NOW RUNNING

Hooters

Written by Ted Tally

Directed by Molly Bishop

At the Leverett House Basement Space

Through this weekend

THE posters for Hooters--the ones that feature a rather mammarial double o between the H and T of the title--may lead you to expect a typical coming-of-age teen sex comedy. Your expectations will be fulfilled. The characters are typical of the genre; the plot line is paper-thin; and the ideas are mawkish and trite. What Hooters lacks in substance, however, it makes up for in entertainment value. The result is a dumb play that is, nevertheless, amusing.

Clint is a shy college-type guy; Ricky is a blustering would-be stud. Rhonda is a brainy, uptight man-hater and Cheryl a misunderstood beauty who only wants to have fun. Fill in the various permutations yourself; the play ends with everybody's personality suitably adjusted.

Hooters is rescued from this seemingly inescapable morass of insipidity by four very engaging performances. In particular, Jim Thompson (Ricky) manages his part with an enviable bravado and an impeccable sense of timing, and Kim Carnesale (Cheryl) radiates a placid yet compelling sensuality. Likewise, the one-liners frequently hit the target, and the "boys' talk" is devastatingly accurate.

Hooters won't be bringing home the Pulitzer. But if you lower your expectations to the level of, say, Porky's, before entering, you'll leave pleasantly surprised.

Bent

Written by Martin Sherman

Directed by Mark Prascak

At the Adams House Big Toe Theater

Through this weekend

HELD over by popular demand, Mark Prascak's gripping production of Martin Sherman's urgent play about Nazi persecution of gays may force you to confront your own attitudes. Proceeds go to benefit AIDS victims.

OPENING THIS WEEK

The Good Doctor

Written by Neil Simon

Directed by John Malone

At the Winthrop House JCR

This weekend and next

A one-liner fest from yuk-meister Neil Simon, The Good Doctor is a collection of Russian stories. Imagine a cross between Simon's Fools and California Suite.

The Arc of Music

Conceived by Performance Space Space Performance

Directed by Gary Negbaur

At the Dunster House Dining Hall

Through this weekend

PERFORMANCE Space Space Performance (formerly Performance Space Six), the group that produced the Sea Monkey's Sideshow multi-media extravaganza last May at the Carpenter Center, is behind this event, which features simultaneous acts of creativity by musicians, fencers, painters and storyteller Brother Blue.

Our Town

Written by Thornton Wilder

Directed by Jenny Lyn Bader

At the Loeb Experimental Theater

Through this weekend

THORNTON Wilder's high-school-theater chestnut about the bygone era of small-town America finds itself on the Harvard stage best suited to its unique, self-conscious theatricality.