"Purr Pull Reign." I'm not saying Johnny Showcase and the Lefty Lucy Cabaret's Purr Pull Reign is a tribute to a certain resident of Minneapolis and his 1984 album and film, because that, as Rhode Island lounge crooner Mr. Showcase (David Sweeny) points out, would violate certain copyright laws. However, I will say that said unsaid artist ought to kick up his high heels in rapture at being chosen as the source material for this silly, sublime performance.

It might have been enough if Showcase were content merely to let loose with his crack five-piece backup band, the Sons of Thunder, the lace-stockinged and legwarmered Six Lady Dancers, the continuing saga of thwarted love between Showcase and Vickie Fastlane (Jessica Edwards), and Showcase's allegorical battle against a scorpion/ex-wife wherein he takes the form of Gilgamesh.

But that's only half the story. Woven into the narrative, such as it is, is a complete run-through of a certain album, in order - song for song, note for note, howl for howl (and in the case of the notorious tune "Darling Nikki," thrust for thrust) - and Showcase does such a good facsimile, U would die 4 it.

When Showcase's manager Stan (Robert Daponte) runs onstage to whisper, "It's the lawyers, they want to talk to you about infringement," Showcase answers wisely, "It's a Fringe play, Stan." And yes it is, but for those who dreamed of someday being whisked away on a heliotrope Honda, it's also much more. - Wendy Rosenfield

$15. 10 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Latvian Society, 531 N. Seventh St.

Clover. In the fictional Irish village of Clover during World War II, an IRA loyalist says he has flipped sides, and is going to aid the British evacuation of Dunkirk. Then he disappears for two years.

The fact that he never sends word even to his wife - not so much as a "Hi, I'm OK" - is the only false note in this world-premiere play by locally based writer Christopher M. Bohan. And although it's a note that clangs loudly - and is hard to accept from a character who leaves so deeply in love - there's plenty to admire in Clover.

The play's five characters are carefully, rapidly drawn, and evocative of an older, quainter Ireland. The plot, in which Bohan neatly crafts a locked-tight no-exit situation for several of them, moves fluidly, in an easy mix of flashbacks and present-day action.

Clover is compelling and deserves the high level of acting it is given by Places Ensemble Theatre. Damon Bonetti is wholly believable as the man who goes off to aid the Brits, as is Kristie J. Lang as his love-struck wife. (She and Bohan created the theater company; Clover is its inaugural production.)

Jeff Luttermoser, Mark W. Robson, and Adam Rzepka play the other parts, two brothers of the departing soldier and a friend - each also a fine example of what solid actors can do when given good characters with which to do it. - Howard Shapiro

$10. 7 p.m. tomorrow, 8 p.m. Wednesday, 7 p.m. Thursday, and 7 and 10 p.m. Friday at the First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St.

above under inbetween. Austrian choreographer Willi Dorner's above under inbetween is a family-friendly Live Arts/Fringe choice. But - whoa! - cool as it looks, kids, don't try this at home! Heads clunk on the concrete floor, body parts are stuck between rungs of furniture, dancers and tables are layered on top of each other, people step on one another's backs.

Resembling a less dance-oriented Pilobolus or a stripped-down Cirque du Soleil, above under inbetween also looks like a living sculpture exhibit against the bright-white walls of the ICE BOX Projects Space. For nearly an hour, audience members stand or sit on the floor, while seven dancers from Cie. Willi Dorner (including Philadelphia's Megan Bridge) explore space, gravity, and alternative uses for everyday objects, all in exceedingly clever ways.

As the performance moves down the room, getting more and more outrageous and perilous, members of the audience move with it. This causes the production's only problem: With people crowding around the best viewing spots, it becomes difficult for everyone to see. The performance ends with one last pose outdoors, and on soggy Friday night, that sent audience members out into the pouring rain to peer at the dancers in dim light.

But overall, above under inbetween was one of the most amusing and inventive pieces I've seen so far in this year's festival.

- Ellen Dunkel

No further performances.

Teenager: Anne Frank.

There aren't that many Americans who don't know about Anne Frank, the subject of the German theater company Theatre Inbetween's show Teenager: Anne Frank. However, most of those who don't are probably young, which is why this solo performance by Anna Watson, adapted from Frank's diary, makes a better fit for schools than for adults.

No new take on Frank's ordeal - just a focus on her blooming adolescence and stifling captivity. She discusses her crush on Peter van Daan, disdain for her mother, love for her father, and, of course, how she believes people are really good at heart. Director Frank Bruckner has her pace the perimeter of her six-foot- square PVC cube like a caged animal and open her mouth to scream with all the repressed frustration one can muster when screaming in total silence.

What, quite literally, heightens Teenager's emotional impact is its site, the roof deck of the Parkway House. Watson's Frank might be limited by her cube, but she's surrounded by open air and the entire city. It's a lovely metaphor for imagination and the ability of a lively mind to rise above even the most constricting circumstance and somehow still manage to soar.