We theater fiends tend to grouse about the dearth of new material on Valley stages.

Oh no, we groan, another “West Side Story.” More Neil Simon. “Love Letters?” Really? Another dose of “Arsenic and Old Lace” and we’ll be having some of that poisonous elderberry wine, too.

But before the tsunami of that war-ho-ho-ho-horse, “A Christmas Carol,” overtakes our calendars and attention spans, we’ve been graced with a spate of fresh stageworks worth gushing over. “The Graduate” at Gammage and the immensely enjoyable, only slightly too naughty “Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical” may be the bawdy highlights, but here are quick-hit reviews of a few Scrooge-free others worth paying attention to:

‘[sic]’

Stray Cat Theatre’s production of Melissa James Gibson’s critical off-Broadway hit “[sic]” was one of my must-see predictions at the start of the season. After seeing the show last week, I’m proud to report the company’s giving Gibson’s comedy — about three neighbors who share one floor of a New York apartment building — a worthy go, with fine acting and a sublime sense of straight comedy.

“[sic]” is easiest described as a “Seinfeldean” riff on nothing, but it’s all about struggling: Theo (played by Greg Graffin lookalike Joseph Kremer) is a musician whose writer’s block prevents him from writing a score for a theme park ride, Babette (Amanda Kochert) is a struggling writer and Frank (Samuel Wilkes) is a wannabe auctioneer.

Underneath that, though, is Gibson’s use of rhythm — dialogue that pulses into full cacophony, sputters to a halt or blips in staccato, from solo to duet to polyphonic spree. Director Ron May and his splendidly funny actors have a keen ear for those rhythms, which alternatingly teases us out of the stage sitcom and sucks us right back in.

Grade: A-

‘The Fish Must Die’

Valley playwright Raymond Shurtz’s backstage comedy — an insider’s jab at the silly, self-important world behind the scenes of community theater, now in production by the iTheatre Collaborative — isn’t quite sure of what it wants to be.

Is it subtle satire? There’s comic gold in scenes when two actors, Ren (played by Gary Nolan) and Tom (Tom Koelbel), do just what actors do backstage at their strip mall playhouse: complain, argue, file their nails while doing monotone line-thru readings. And when they respond to one newspaper critic’s bloody mauling of their show (“Actually, he did like the minimalistic set,” the show’s director says.)

Or is it wild farce? If so, “The Fish Must Die” exhausts its farcical steam in the first act, with a pittance of a plot point about a psycho girlfriend who gets in a knock-down catfight with the stage manager. (But oh, the fact that the manager, played by Julia Fordtner, has a gaggle of keys hanging from a belt loop is subtle and hilarious.)

Whichever the case, “The Fish” needs another rewrite. But hold up. The script’s shortcomings are somewhat remedied by one of the most gut-busting comic performances this side of Sister from “Late Nite Catechism”: director Bill — played by Robert X. Planet with a little bit o’ Franklin Pangborn and whole lotta Paul Lynde. He makes a reference to Boones Farm wine that just about killed me.

Grade: C+

‘Kiss Me, Kate’

OK, “Kiss Me, Kate” isn’t new. It’s one of those well-worn warhorses that most often should be sent to the glue factory than a theatrical stage. But the Gilbert Fine Arts Association production, which I caught Monday at Mesquite Junior High School, reminded me of what’s to love in this Cole Porter musical.

It’s a fine showcase for singers, and director Charlie LeSueur cast gorgeous singers in his leads of Alex Gonzalez (bold and brassy as Fred/Petruchio) and Lacy Sauter (stern, sassy Lilli/Katherine). Sauter, in fact, trades somewhat stiff line delivery for some of the richest singing in the East Valley; someone get this gal into an operetta! Meanwhile, Lois Lane/Bianca’s Tamra Mathias — a lovely actress and Hale Centre Theatre regular who earlier confessed to me she was more nervous about her singing than doing scenes of Shakespeare — proved she’s got worthy stage pipes and a command of the stage that allows her to walk away with the show in ditties like "Always True to You (In My Fashion)."

On the side, director LeSueur joins up with fellow Hale regular Robert O’Mara to play the show’s two silly gangsters — lightweight parts they relish will all the goofiness they can dish out.

Grade: B+

Theatrical tidbits? Backstage gossip? Dreading the “Christmas Carol” glut like so much fruitcake? Contact the writer, who sympathizes, at or .