The stars aligned at the Star Palace last night for Ashley Taylor and, by extension, the strong inaugural performance of the Organic Theater Factory.

For years, the hard-working Taylor has tackled one character role after another on the Fresno community theater scene -- from Mary Sunshine in "Chicago" to Gertrude the Bird in "Seussical" -- as a solid performer. But something special happens in Jason Robert Brown's intimate musical "The Last 5 Years." As Cathy Hiatt, the struggling actress whose story of a disillusioned marriage is told in reverse chronological disorder, Taylor gives a transluscent performance. Her voice is absolutely gorgeous -- there were times when I closed my eyes and thought about how often it matched the level of Sherie Rene Scott's version on the original cast recording.

Just as impressive is the way Taylor mines the emotional territory of her character, never overplaying the sentiment or joking up the giddy moments, always relating on a fiercely human level. She's a wonderful fit for the role, and she gives an already moving play even more of an impact.

My singling Taylor out for special notice isn't in any way meant to slight her partner on stage, Peter Allwine, or the production overall, which has a scrappy, low-key charm. It's just that when it comes to Taylor, it seems this is one of those rare times for an actor when everything truly clicks -- performance, type, spirit -- and it's a beautiful thing to behold.

Bland, bland, bland. "The Wedding Singer" is not the worst show to ever travel through the Saroyan as part of the Best of Broadway series, but it certainly didn't show much sparkle. I saw the Wednesday night performance and was mostly unimpressed with the acting, music and storyline. (The singing and staging were more than adequate, and the dancing had a few stellar moments.) This adaptation of the popular Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore movie crammed in as many '80s references as it could, but it lacked the film's quirky, offbeat charm. The main characters, Robbie Hart (J. Michael Zygo) and Julia Sullivan (Jillian Zygo), who are husband and wife in real life, had some moments of sweetness, but there was little comic chemistry.

There's only one character who breaks through: that of Linda (Jennifer Gottlieb), the over-the-top fiancee who dumps the wedding-singer main character, Robbie. Stomping out in a Madonna-bustier-inspired wedding dress get-up, she delivers her "A Note From Linda" with a husky, grunting, full-of-herself, vocal-onslaught acerbity-- all the while offering satirical shades of the Material Girl. Later in the (admittedly better) second act, Linda shows up again, this time to steal the show once again with her over-the-top, acrobatic sexuality. If the creative team had figured out a way to extend Linda's appeal to the rest of the show, this could have been a raucous trip back to an earlier decade. Instead, it just sort of fades into the dustbin of Broadway history.

Not that I'd ever want to disparage the personal hygiene of the hard-working cast members in Theatre Ventoux's "12 Angry Men," but thanks to director Lisa Taber's intimate staging and the play's evocative description of the cramped and heated quarters in this theater classic, I felt as if I were close enough to smell each and every one. This is less a trip to the theater than an actual camping-out experience in the jury room. I felt as if I'd been led into the chamber and told to crouch against the wall just before the jury arrived to begin deliberations.

Such intimacy works wonderfully for this stern, earnest play. It's one thing to watch "12 Angry Men" it in a large, proscenium theater sitting a fair distance from the stage. It's another to be almost on top of the actors.

This is a scrappy, bare production, but it also has a sense of authority to it -- and I'm impressed with the preparation of the actors. For long stretches of the show, I felt as if I was eavesdropping on real conversations, which is a tribute to the acting and direction.

"All in the Timing," a collection of short plays by the very talented playwright David Ives, was split into a couple of parts by Artists' Repertory Theatre and presented at the past two Rogue Festivals. Both outings were big artistic successes. Ives' gently absurdist contemplations of time and language fit perfectly into the Rogue's breezy, fast-paced format. Sharp performances abounded. The direction crackled. Audiences seemed to walk away exhilarated.

Now ART has brought back all the Rogue short plays, plus one bonus offering that hadn't made the cut, in an evening-length performance of "All in the Timing."

In this incarnation, the magic is harder to find. The laughs are still in evidence, but the wit and precision of the evenings is diminished.

Fresno City College's production of "eurydice," which continues through Saturday, is a stunning work of theater: handsomely mounted, decisively directed, gorgeously costumed, gracefully acted. It's one of the must-see local theatrical events of the year.

From the production's first moments as the house lights dim and a plaintive voice sings the lyrics "Don't Let Me Go," to the very last moment of the show, when a major character makes a heart-breaking last gesture before everything slides to black, the show casts an almost hypnotic spell on the audience. Director Chuck Erven has described the play as a cross between Alice in Wonderland and Cirque du Soleil. That's an apt way to capture the mood he crafts: part fairy tale, part dream, in a brisk, intermissionless, 90-minute run time. It's the kind of stage experience that resonates on more than just visual and auditory levels. It's as if you can taste the crispness of this show, stroke its rich textures, smell its musty-yet-modern aromas.

I loved it.

Now here's a true delight: It's Saturday night in the Tower District. I'm walking down the street and come across a little table set up outside a storefront theater. Sitting at the table is the director himself selling tickets.

The occasion is the inaugural performance of a new Fresno theater company, California Public Theater. The play: Christopher Durang's "Beyond Therapy."

This scene makes me happy. Maybe it's a sense of adventure -- even mystery. Who knows what awaits when I walk through that door? It reminds me of times in San Francisco and New York that I've sought out little theaters (usually on side streets and far from the lights of Union and Times squares). Some of the best theater experiences I've had are in these offbeat spaces.

In this case, I'd say that the idea of experiencing a new theater company outweighed the impact of the performance itself. But there's some good acting to be found -- and a lot of promise here.

When you've seen a show like "Hairspray" and listened to the cast recording as much as I have, it's only natural to develop a few favorite moments. For me, one of them is the reprise of "Good Morning Baltimore" that Tracy -- the heroine of this big, brash and outrageously optimistic show -- sings in jail.

"Oh, oh, oh, I'm all alone: My heart has grown, but it's broken, too," she starts softly. Then she swells to a statement of action: "Let me out so this dream's unfurled, I'll eat some breakfast then change the world." It's one of those turning-point moments in a show when all the fancy trappings of musical theater -- the sets, the big orchestrations, the costumes, the glitter and glamour -- melt away to allow an intense personal bond between actor and audience.

In the new Good Company Players production of "Hairspray," the local premiere, I waited for this moment with anticipation. And I wasn't disappointed. Ashley Wilkinson, who makes a charming Tracy, imbued the song with all that was needed: confidence, reflection, idealism. Overall, the opening night performance wasn't perfect, but this smoothly directed production more than made up for any weaknesses with an abundant dose of charisma.