Heddatron 

With all of the crazy talk about Mayan calendars of doom and the Zombie Apocalypse, people are forgetting about the real dangers of life: killer bees, space aliens, another Bush in the White House.

But even anal probes and Jeb in the Veep seat pale in comparison to the strange events depicted in Heddatron, on stage through Saturday, June 9, at Tempe Performing Arts Center. Elizabeth Meriwether’s absurd comedy follows a pregnant Michigan hausfrau who is kidnapped by robots and made to perform the Henrik Ibsen play Hedda Gabler in a South American jungle.

“The premise is totally out there,” admits director Ron May. “But like any science fiction, you've gotta stretch to buy it.” Stray Cat Theatre’s version stars Johanna Carlisle as the depressed and distressed Jane Gordon, with five functioning machines built by HeatSync Labs as her captors.

— By Wynter Holden

Price: $20-$25