What could be more suitable for Mothers Day than the tale of two mothers sharing tea and sympathy over Blue Willow china: helping each other deal with life’s unexpected twists and turns, bartering favors tit for tat — life for death? Over the past three years, Annapolis stages have featured four plays by the prolific Pulitzer- and Tony-nominated playwright Lee Blessing: Chesapeake, Two Rooms, Fortinbras and now Going to St. Ives, showing through May 19 at Colonial Players.

Lionel Bart’s musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic Oliver Twist has seen a lot of action in 50 years: 10 Tony nominations and five Oscars, including 1969’s Best Picture. It’s the tale of an innocent orphan among a den of thieves in Victorian London, a story I’ve seen and performed countless times. Yet Compass Rose Studio Theater’s production is in some ways the most memorable, the most heart-wrenching.

“How was the play?” my son-in-law, the family sports, poker and comics buff, asked.     “Good,” I said, “but two hours of Emily Dickinson wouldn’t be your style.”

Every generation has its rites of passage, not to be confused with steps up on the ladder of maturity. For 40 years, seeing and participating in The Rocky Horror Picture Show has been one of those rites. Part of the rite is dressing up. Part is talking back. Part is making rain with water pistols and tossing bread crusts every which way. Not least is doing The Time Warp.     Can the live Rocky Horror Show compete with the screen version?

In 1985, playwright Neil Simon revised his original The Odd Couple for the ladies and called it The (Female) Odd Couple. It’s essentially the same storyline as the original 1968 comedy, but instead of two divorced fellows, there are two divorcees, Olive Madison, a slob and savings-and-loan to her ex-husband; and Florence Unger, a neat-freak whose husband wants a divorce.

The Spitfire Grill is a musical about redemption that isn’t preachy. Written by James Valcq (book and music) and Fred Alley (book and lyrics) it is a musical with only one dance number, albeit a very effective one. It has a comedic touch yet only a few laugh-out-loud lines. It has one powerful song about frustration, made so by the actor who sings it. Its storyline and ending are a bit contrived,  yet there is charm in setting and characters. What to make of this play?

In 1994, French playwright Yasmina Reza wrote an intellectual comedy about friendship, the foundations upon which it’s built and the walls we erect to preserve it. Three Moliere Awards, one translation and a Tony later, Art entertains  audiences with a message that seems more relevant than ever in this era of cyber friendships.

Journeys to familiar lands have a comforting appeal because you know what to expect. A different kind of interest comes from visiting new locations and experiencing new outlooks. This is true for vacations, as well as theater. In Dignity Players’ current superb offering of Almost, Maine, you get to experience a magical new place in theater and discover a new site on the map of the human heart.

The Lion in Winter, now playing at 2nd Star Productions, is a masterful, gleeful verbal chess game. The players are intense because the fate of a nation and a family dynasty are at stake in this game of ever-changing checkmates.

Imagine for a moment that you can neither see nor hear, that you careen through life as an animal trapped in a silent, black maze.Omnipotent beings collude against your wild frustration until only your savagery can wear them down enough to earn you meager bribes and scraps of their exasperated affection. Such is the life of six-year-old Helen Keller.