15/students and seniors. 626-6796. Ends 9/26.