In his playbill notes for Strangeloop Theatre’s Strangers and Romance, director Doug Long states that this is playwright Barb Lhota’s time in Chicago theatre. Indeed, with two other productions besides Strangers currently running in the Windy City, Lhota is certainly a very present local playwright. But even if the two one acts that comprise Lhota’s refreshing Strangers and Romance were the only theatrical evidence on display, they would still undoubtedly ascertain her warm skill and humor soaked honesty.

The initial vignette of Strangers and Romance opens up on empty train station platform where a seemingly random couple engages in a game of mysterious role play. Soon, though, the couple’s familiarity is revealed and it is eventually implied that a dark secret lurks beneath their inventive imaginings.  Here, Lhota allows her female character, Maddie, a sense of strength and resolve missing from Madison, her male counterpart. It is only through Maddie’s determination that she and Madison will be able to face down their past and continue into an uncertain future.

In the more comical second scenario, an uptight woman is interrupted in her all night vigil in a darkened church by a drunken stranger. Popping with dialogue that brims with mystery and comical energy, the two soon break through each other’s defenses and reveal themselves as only two foreigners can.

Director Long directs each piece with free economy and grace and guides each of his performers to moments of transcendent truth. If Tony Ketcham, as Madison in the show’s first half, and Stacie Barra, as the seemingly rigid Miriam in the show’s second installment, create the most indelible characters, it is only due to the support of their scene partners, Misti Patrella and Timothy C. Arros. Indeed, Ketcham’s throat catching sorrow and Barra’s insane sense of comic timing may have you crying both tears of sorrow and of joy.

Strangers and Romance runs until September 18 at the Trap Door Theatre on 1655 W. Cortland in Chicago. Tickets for the show are $10-$15 and can be purchased at strangelooptheatre.org or by calling 773-757-6689. —Brian Kirst

Point Blank is a decent little French thriller, but much like its title and the tagline on its poster—A desperate man is a dangerous thing—it doesn’t aspire to be anything unique.

Samuel (Gilles Lellouche, Love Me If You Dare) is a nurse’s assistant on the brink of graduating to the rank of fully accredited nurse, but when he intervenes in the murder of one of his patients (Roschdy Zem, Days of Glory) his wife (Elena Anaya, In the Land of Women) is kidnapped; she’ll be killed unless Samuel gets the patient out of the hospital and away from the police. To make matters worse, Samuel’s wife is seven and a half months pregnant. That’s only the beginning. As Samuel sets out to get back his wife at any cost, he gets drawn in over his head deeper and deeper.

This is a classic “wrong place, wrong time” scenario that shows us every day folk that we can hardcore in a heartbeat when our back’s against the wall. To the film’s credit, they keep Samuel from suddenly busting out any karate or anything; all of his actions seem within the bounds of reality for an average joe.

I was skeptical the moment it started, when the filmmakers decided to play the sound of a heartbeat over the title, letting us know what a thrill ride we were in for. By the 20-minute mark I thought Point Blank was doomed to be completely forgettable, but then they started twisting events until nothing was as it originally seemed. That filmic sleight of hand saved it from being entirely paint-by-numbers and drew me in enough to find myself on the edge of my seat by the frantic conclusion. There were also a couple of really serious plot holes of the logic-leap variety, but with this many irons in the fire, I think it’s forgivable.

The biggest mistake comes toward the end of the picture when Samuel should be running for help no matter what it means for him personally, but he just stays put like a coward in denial. I’m not sure how the filmmakers expected us to think he was doing the right thing here. In my opinion, the protagonist fell apart when it really mattered and the film still treats him like a hero.

On a technical level there’s not much to see. Everybody who worked on the film did their job, but it doesn’t seem like they were too invested in it. The camera is pointed at the action without any real attempt at interpretation or visual flair. The soundtrack makes sure you hear what’s important. Only the writers tried to give us something different, but sure took their sweet time getting there.

My personal opinion: It would be an okay rental for a Wednesday night, when you’re just looking for somewhere to point your eyes until bedtime. If you want to really be involved in a foreign thriller rent The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo or The Girl Who Kicked a Hornets Nest. —Jake Jarvi

On the surface, The Double is a delicious Hollywood style romp featuring characters based on such golden matinee personalities as Errol Flynn and Rosalind Russell. But a peek beneath its glossy surface, also, reveals a whimsical exploration of the power women yielded behind the scenes in the magic cinema of yesteryear. Of course, one wouldn’t expect anything less from acclaimed local playwright Barb Lhota and producing company, Babes With Blades. Both entities have been providing Chicago audiences with physically powerful female characters for years.

The Double takes place behind the scenes of a struggling Broadway production of Cyrano De Bergerac directed by a drunken, down on his luck former screen idol. Secretly funded by his more successful ex-wife, Rosalind Rollins, the shaky show also reunites former childhood companions, Minnie Sparks and Olivia Wood. Sparks, a former vaudeville hoofer, is hired to double Wood, a successful yet critically reviled B Movie actress, in the show’s combat sequences. Of course, the pair’s emotional entanglements off of the boards provide the show with its touchingly comical heart.

Taking a sweeter look at the struggles actresses such as Lizabeth Scott (a smoky yet closeted film noir actress) must have endured in the prime of their careers in the 1940’s, The Double naturally concludes with an amazing stage combat exercise involving the majority of the female cast. Here, Kathrynne Wolf practically steals the show as she flips between multiple characters, in a sequence bordering on comical brilliance, with stylistic panache.

Elsewhere, Lhota and skilled director Leigh Barrett keep things moving quickly with rip snorting dialogue and smart timing. Cast members Dan Foss, Mark Pracht and Kimberly Logan provide supremely energetic pleasure while Gillian N. Humiston touchingly graces everyone with apt sweetness and steel backbone as Minnie. It is Lisa Herceg as the grande dame Rollins, though, who makes the most of her material. Herceg kicks it, elegantly, into the highest rafters with her every carefully timed gesture and magnificent line reading. Evelyn Ankers would be proud!

The Double runs through September 24 at The Lincoln Square Theater, 4754 N. Leavitt. Tickets are $8-$25 and can be purchased at babeswithblades.org or by calling 773-904-0391. —Brian Kirst