Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Goodman Theatre, through July 2. An imperfect play about an upward-bound but fragile Negro family in 1950 New York is told with high style, bountiful humor and dazzling performances. Great character writing and acting. JA
The Duchess Of Malfi, Writers' Theatre, through July 16. They're rich, twisted and will stop at nothing to get what they want. Long before the Carringtons, Ewings and Sopranos, the ruthless Malfi clan added a new dimension to the term 'sibling rivalry'. MSB
The Good Thief, Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee, through July 1. It's the last week to see the remarkable comeback performance of Michael Patrick Thornton, who, with his voice and one good arm, tells an Irish tale of a rotten world, crime, sin and redemption of sorts. JA
tick, tick...BOOM!, Pegasus Players at Truman College, extended through July 16. Jonathan Larson's pocket-sized musical reflects its composer's youthful arrogance, but Michael Hollingsworth generates fountains of fireworks as its Salingeresque hero. MSB
—By Abarbanel and Barnidge