Dorothy Gale's odyssey down the yellow brick road is told using hand puppets, a smattering of human performers, and a few instantly forgettable songs in this extremely loose adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The 50-minute show rushes through the familiar parts of the story, crowding them with jokey asides and anachronistic pop-culture references, a la Shrek. Other bits, mostly involving the Wicked Witch of the West and her repeated attempts to kill Dorothy and her friends, feel padded and tedious. Any sense of wonder or adventure is wholly absent. The production is clearly designed to be the sort of thing parents can enjoy along with their kids, but neither demographic seemed particularly amused at the performance I attended. —Zac Thompson

Price: $12, $8 for kids 12 and under