Music critic Mark Swed knows all the caveats about which performances to avoid: “Opening night is a glorified dress rehearsal, so avoid it. Everything comes together about the middle of the run. By the end, the performers are starting to get a bit bored, and it’s best, once more, to stay away. Oh, and matinees are never as inspired as evening events.” But he’s got a new theory: “A performance that begins with proper commitment will likely just keep getting better. One that starts out cynically or inherently weak will tend, like a small crack in a windshield, to get only worse.”