Still going   African American Repertory Theatre, Gottwald Playhouse, Richmond CenterStage, 600 E. Grace St., 355-2187. “Mahalia,“ $38. Through Sunday.  Firehouse Theatre Project, 1609 W. Broad St., 355-2001. “This Is How It Goes,“ $10-$25. Through Saturday.

Ongoing productions on area stages African American Repertory Theatre, Gottwald Playhouse, Richmond CenterStage, 600 E. Grace St., 355-2187. “Mahalia,“ $38. Through Nov. 22. Firehouse Theatre Project, 1609 W. Broad St., 355-2001. “This Is How It Goes,“ $10-$25. Through Saturday. Mystery Dinner Playhouse, Holiday Inn-Crossroads, 2000 Staples Mill Road, 649-2583. “Murder Las Vegas Style,“ $41.95. Through Feb. 13.

Still going   African American Repertory Theatre, Gottwald Playhouse, Richmond CenterStage, 600 E. Grace St., 355-2187. “Mahalia,“ $38. Through Nov. 22.  Firehouse Theatre Project, 1609 W. Broad St., 355-2001. “This Is How It Goes,“ $10-$25. Through Nov. 21.

Ongoing productions on area stages Chamberlayne Actors Theater, 319 N. Wilkinson Road, 262-9760. “I’m Not Rappaport,“ $15-$20; reservation required. Through today. Firehouse Theatre Project, 1609 W. Broad St., 355-2001. “This Is How It Goes,“ $10-$25. Through Nov. 21. Mystery Dinner Playhouse, Holiday Inn-Crossroads, 2000 Staples Mill Road, 649-2583. “Murder Las Vegas Style,“ $41.95. Through Feb. 13.

Still going   Chamberlayne Actors Theater, 319 N. Wilkinson Road, 262-9760. “I’m Not Rappaport,“ $15-$20; reservation required. Through Sunday.  Firehouse Theatre Project, 1609 W. Broad St., 355-2001. “This Is How It Goes,“ $10-$25. Through Nov. 21.

Ongoing productions on area stages Barksdale Theatre-Hanover Tavern, 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road, Hanover, 282-2620. “Souvenir,“ $10-$38. Through today. Chamberlayne Actors Theater, 319 N. Wilkinson Road, 262-9760. “I’m Not Rappaport,“ $15-$20; reservation required. Through Nov. 8. Firehouse Theatre Project, 1609 W. Broad St., 355-2001. “This Is How It Goes,“ $10-$25. Through Nov. 21.

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.

Still going   Barksdale Theatre-Hanover Tavern, 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road, Hanover, 282-2620. “Souvenir,“ $10-$38. Through Sunday.  Chamberlayne Actors Theater, 319 N. Wilkinson Road, 262-9760. “I’m Not Rappaport,“ $15-$20; reservation required. Through Nov. 8.

Ongoing productions on area stages Barksdale Theatre-Hanover Tavern, 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road, Hanover, 282-2620. “Souvenir,“ $10-$38. Through Nov. 1. Barksdale Theatre-Willow Lawn, 1601 Willow Lawn Drive, 282-2620. “Boleros for the Disenchanted,“ season subscription $125-$140; single production $35-$38. Through today. Chamberlayne Actors Theater, 319 N. Wilkinson Road, 262-9760. “I’m Not Rappaport,“ $15-$20; reservation required. Through Nov. 8.

Still going   Barksdale Theatre-Hanover Tavern, 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road, Hanover, 282-2620. “Souvenir,“ $10-$38. Through Nov. 1.  Barksdale Theatre-Willow Lawn, 1601 Willow Lawn Drive, 282-2620. “Boleros for the Disenchanted,“ season subscription $125-$140; single production $35-$38. Through Sunday.

It’s mid-afternoon on a Monday, in a third-floor room at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Franklin Street Gymnasium. Undergraduates in black workout attire stand in a circle, not far from an array of rapiers on the wooden floor. “The broadswords of the medieval period were basically sharp baseball bats,“ theater professor Aaron Anderson explains cheerily. He demonstrates how you’d wallop an opponent’s nose with the blunt end of a broadsword. His audience—undergraduate students in an advanced movement class—watch, rapt.

Ongoing productions on area stages Barksdale Theatre-Hanover Tavern, 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road, Hanover, 282-2620. “Souvenir,“ $10-$38. Through Nov. 1. Barksdale Theatre-Willow Lawn, 1601 Willow Lawn Drive, 282-2620. “Boleros for the Disenchanted,“ season subscription $125-$140; single production $35-$38. Through Oct. 25. Henley Street Theatre Company, Pine Camp Cultural Arts Center, 4901 Old Brook Road, 340-0115. “Shining City,“ $15-$20. Through Oct. 24.

Still going   Barksdale Theatre-Hanover Tavern, 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road, Hanover, 282-2620. “Souvenir,“ $10-$38. Through Nov. 1.  Barksdale Theatre-Willow Lawn, 1601 Willow Lawn Drive, 282-2620. “Boleros for the Disenchanted,“ season subscription $125-$140; single production $35-$38. Through Oct. 25.

Ongoing productions on area stages Barksdale Theatre-Hanover Tavern, 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road, Hanover, 282-2620. “Souvenir,“ $10-$38. Through Nov. 1. Barksdale Theatre-Willow Lawn, 1601 Willow Lawn Drive, 282-2620. “Boleros for the Disenchanted,“ season subscription $125-$140; single production $35-$38. Through Oct. 25. Henley Street Theatre Company, Pine Camp Cultural Arts Center, 4901 Old Brook Road, 340-0115. “Shining City,“ $15-$20. Through