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Red State. The San Francisco Mime Troupe's latest politically charged musical comedy tackles its worthy subject — citizens must hold government responsible for how their tax dollars are spent — with its usual cheeky pluck. Yet overall the show fails to deliver either a rousing call to arms or a satisfying theatrical tale. On the theatrical front, this 90-minute show takes more than 30 minutes to get off the ground. We spend a lot of time simply hanging out with the hardscrabble folk of Bluebird, Kansas, learning about each one of them in painstaking detail before we get to the meat of the plot: It's Election Day 2008, the rest of the country has voted itself into a dead heat, and only Bluebird's votes can break the tie. Very few people in this country need to be told what hangs in the balance based on what Bluebird does, and yet the story quickly becomes not about the power of the vote but the power of not voting at all. Huh? This device may make some sense for the plot, but it doesn't pass muster as a strong political message to carry us into November and beyond. Through Sept. 28 at parks and public sites across the Bay Area. Free; call 285-1717 or visit www.sfmt.org. (Molly Rhodes) Reviewed July 9.

Tartuffe. The 17th-century comedy Tartuffe — probably the best-known of Molière's plays — was a controversial sensation in its day, and it retains much of its power to mock both the amorally pious and those who fall for them. The title character (Vernon D. Medearis) is a religious hypocrite who fleeces rich man Orgon (Abbie Rhone) despite the wise protestations of Orgon's family. Unfortunately, this African-American Shakespeare Company production gives audience members almost no chance to discover the play's subtle pleasures for themselves. First off, director Sherri Young tosses out Molière's original rhymed couplets and opts instead for a fast-and-loose prose translation by Charles Edward Pogue. That might have resulted in a fresh and lively show, but Young stages the action too broadly and lets the actors get away with far too much mugging. Combine that with an unusually high volume of line flubs on opening night, and you have a show that values obvious pratfalls at the expense of language. The production might have taken a few more cues from the playwright: As a satirist who enjoyed controversy, Molière himself would have been first to say that you really can be too eager to please. Through Aug.3 at Buriel Clay Theatre, 762 Fulton (at Webster), S.F. Tickets are $15-$25; visit www.african-americanshakes.org. (Chris Jensen) Reviewed July 23.

Theodora, She-Bitch of Byzantium. Charles Busch's loving 1984 spoof of a similarly titled 19th-century melodrama by Victorien Sardou tells the story of a cross-dressed drag queen who fucks and finagles her way across 6th-century Greece until a Gypsy potion wreaks havoc on her plans. As a product of the "ridiculous theater" movement, a mid-20th-century offshoot of Dadaism, Surrealism, and the theaters of Cruelty and the Absurd, Theodora certainly wears silliness on its sleeve. Sardou wrote his version for the great stage actor Sarah Bernhardt. Busch, in turn, penned his adaptation to slake his own Bernhardt obsession. In homage to Bernhardt's passion for trouser roles and high drama, Busch's play features overblown characters in far-out situations. Director Russell Blackwood's somewhat slipshod pacing and rhythm prevents some of the scenes from achieving their full impact. But the heavily made-up actors in Thrillpeddlers' scrappy production attack their roles with such aplomb that the dementedness of Busch's narrative shines through the greasepaint anyway. Through Aug. 16 at the Hypnodrome, 575 10th St. (at Bryant), S.F. Tickets are $25-$34.50; call 377-4202 or visit www.thrillpeddlers.com.(C.V.) Reviewed July 2.