Opening This Week

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Proof that the depressing trend of updating Shakespeare to make his work "relevant" may never die, Lakewood presents a version of Midsummer Night's Dream that's set in California and soundtracked by the Beatles, the Doors, and the Beach Boys. Lakewood Theatre Company, 368 S State St, 635-3901, opens Fri, runs Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 7 pm, $22-24

Moby Dick: The Musical
This is not actually a musical version of Moby Dick. Rather, it's a play about a girls' school putting on a musical version of Moby Dick, which sounds marginally more appealing. Northwest Children's Theater, 1819 NW Everett, 222-4480, opens Fri, runs Fri 8 pm, Sat 8 pm, 11 pm, Sun 2 pm, $16-20

Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Wade McCullum revists his Drammy-winning role as Hedwig in Triangle Productions' encore run of the wildly popular musical about an East German tranvestite who fronts an unsuccessful rock band. Artists Repertory Theatre, 1516 SW Alder, 241-1278, opens Thurs, runs Thurs-Sat 8 pm, $20-38

One Week Only

Emergence: A Festival of Women's Plays
Radiant Theatre's Emergence festival celebrates women in the theater community by presenting staged readings of one-acts written and directed by women. Coho Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh, 220-COHO, Sat-Wed, see radianttheatre.org for times, free

Current Runs

Vamp
Stark Raving's world premiere of Ry Herman's Vamp is funny and smart, with a gentle self-awareness that stays just the right side of too clever. The show is all the more impressive because it could've easily been awful: the plot, about a lonely script-reader who falls in love with a vampire, sounds pretty damn hackneyed. But Vamp succeeds, handling surprisingly heavy issues like abuse and emotional damage with humor and sensitivity—and all within the context of a lesbian-vampire-love story. AH Coho Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh, 220-COHO, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 7 pm, $10-20

Comedy/Improv

Kick the Squirrel in the Lab
A new show from long-form improv veterans Kick the Squirrel. Lucky Lab, 915 SE Hawthorne, Sat July 15, 8 pm, $8

Theatresports
The Brody's ongoing competitive improv night, where two teams create hilarious scenes based on audience suggestions. Brody Theater, 1904 NW 27th, 224-0688, Fri 9 pm, $7-10