In Pony World Theatre’s 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, a sausage quiche is a scandal, a society theme song is worth singing with conviction, and an audience member named “Marjorie” can find herself part of the proceedings. Kate Jaeger and her cast have a wonderful time with the rules and rituals of this 1956 gathering, which makes it all the funnier when an emergency gives these supposedly well-mannered widows a reason to say what they’ve been talking around all afternoon. It’s a sharp, dark comedy about the things people do to belong and the pleasure of finding out how much they can say aloud and still have a place in the room and it makes for an extremely fun time at the theatre.

In inD Theatre’s Mimesophobia or Before and After, two screenwriters looking for a way to turn a murder-suicide into a film find that the closer they get to the people involved, the more compelling their story becomes. Director Alix Black draws the audience into that same fascination through eerie narration and an intimacy in its storytelling. It’s a good mystery that gets more uncomfortable the longer it holds the audience’s attention, especially when the details that make for a better screenplay are the ones someone else has to live with.

As a whole, the show is more strange than spooky. In offering a little bit of everything, the program ends up feeling a bit incoherent. Much like the CVS Pharmacy up Mercer Street from PNB, maybe it’s best to just put out the Christmas lights as soon as possible.