Named after a stage direction from Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, Lauren Gunderson's Exit, Pursued by a Bear opens with an everyday American scenario: A man is duct-taped to an old recliner in a ramshackle cabin in the rural Georgia woods. He's surrounded by venison and honey -- all the better to attract area bears -- while his girlfriend, Nan, and her stripper friend, "Peaches," orchestrate their revenge for all the physical, mental, and emotional abuse he has perpetrated on them. The first play to be produced at Arts Garage (after a pair of well-received musicals), Exit, Pursued by a Bear is an edgy, offbeat comedy addressing serious issues that resonate with the Zeitgeist. "It's great fun, but from a serious perspective, there's no more important an issue than the epidemic of domestic abuse here and around the world," says Lou Tyrell, artistic director at Arts Garage. The show runs from Friday through December 30 at 180 NE First St. in Delray Beach. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays to Fridays, 2 p.m. Saturdays, and 7 p.m. Sundays. Tickets cost $30 to $40. Call 561-450-6357, or visit artsgarage.org.
Wednesdays-Fridays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30 p.m. Starts: Dec. 7. Continues through Dec. 30, 2012