Rick Padden's Beets isn't a perfect play, but it's an intelligent one that deals with an important and generally forgotten historical topic. During WWII, German prisoners were held in rural Colorado, and many worked on local farms. Set in Berthoud, Beets explores the tense relationships between the locals and the prisoners — in particular, between farmer Fred Hunt, whose son is fighting overseas, and a polite young German who's beginning to take an interest in Hunt's daughter, Anna. Padden has many quietly wise things to say here about rural life, war and forgiveness.