One of our choices for this Saturday is the Boiling Point Players' production of Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche (the show closes this weekend). When Boiling Point Players director Ruth McCluskey first read the play last year, she loved it but couldn't quite figure out how the nascent theater group could pull it off. Boiling Point's debut season last year consisted of two shows in repertory, neither of which had serious staging or costume commitments. Contrast that with Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood's absurdest romp, which takes place in 1956 and requires both a built set and period pieces.

"It has such phenomenal characters and was a great story," says McCluskey. "So, I finally just said, yeah, we're up for the -challenge." She says Five Lesbians is about friendships and obstacles and accepting who you are. "We're dedicated to offering opportunities for women, bringing more of them to the stage and doing shows about their issues" she says. "And here was this play about five strong women, these really funny women. I just knew we had to do this."

The final performances of Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche are set for 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Studio 101, 1824 Spring Street. For information, visit boilingpointplayers.com. $15.

Fans of political comedy, rejoice! Veteran stand-up Bill Maher will be visiting Houston for a one-night stand this Sunday. The critically acclaimed but polarizing satirist is known to most for his work as host of the 11-time Emmy-nominated Real Time with Bill Maher, which has aired on HBO since 2003. Before that, Maher hosted the canceled-too-soon ABC roundtable program Politically Incorrect, which ended in 2002.

Maher hasn't been to Houston for several years. When asked why, the sharp-tongued comic replies: "You gotta wait. Like a farmer, you gotta let the field lie fallow for a while before planting new crops. Because comedy is sort of the opposite of music," Maher muses. "When I see The Rolling Stones are going back on tour, [I think] well, they'd better play 'Satisfaction.' And you know they've gotta be sick of playing 'Satisfaction,' but with music, you have got to play the oldies. Comedy is the exact opposite."

While the expected constant joke turnover might appear stressful to some, Maher seems to find it liberating. "I'm a comedy fan. And when I see [a comic], I want to see the new. You know, the great thing about the comedy I do is that it's always changing. It's a lot harder if you're just an observation comedian, like most comedians are. Talking about evergreen everyday subjects [is a challenge]," Maher admits. "But I'm talking out of a newspaper. My shit changes all the time!"

Always comfortable behind the mike, Maher has actively kept up his stand-up tour schedule and has recorded ten specials for HBO including 2007's The Decider, 2010's But I'm Not Wrong and his most recent, Live from DC, which was HBO's highest-rated comedy special in five years.

See Bill Maher at 8 p.m. on Sunday. Bayou Music Center (formerly Verizon Wireless Theater), 520 Texas. For information, call 713-230-1600 or visit bayoumusiccenter.com. $37.50 to $97.50.

Margaret Downing, Holly Beretto, Susie Tommaney and Vic Shuttee contributed to this post.