Bars and Measures Troubled jazz bassist Bilal thrives off chaos, while his rock-steady classical pianist brother Eric craves order. Playwright Idris Goodwin tries to squeeze two epic battles from their fraught rivalry. The first concerns their efforts to turn common musical ground into a brotherly demilitarized zone, and the second concerns Bilal’s possible involvement in terrorism and Eric’s struggle to believe his brother’s innocent. It’s potent stuff, even with Goodwin’s reductive musicology and undervetted plotting (Bilal’s a federal detainee yet spends regular time with Eric inventing jazz riffs in an ill-defined prison room), but in only 70 minutes neither story is adequately developed; the evening feels like a highlights reel. Still, director Tara Branham coaxes nuanced, satisfying performances from Osiris Khepera and Anthony Conway as the warring brothers. —Justin Hayford
The Jungle Book An adaptation of the stories of Rudyard Kipling by Tracey Power, this rollicking Theatre-Hikes production might be one of its most appropriate yet to be staged outdoors. Like the veteran jungle creatures they played, the cast paid no mind to the Pullman State Historic Site’s blistering, mid-90s heat on the afternoon I attended. Enhanced with puppetry, percussion and loads of animal noises that piqued the kids’ curiosity, the story follows Mowgli (played by earnest, carefree Eldridge Shannon III), the man cub who’s orphaned and raised by wolves. With the help and fierce loyalty of his bear friend, Baloo (William Goff), and sage panther Bagheera (Felix Mayes), Mowgli learns to navigate dangerous jungle forces, from wacky, overpowering gangs of monkeys to his vicious tiger archnemesis, Shere Kahn (Timothy Sullivan). —Marissa Oberlander
A Storm of Limbs Sketch comedy at its highest level can go toe to toe with any well-made play in terms of truth and honesty. Laughs are born, in part, when an audience can relate to a character or experience. But unless you live in the improv bubble or are a member of the Piebenga family, you’re going to struggle to relate to this misguided sketch revue from Piebenga Plumbing. Both Piebenga brothers, Mark and Scott, are guilty of overacting to try to compensate for their underdeveloped script, and the opening act, a ukulele-wielding, Merle Haggard-singing musical guest, set the tone for a gimmicky, disjointed, all-around sloppy affair. Instead of building the necessary tension, the brothers are content to simply tease with darker references. Try again. —A.J. Sørensen
