Goshen’s New World Arts theater is the place to go for productions that primarily are “not your grandmother’s” kind of shows, and it is good to have such a company when you want to see something besides Neil Simon and/or R&H.

Some of its selections are very good, some not so, but they all tackle subjects that most community theaters, which keep their eyes on the box office bottom line,  wouldn’t  consider.

AnnMarie Kneebone and Jeff Blair in New World Arts production of "Love Lies Bleeding."

Friday evening (appropriately the 13th), NWA offered “Love Lies Bleeding,” a contemporary piece by Don DeLillo. The title refers to a flower common to the Southwest as well as to the struggle facing three characters who must make a decision about the future — long or short — of its major protagonist: an artist  in his senior years who has suffered two paralyzing strokes and now exists in “a persistent vegetative state.”

Gathered around Alex (Jeff Blair) are his current (fourth) and very young wife Lia (Stephanie Honderich),  his age appropriate second wife Toinette (AnnMarie Kneebone), and Sean (Jaron Kennel), the son of his first marriage and his “only blood relative.” Together and separately they share memories of Alex and recall the ties that bind. . .or not.

The arguments are nothing that have not been/are being debated in the courts, the press, the pulpit and the theater (think Dr. Kevorkian, “Wit” and “Whose Life Is It Anyway?”). As always, any answer is not definitive.

Toinette and Sean favor providing Alex with a morphine-assisted immediate demise. Lia  is against it initially but, if not completely convinced, goes along with the majority decision. Alex, of course, has no say although he does leave his chair and enter the action to converse in absentia with each of his wives and even relives his glory days as an artist with Toinette.

“Love Lies Bleeding” was presented originally in 2005 by a contemporary theater in Boise, Idaho and moved to Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre and Washington’s Kennedy Center in 2006. This production is its Michiana premiere.

The setting is minimal, both past and present, and the dialogue more representative of a debate than anything resembling impassioned pleas. Each character has its say, with Alex popping into the scene and back to his sedentary chairbound position as needed.

The fault is not with the actors, who carry out their respective assignments competently. It is with the script which treats a subject that, because of its very nature, calls up deep emotions, with almost complete and dispassionate stoicism.

Next up at NWA is “The Pillowmam.” a play by Martin McDonagh scheduled  appropriately for the Halloween season, which is guaranteed to be anything but stoic!

“LOVE LIES BLEEDING” plays at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the theater on Second Street (entrance and parking on Third Street) in Goshen.

This seems to be the week for turning back the clock — theatrically speaking — at least one century.

The current Ramada Wagon Wheel Theatre production, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” is set in 1895 London. It plays through Aug. 14. There are only two opportunities left, however, to catch Elkhart Civic Theatre’s summer blockbuster musical, “Meet Me in St. Louis,” set in that city in 1903-04, which plays tonight and Sunday afternoon in the Jimtown High School auditorium.

“Earnest” displays the wicked wit of playwright Oscar Wilde. “St. Louis”— a 1989 Broadway musical based on the 1944 film — is filled from overture to skyrocketing finale with a warm look at the Smiths, a middle class family in a midwestern city which is  about to become, as one of the children puts it, “The center of the universe,” thanks to the 1904 World’s Fair.

The cast of the Elkhart Civic Theatre production of "Meet Me in St. Louis."

This production has one of the best orchestras ever heard in a community theater pit. From the opening  measures from the excellent brass section, it was possible to settle back and just enjoy the production without fear of the unfortunately too-common off notes. Under the director of Mark Swenden, the 14-piece orchestra was an integral and positive part of the show, supporting singers and dancers, providing melodic cover for the many scene changes and offering an overture and entre act that were worth listening to on their own.

Visually, director Michael Cripe and set designer John Jay Shoup collaborated to recreate the Smith home with its attendant architectural curls and flourishes, allowing it to open and close as needed to move the action from interior to exterior.  Cripe and Dawn Blessing are responsible for the creation and visual impact of the many costumes, elegant and colorful and moving easily whether on a trolley ride (and there definitely is a moving trolley!) or at a Christmas ball.

Cripe also has assembled one of the strongest vocal casts in recent memory. Kristen Riggs as Esther Smith takes on the role that is a signature for Judy Garland and makes it her own. Not only does her warm soprano add lustre to “The Boy Next Door” and “A Merry Little Christmas,” she blends beautifully with Jacob Medich as John Truitt, that boy and the object of her affections, in a duet “You Are For Loving,” which is not in the film.  The duo also hits just the right notes in their slowly blossoming romance and Riggs interacts with other Smith family members as if they really were her own.

Kristen Riggs of Esther Smith in the ECT production of "Meet Me in St, Louis."

Among the eight songs written to augment the movie score are “Whenever I’m With You,” a peacemaking tune that connects all the family members; “A Day in New York,” in which Mr. Smith (Richard Fansler) paints a picture his family doesn’t buy; “The Luck of the Irish,” with Katie (Jennifer Medich), the Smith’s Irish maid, offering romantic advice to Esther and her elder sister, Rose (Alex Pote); and “Wasn’t It Fun?” as Fansler and Stephanie Yoder as Mrs. Smith recall their years together.

Pote is another lovely soprano who is a pleasure to watch as well as listen to. The younger siblings — Amelia Greene as Tootie and McKenna Kaczanowski as Agnes — handle their assignments like veterans, especially in the Halloween sequence.

The men of the family — Fansler, Tyler Miller as son Lon and Charles Arnold as Grandpa Prophater — and Justin Williams as Rose’s about-to-be-fiance Warren Sheffield, also are strong vocally, with Fansler’s vocal outline of Manhattan a real show-stopper.

Then, of course, there is the trolley, which does run on stage more than once while the hardworking stage crew disposes of the Smith house. And the 1904 Fair fireworks do not disappoint. Technology is wonderful!

Whether you’re a fan of the film or have never seen it, this production bridges the years between screen and stage and does it with lovely music and heartwarming fun, making this St. Louis the perfect place for a family outing.

‘MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS” plays at 7:30 p.m. today and 3 p.m. Sunday in the Jimtown High School auditorium. Tickets at the door.