By the Way, Meet Vera Stark

In this elegant, sly and casually brainy comedy, Lynn Nottage creates and deconstructs a Negro film star of the 1930s: The first act is a Kaufmanesque romantic farce about a saucy black maid, and the second is an academic satire about her retrospectively embarrassing career. Jo Bonney’s bubbly production is grounded by an exceptionally charming cast that includes Sanaa Lathan and Daniel Breaker.—David Cote