Afun tone is undermined by disjointed storytelling in George Clooney’s “The Men Who Stare at Goats,“ and it all starts with the disclaimer that opens the movie: “More of this is true than what you might imagine.“ This wry comment serves as a nod and a wink from the filmmakers, a license to do what they will to Jon Ronson’s amusing nonfiction account of the U.S. military’s hush-hush research into psychic warfare and espionage.

THIS IS HOW IT GOES
Through: Nov. 21
Tickets: $10-$25
Info: (804) 355-2001 or http://www.firehousetheatre.org

Playwright Neil LaBute is known for exposing the bad behavior and bad motives that people like to hide. In plays such as “In the Company of Men” and “Fat Pig,“ his characters display the secret thoughts and cruelties that we suspect are lurking in the worst of us—if not in all of us. In “This Is How It Goes,“ the 2005 LaBute play now at Firehouse Theatre Project, there are breathtaking moments when the three main characters—who are in an interracial love triangle—reveal their racist, sexist, classist truths. Not breathtakingly beautiful, but breathtakingly ugly. And startlingly courageous in their way.

MAXWELL, COMMON AND CHRISETTE MICHELE Concert review At: Richmond Coliseum last night     Moments before Maxwell opened his show, a bevy of women strategically positioned themselves along the edge of a Y-shaped stage that stretched half the length of the Richmond Coliseum floor.

Four choreographers new to the Richmond Ballet—two men, two women; two local—shape the foundation of its second New Works Festival. Each was challenged to create a 10to 15-minute work in about two weeks’ time. The resulting program proved to be just over an hour of light-spirited, contemporary, and surprisingly unpredictable dancing.

If you didn’t know much about Indian food, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to think it’s only consumed via buffet.  Almost every local Indian restaurant seems to have some sort of all-you-can-eat deal featuring the same things: chicken tikka masala, palak paneer, rogan josh, etc.  I’m not saying these dishes aren’t good. It’s just that for a cuisine marked by its complexity and intricate use of spices, a basic buffet feels like a disservice.

People were comparing Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture” to champagne practically before the ink was dry on the pages back in 1954. It’s the sort of music that’s both effervescent and dramatic, like a bottle breaking over the prow of a ship. In other words, it’s perfect music for first voyages and grand openings. The Richmond Symphony Orchestra performed “Festive Overture” in the Carpenter Theatre last night as part of the concert celebrating the opening of Richmond CenterStage.

Ten years ago, Mike Judge satirized the absurdities of the workplace experience from the perspective of put-upon employees with “Office Space.“ It didn’t do much when it came out, but it became a cult favorite on cable and home video, to the point where it changed the way you looked at the common stapler. Now, Judge is back to the daily grind with “Extract,“ but this time, the writer-director tells his wacky working tales from the boss’ point of view: that of Jason Bateman’s Joel Reynold, owner of a flavor-extract factory. It’s doubtful that this comedy will grab its audience in the same way, though. Judge’s characters are so one-note and their misadventures so ridiculous that it’s hard to get attached to them or care about how they turn out.

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

So let’s try to get this straight. In “The Time Traveler’s Wife,“ Eric Bana plays a guy named Henry who jumps around the past, present and future, only he can’t control where or when he goes. Supposedly, he also can’t control how he gets back where he came from, except for when he tries certain tricks to place himself in a state of mind to time travel. Even then there’s no way to guarantee which version of Henry will show up: the same one who left or a younger or older version of himself.

If only Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen hadn’t gotten in the car. If only they hadn’t left Los Angeles, where everything in “Funny People” was going so well, and driven north to Marin County, where everything falls apart. Judd Apatow would have had his most mature, accomplished film to date. Instead, the last hour or so meanders interminably, its tone wavering all over the place, leading to a quickie conclusion that feels pat. And that is such a letdown when you consider the strength and ambition of the material that preceded it.

Boy meets girl; boy loses girl; boy tries to win girl back: It’s a tale you’ve heard a million times. But it’s told in such a relatable, inventive way in “500 Days of Summer,“ it almost feels like the first time.  It is the first time for director Marc Webb, who puts his music video and commercial background to good use with stylish tactics that are lively—a cheeky dance sequence, perfect song choices, a clever use of split screen—but never feel gratuitous.

One-line review: I laughed so hard at Richmond Shakespeare’s new production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” that I got a headache. The perennial favorite of Richmond Shakespeare and the Shakespeare canon itself is back for a short run at gorgeous Agecroft Hall. Andrew Hamm directs this time, pushing the comedy and mayhem way past any previous boundaries of taste, propriety, reverence for the Bard and other annoyances.

VIRGINIA BEACH When Gwen Stefani performs as a solo artist, she plays the part of a flirty pop idol, cooing lyrics and acting coy in her sexy outfits. Now that she’s back with the boys in No Doubt, Stefani plays like them—strolling the stage with a confident swagger and bopping around in pirate pants and knee-high boots, her blond tresses swept up in a garden of no-nonsense knots.

One thing that is perfectly clear is that Endesha Ida Mae Holland was a determined woman. There are times in her life story, told as a series of overlapping stories and vignettes in an autobiographical two-act play, when the author lapses into self-aggrandizement, and times when even the clarity of the actors’ speech stumbles over the muddy thickness of Mississippi Delta axioms.