Things are really heating up over at the Asheville Community Theatre (ACT), 35 W. Walnut Street in downtown Asheville. Three productions are on tap in the next few weeks:

Crazy Bag
Murphy Funkhouser takes the ACT stage for three 7:30 P.M. performances March 24–26. Her autobiographical, one-woman show Crazy Bag will benefit the theatre’s children’s scholarship and general operations funds. Crazy Bag is a fast-paced revelation of a remarkable, frequently outrageous journey from barroom to motherhood, rebellion to redemption. Once a rebellious minister’s daughter who dropped out of Bible college, lived in her car, and called six cities home in ten years, Murphy wakes one morning to find the baggage of her life has spilled out. She must sort and unpack to determine how to help her daughter avoid making the same mistakes.

“Everyone has some kind of baggage—something they are carrying through life,” says Murphy. “This show will touch everyone for different reasons. It is the universal tale of coming to terms with your life and finding your personal redemption.”

Tickets ($22 for adults and $19 for seniors and students) are available online at ashevilletheatre.org or by calling 828.254.1320

From the Mouth of Madness
Next up at 7:30 P.M. on Thursday, March 24, in 35below, From the Mouth of Madness: True Tales from the Edge of Insanity, the next installment in the “Listen to This Series.” Asheville’s own funny man, Tom Chalmers, hosts the storytelling night which features a lineup of performers telling personal stories—some serious, some silly, all true. Join Tom for an evening of engaging anecdotes by people who have seen or experienced moments of madness. The stories will have you listening, laughing, and leaving the theater telling the tale of the time you witnessed something similar.

General admission, all tickets are $10 and available online at ashevilletheatre.org or by calling 828.254.1320.

The Shadow Box
The Autumn Players’ Readers Theatre Showcase presents The Shadow Box at 2:30 P.M. April 1–3. Performances on Friday and Saturday are at 35below and Sunday is at the Reuter Center. The Shadow Box focuses on three terminally ill people and their families. This play gives an honest, often humorous account of human mortality. Joe is a blue-collar worker whose wife can’t accept the idea of losing him. Brian’s flamboyant ex-wife stirs up trouble between him and his new, same-sex partner. And, Agnes is a woman whose life is passing her by. All three come to realize that life is to be savored from moment to each precious moment. Michael Cristofer was awarded a Pulitzer and a Tony in 1977 for this play. Beth Ely directs this cast in a wonderful Readers Theatre performance.

Tickets are $5 at the door.