Durham
Washing Machine

Manbites Dog TheatreWhen you were a child, if your parents ever tried to dissuade you from playing in the washing machine by graphically describing to you all the ways you could die and what it would be like while you died, you might not want to attend the North Carolina premiere of Jason Stuart’s play Washing Machine. Dana Berger, who received a New York Innovative Theatre Award nomination for outstanding solo performance for the Manhattan production of this play, portrays eight characters attempting to explain how a 5-year-old girl died in a laundromat washing machine. The last seconds of the girl’s life are expanded to show how everyone played a role and to elucidate the consequences of her death. Michael Chamberlin directs the production by Fist in the Pocket. Eerily, this was based on a real-life incident the playwright read about in an article in the Washington Post. The play runs through June 28, and tickets are $12 for weekend performances and $17 on weeknights. For more information, visit www.manbitesdogtheater.org or call 682-4974. Zack Smith

Saxapahaw
Haw River Rounders

Saxaphaw RivermillThe Haw River Rounders manage a backwoods junkyard of sound where setting up shop means shaking the morning dew from a rusty washboard and taking a swig of whatever was at the party last night. The fiddle lines are slick, and banjo and guitar provide constant patter. Juke joint music reached the height of its popularity long ago, but the Haw River Rounders polish and deliver it with such panache, you have to buy what they’re selling. Fortunately for your pocketbook, it’s free tonight at 6 p.m. Andrew Ritchey

Raleigh
Sinbad

Goodnight’s Comedy ClubFrom the underrated 1990s cartoon Freakazoid!: “The scariest thing in the world would be … if they gave Sinbad another TV show!” One of the few comedians to be listed on best and worst stand-ups of all time (by Comedy Central and Maxim, respectively), Sinbad is perhaps best known for his work on the sitcom A Different World and a series of family-friendly films … and for recently being outed for owing $2.5 million in taxes to the state of California. One can assume this will give the former It’s Showtime at the Apollo host some material for his act at Goodnight’s. OK, let’s give Sinbad some props for making fun of himself on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia last season. Sinbad appears through June 20 at Goodnight’s. For more information, visit www.goodnightscomedy.com or call 828-5233. Zack Smith