Is it worth your while to invest $20 plus a couple of hours of your time in community theater?         That evaluation is made each year by Washington Area Theatre Community Honors. Three dozen local companies make up WATCH, which reaches beyond the District into suburban and rural Maryland and Virginia. Last year, WATCH members evaluated 127 plays to recognize excellence in 38 categories. In each category, typically five nominees were chosen.

Kelley Donnelly looks at a dog and sees a colorful character. Blue, red, yellow. Her pooches are a flamboyant lot.

The curtain goes up on a real life love story in Infinity Theatre Company’s production of The Fantasticks. The play, which tells the tale of two lovers overcoming familial obstacles, opens at the Children’s Theatre of Annapolis this Friday.