Howard Crabtree’s When Pigs Fly is a gay musical revue that was written to dazzle and delight. The show was conceived by Crabtree and Mark Waldrop (who also did the sketch work and lyrics), and the music was written by Dick Gallagher.

The show comes running at you head first from Crabtree’s dream autobiography and never lets up. It’s his I-told-you-I-could–make-it response to his high school career-counselor, Miss Roundhole, who recommended plumber, watchmaker, chicken farmer and gardening supplier as possible career choices, screaming out at him that he’d be a success in theater only “when pigs fly.”

Rick Simas directed this gay-follies team (Trevor Peringer, Anthony Randall, Omri Schein, Erick Sunquist, Eric Vest and Matt Weeden) with a perfect, light gay touch. They strutted, they bitched, they shimmied, they tap-danced and they crooned. Their ensemble shenanigans amounted to more than “bacon taking wing.”

The series of three torch songs was a running gag that was well lit by the hysterically funny Schein, who went on and on about his unquenchable, madly passionate crush on Dick Cheney. Schein holds his bee-hived head up high playing Miss Roundhole, Cupid and other characters, constantly showcasing his comedic talents.

Peringer and Sunquist do some fancy tap-dancing on “Light In The Loafers.” Randall shows his muscled buffness to maximum effect while getting down in the “Shaft Of Love.”

Weeden does queenly work in his “Coming Attractions With Carol Ann” number, allowing for just the right amount of haughtiness.

Sunquist plays Howard as earnest, driven, frustrated and sweet. He keeps the “ladies” focused on the review and pushes them along nicely. Though some of the musical notes could have been hit with a bit more accuracy, this show still sings well enough to entertain the entire Pride parade 2006.

When Pigs Fly offers up high camp and the gags and gimmicks are ham-packed (“Are you so broke you can’t even afford to pay attention?”). Dressed as playing cards (queens, of course!), the ensemble reminds you to stay in the game if you want to win at love. “Wear Your Vanity With Pride” has two actors actually wearing their French vanity tables surrounded by three 16th century Frenchmen donning Styrofoam hairdos that nearly hit the ceiling.

Costumes are nearly to die for in this one, and Shulamit Nelson used everything he could get his scissors to cut and shape, including bathroom rugs, clocks, a picket fence, plumbing fixtures and gardening supplies. They are hysterically over the top.

Rayme Sciaroni plays the ivories with ease and adds an occasional verbal soundtrack to punch up the festivities.

Though Howard Crabtree died of AIDS before the 1996 opening of Pigs, his imaginative legacy will live on forever and will put smiles on the faces of San Diego patrons during its entire run.

When Pigs Fly plays at the Diversionary Theatre through Aug. 20. For ticket information and showtimes, contact the Diversionary Theatre at (619) 220-0097 or visit www.diversionary.org.

How can three sisters born from the same limb of the family tree be so very different?

That is one of the questions Wendy Wasserstein seems to be asking in her drama The Sisters Rosensweig.

Wasserstein asks questions about class, culture and sexual orientation as well. With each new generation, the question of “what a girl needs” gets more and more confusing and complicated. Can I be in charge of myself and others and still find a place where I can be soft, romantic and even feminine? Can I be independent without alienating my family and the world around us?

It’s Sara’s (Janet Zarish) 54th birthday and cause for a celebration: She’s an international banker and an expatriate living in London who hasn’t paid a visit to the synagogue recently. Sara’s a bit stingy with warmth and suffers from the I-am-always-the-boss-in-charge syndrome. Zarish is perfectly standoffish without being haughty and melts into humanity when called upon to do so.

Pfeni (Deirdre Lovejoy) is forever on the road as a journalist and not surprisingly continues to find love in all the wrong places, this time with a bisexual theater director named Geoffrey Duncan (Tom Nelis). After she loses Geoffrey’s affections to a man, Pfeni hits the road once again. Lovejoy provides an accomplished portrayal of her character.

Gorgeous (Jackie Hoffman) is obviously the least pretty of the three sisters but maintains the traditional Jewish home, complete with a devoted husband with the obligatory law degree, kids and traditional Jewish religious practices. Hoffman gives us warmth, dazzle, heartache and laughs in a neat package.

Nelis takes hold of his role and never lets the energy fall for a second; he is perfectly cast as the effervescent theater persona. Tom (Mark J. Sullivan) plays the low watt boyfriend of Sara’s daughter, Tess (Stefanie Nava), with just the right amount of wattage. Mark Blum plays a Brooklyn furrier with earnestness; a man who seems to have invaded Sara’s home and won’t leave until he’s measured the size and shape of all things in her bedroom.

Alexander Dodge’s scenic design is perfectly delicious; almost good enough to eat. It is a spacious split-level affair (Sara’s residence) with all the trimmings and appropriate decorations money can buy.

Director David Warren’s touch allows for his actors to walk through their roles in a seamless manner that underscores their connection to one another and helps the three sisters dig up the family roots and even do some replanting.

It’s not a laugh riot but a dramedy that touches many corners of the heart and soul of the sisters Rosensweig, and you will be engaged throughout the entire show. Jerry Patch, the Old Globe’s resident artistic director, describes the play as having “a deep, universal ache.” It won’t take you long to find it, and feel free to make direct application to your own life if you feel the need.

The Sisters Rosensweig plays through Aug. 20 at the Old Globe Theatre. For ticket information and showtimes, contact the Old Globe at (619) 23-GLOBE or visit www.theoldglobe.org.

David McBean’s performance in the one-man show Fully Committed currently playing at the Cygnet Theatre is nothing less than a tour de force.

Reprising his role (first performed in 2004) in Becky Mode’s Fully Committed (euphemism for “no tables available”), the actor just keeps getting better and better. He may have had an assist by director and scenic designer (perfectly messy set) Sean Murray, but the talent clearly belongs to McBean, who dazzles his audience by taking on the vocal personalities of some 40 characters.

McBean plays Sam, a frustrated wannabe actor confined to the basement of an upper echelon culinary establishment, where he holds down the reservations line. The plotline is limited, but McBean’s talent is endless; we never get tired or anxious during the intermissionless 90 minutes of showtime.

Initially mild mannered and courteous, Sam responds to myriad callers vying for and demanding tables at the chic, upscale, we-must-be-seen-at Manhattan restaurant. They include celebrities (Diane Sawyer, Tim Zagat, Naomi Campbell, etc.), agents to celebrities, tourists and just plain rich folk. These constant callers all seem to have one thing in common: gargantuan egos.

McBean plays all of the callers: a loud but fragile celebrity chef, Sam’s widowed dad, an unhappy, whiny AARP cardholder, a drugged-out maitre d’, a delicate, intimidated hostess and a bombastically cheerful assistant, to name just a few.

McBean’s timing is spot on; he’s faster than a speeding bullet and the audience can barely catch up with him. He’s apologetic, comforting, apologetic, incredulous and once again apologetic as he juggles nonstop callers in a full-out adrenaline rush.

The restaurant is in perpetual crisis mode and that’s part of the fun of this show. Patrons hunger less for the global fusion menu and more for table 37. After being patient and understanding through most of the show, Sam finally takes on an air of entitlement that seems to even up the socialite scoreboard, where he reclaims his place in the universe.

In the end, we know that most of the callers are full of something: fully committed to tyrannical outbursts, fully committed to be seen at this trendy restaurant on a Saturday night and certainly full of themselves. Fully Committed is also full of David McBean’s endless talent.

Fully Committed runs through Aug. 13. For ticket information and showtimes, contact the Cygnet Theatre at (619) 337-1525 ext. 3 or visit www.cygnettheatre.com.