Until the Violence Stops: The “V” in V-Day stands for “victory,” “valentine” and “vagina.” Originating on Valentine's Day of 1998 at a New York production of Eve Ensler's seminal (no pun intended) feminist piece, The Vagina Monologues, V-Day continues as a major impetus for activism against sexual violence, domestic abuse and female genital mutilation. Join Project Safe in their 10th anniversary of V-Day celebrations at this year's The Vagina Monologues. Performances run Feb. 18–21 at 8 p.m at the UGA Chapel. Buy tickets at Frontier, Urban Sanctuary Day Spa and the Project Safe Thrift Store with proceeds benefiting Project Safe's shelter and services for Georgia women and families. Visit www.project-safe.org for more information.

Life's a Banquet: Athens' community theatre, Town and Gown, brings us Mame, the 1965 musical adaptation of the stage play Auntie Mame by writing partners Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, famous for historically relevant dramatizations such as the McCarthyist-critical Inherit the Wind and the Vietnam-era The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail. Mame follows fashionable dynamo Mame Dennis—eemingly a cross between Holly Golightly and Maude Chardin—as she cares for her orphaned nephew through the Great Depression and its accompanying tragedies. This Tony award-winning musical teaches us perseverance through song and dance. Catch Mame, Feb. 18–20 at 8 p.m. with a matinee performance on Feb. 21 at 2 p.m. Call the box office for more information at (706) 208-8696.

Down to the Wireless: Who knows what sorts of adventures await as the Athens Creative Theatre presents another installment in the ACT's Reader's Theatre Festival with live reenactments of the best programs from Old Time Radio's golden age. Enjoy murder, romance and Sherlock Holmes at Quinn Hall, Feb. 19 & 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 21 at 3 p.m.

Not Your Madame Butterfly: The Athena Opera University of Georgia Opera Ensemble brings you a full-scale production of Gian Carlo Menotti’s 1939 one-act opera The Old Maid and the Thief. This opera is particularly interesting for a couple of reasons. It was commissioned by NBC for the radio and incorporates narrative introductions to each scene. While those were not intended for staged versions of the opera, this production will incorporate elements of that original style. The Old Maid and the Thief was also Menotti's first English-language opera.

Borrowing stock archetypes from the Italian Renaissance style of Commedia dell'Arte, Menotti illustrates the Machiavellian deceits lurking in small town America as a foreign newcomer is descended upon by two vying women. Free to the public at the Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall at the UGA Performing Arts Center on Feb. 17 & 19 at 8 p.m.

Raising the Bard: Modernized versions of Shakespeare are tricky and often overwrought. Personally, I can't stand to see techno-gimmicky revamps: Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech poured into a cell phone, for example. So, I'm always excited to see a production of Shakespeare conceptualized in a fresh light while upholding the power and beauty of its elevated language, which is what I expect from UGA's second production of the semester, Romeo and Juliet. After his frightening staging of King Lear, director and professor Ray Paolino will no doubt take such a tragedy as pervasive and familiar as R and J and reveal something new about it. "This is a patriarchal and sexist world that Shakespeare has given us," he explains, "and we make no attempt to rewrite history or defer to PC." Reveling in the religious and historic setting of the Seney-Stovall Chapel, this production is rooted in sacred ritual and sacrament juxtaposed with the bawdy and depraved sexuality that rules their society. Romeo and Juliet runs Feb. 18–20 and 24–27 at 8 p.m. with a matinee performance on Feb. 28 at 2:30 p.m. See www.drama.uga.edu for more information.

Careful What You Wish For: We all did this when we were young, right? List the top attributes of our preferred sex. But at Town and Gown's first Second Stage production of the year, Norm Foster's The Love List, witness the hilarity that ensues when two guys inadvertently forge their “ideal woman” and find her walking through their door. Catch it Feb. 26 & 27 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. Call the Town and Gown box office for more information at (706)208-8696.

Divas Unleashed: When black theatre and performance erected its moveable empire in the 1920s known as the Chitlin' Circuit—connecting venues across America that produced work by, for, and about the black community—it created a longstanding tradition of staging the black experience in a powerful and comedic way that strove for autonomy while remaining locally saturated. Shelly Garrett, among the most famous figures of black theatre, debuted his comedy Beauty Shop in 1987, which today is heralded as the most successful African-American stage play. This touring production stops by the Classic Center, one night only, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. Buy tickets online at www.classiccenter.com.

Creaks for Kids: Local illustrious artists and puppeteers Eleanor Davis, Michele Chidester, David Mack and Jason Matherly team up with friends, cardboard, lights, cotton and music to bring another charmingly crafty Creaky Theatre shadow puppet performance. "The Frog and the Grasshopper" tells the story of two competing souls, determined to save their habitat until the importance of team work and sweet beats is realized. Part of ATHICA's “Nurture” exhibit closing festivities and appropriate for ages three and up. Catch “The Frog and the Grasshopper” on Sunday Feb. 28 at 3:45 p.m. Find out more information at www.athica.org.

Auditions: Local professional company Rose of Athens Theatre announces auditions for their spring production of Charlotte's Web. Please prepare one monologue, one or two minutes long. Musicians are encouraged to audition, but must provide their own accompaniment. Feb. 24, 7 p.m. at the UGA Fine Arts Building, Room 201. Call (706) 340-9181 to schedule an appointment. More information at www.roseofathens.org.

Amy Whisenhunt