Ah, the boy band - that treasure of the 1990s, lost but not forgotten. We all knew them, we all loved them and virtually every '90s child has some sort of opinion on the 'NSYNC vs. Backstreet Boys debate. "Altar Boyz," an off-broadway musical now playing at Bethesda Theatre, takes a look at the boy band phenomenon through the confession window.

A musical interpretation of prejudice, sexism, identity struggle and adolescent conflict can truly blend together in a raw, poignant batch of emotion, as the performers of "City at Peace" show. The problems that plague the teens in the show could not be any more different, yet somehow these teens are able to relate to one another on multiple levels. This adaptation of authenticity clearly plays out on the stage, as the group's performance "Disguise the Limits" shows the remarkable ability of youth to organize and cooperate.

For every little girl who ever watched Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" and promptly dragged her mother to the Disney Store in search of a yellow sparkling dress identical to that of her princess idol, reliving the beloved childhood classic on stage years later is a dream come true. Too much pressure for a high school production? Apparently not for directors Kelly O'Connor and Miriam Plotinsky who captained the Blair production of the stage adaptation of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." Opening with an attendance-office blowing sold-out show, the cast and crew gave the audience a true happily ever after.

As the curtains unfurled to reveal Magnet Arts Night (MAN) 2008 on Feb. 1, a strange sense of déjà vu seemed to permeate the Blair auditorium.

In his time, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would have been analogous to the writers of the hit TV series CSI. Perhaps that is why a sold-out crowd filled Round House Theatre for the Lumina production of Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles." The adult cast took on the widely known persona of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in their first story, and the result is something surely even Doyle would have enjoyed.