"Tick, Tick ¦ Boom!" is a dynamic and exuberant musical filled with outstanding performances by its talented three-person cast. The show explodes on the stage of Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope through July 15.

The musical, a semi-autobiographical retelling of "Rent" composer Jonathan Larsons life before he wrote his hit rock musical, has a surprising number of local connections.

Bucks County Playhouse Executive Producer Robyn Goodman helped Larsen work on the show and is one of the original producers of "Tick, Tick ¦ Boom!" off-Broadway.

Strong leads anchor a tuneful and engaging "South Pacific" at Northampton Community College Summer Theatre. The classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is at the Bethlehem Township colleges Lipkin Theater through July 9.

Kenneth McMullen and Jennifer Brady are delightful together as middle-aged French expatriate Emile de Beque and naive young Navy nurse Nellie Forbush, who fall in love. McMullen is suave and charming as the wordly Frenchman who enchants the Arkansas-born Nellie.

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festivals "In The Heights" is a buoyant, exuberant and vibrant musical that pulsates with energy. "In the Heights," on the Main Stage at Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, DeSales University, Center Valley through July 2, boasts strong performances, soaring voices, thrilling dancing and spot-on direction.

As Usnavi, the bodega owner at the heart of the piece, Ryan Reyes is shyly charming as he wraps his tongue around Lin-Manuel Mirandas rapid-fire rap with ease, particularly in the opening title number in which he introduces the residents of his neighborhood in New Yorks Washington Heights.

Northampton Community College Summer Theater delivers a heartfelt and uplifting production of "The Prom" through June 18 in Lipkin Theater, Northampton Community College, 3835 Green Pond Rd., Bethlehem Township.

"The Prom" boasts an evening of entertaining performances with strong singing and energetic dancing.

The musical follows four struggling Broadway actors as they travel to Indiana to help a lesbian student whose high school prom was canceled after she said she wanted to take her girlfriend to prom.