Critic's picks - theater

THEATER

Now playing

"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"

William Finn's exuberant musical, in a joint production by Barrington Stage Company and North Shore Music Theatre, gets a delightful staging at North Shore — in the round. Through Aug. 31 in Beverly. 978-232-7200, www.nsmt.org

— Terry Byrne

"All's Well That Ends Well"

If music be the food of love, it's also Tina Packer's solution to some of the knottier problems in this "problem play." Treating the young lovers like young idiots helps, too. Through Aug. 31 at Shakespeare & Company, Lenox. 413-637-3353, www.shakespeare.org

— Louise Kennedy

Last chance

"Doubt: A Parable"

Nancy E. Carroll and Lewis Wheeler star in Gloucester Stage's kaleidoscopic take on John Patrick Shanley's award-winning drama. Like the folksy sermons delivered by the play's Father Flynn, this production, directed by Eric C. Engel, seems obvious but sparkles with subtle moments. Closes today. 978-281-4433, www.gloucesterstage.org

— T.B.

"The Mistakes Madeline Made"

Elizabeth Meriwether's scintillatingly dark comedy, flawlessly rendered by Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, focuses on a sardonic slacker who serves as assistant-in-waiting to a mega- rich family we never see, and her superior, who micro-manages every detail. The script is witty and ultimately touching — a perfect match for the talents of WHAT's fledgling summer repertory company. Closes today. 508-349-9428, www.what.org

— Sandy MacDonald