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The Taffetas: A Musical Journey Through the Fabulous Fifties. With the figure of Senator Joseph McCarthy looming over the American landscape, the 1950s were anything but fabulous, as the full title of The Taffetasasserts. This is a pre-packaged, lightweight, no-calories, go-down-easy sort of production, a cheap-to-produce moneymaker with no artistic or intellectual ambitions. But putting all this aside is surprisingly easy to do. The costumes are perfect, the choreography appealing. The songs range from silly to interesting to really pretty, and — most important — the four women in the cast are charming and talented. According to what evanescent plot line there is, these women are sisters from Muncie, Indiana, who are performing on a television program in New York and hoping to snare a slot on The Ed Sullivan Show. The singing is punctuated by genuine television commercials of the era, including the rhythmically percolating coffeepot that sold America on Maxwell House. Presented by Denver Center Attractions through September 16, Galleria Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 303-893-4100, www.denvercenter.org. Reviewed June 21.

Too Old to Be Loud. Heritage Square is unlike any other dinner theater in the state — and possibly the nation. The facility itself debuted in the 1950s as Magic Mountain, a Disneyesque theme park with whimsical buildings based on Colorado architectural styles. In 1970, it was bought by the Woodmoor Corporation and reincarnated as Heritage Square; soon after, G. William Oakley opened the Heritage Square Opera House, which featured wickedly silly — yet oddly clever — melodramas. Current director T.J. Mullin took over in 1986 and shifted both the name and the focus, alternating hopped-up versions of classic stories with shows that are pretty much a medley of songs. Too Old to Be Loudis the sixth in a series based on an annual reunion in the Boylan High School gym, a thin plot line that serves as the excuse for this talented ensemble to offer some great rock and roll, hilarious sendups of pop stars and a rendition of the Beatles' "Yesterday," during which Mullin gets to reveal his surprisingly melodious tenor. Presented by Heritage Square Music Hall through October 14, 18301 West Colfax Avenue, Golden, 303-279-7800. www.hsmusichall.com. Reviewed July 12.

Urinetown, the Musical. Urinetown, a musical in which a money-grubbing corporation controls a population's right to relieve itself by charging exorbitant fees for the use of toilets, may not be as odd and daring as it once seemed, but it remains highly entertaining — cleverly written and filled with witty, hummable songs in several styles. The script is a send-up of Brecht and of the musical form itself, using self-referential techniques to keep the audience at an emotional distance and placing the character of Officer Lockstock, who's both villain and narrator, front and center. This PHAMALY production skillfully balances satire against genuine emotion, and there are many superb performances. Choreographers Debbie Stark and Cindy Bray have a miraculous way of turning the cast's physical problems, which range from spina bifida to Parkinson's disease, into eye-pleasing and expressive movement. And, of course, the PHAMALY gang humanizes the action just by virtue of who they are — people who understand physical problems and the difficulties of getting along in the world far more deeply than most of us. Presented by the Physically Handicapped Actors and Musical Artists League through August 19, the Space Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 303-893-4100. www.phamaly.org. Reviewed August 9.