Comedy. First used in the 14th century, the word originally meant, "A drama or epic story with a happy ending.” How comedy evolved to include jokes, pratfalls, and witty pronouncements about the madness of politicians is, in itself, an epic story, but suffice it say that today, comedy is one of society’s favorite sauces on the bland relentless pasta of everyday life - and comedy, like pasta sauce, comes in many different flavors.

Over the next few weeks, North Bay theaters are offering a buffet of comedic choices, from the crude to the classy.

Pegasus Theater - housed in a nicely compact space in a corner of the historic Rio Nido Lodge, a few miles past Santa Rosa in the lovely rivertwon of Rio Nido - is currently presenting "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)," which takes some of the greatest literature of all time and squeezes into a funny, flatulent whoopee cushion of a show, as three bold but clueless actors attempt to perform 37 plays in 97 minutes. Directed by Nick Christenson, and featuring Matthew Cadigan, Clint Campbell and Freddy Lambert, the loosely constructed show has been a sure crowd-pleaser since portions were tested out at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in the early 1980s. There is no plot, and even the plots of the plays they attempt to perform are reduced to mere set-ups for punch-lines, which is to say . . . it’s a blast. The cast’s unflagging energy and knack for off-the-cuff improv makes watching the show a bit like watching caffeinated monkeys dance blindfolded on a tightrope.

'Complete Works' runs one more weekend at Pegasus Theater, pegasustheater.com

At Cinnabar Theater, in Petaluma, there are two very different flavors of comedy on the menu, one old and one new. Not that comedian Will Durst is a spring chicken or anything, but his new one-man-show "Boomer-Raging" is definitely younger than Mozart’s "The Marriage of Figaro." Both are on stage this weekend, and both are hilarious.

Durst, best known for his sharp-witted political commentary, is now looking for laughs in the fact that the Baby Boomer Generation is aging, and not always gracefully. The show includes inspired bits about all the inventions and practices younger folks will never get to experience, which the Baby Boomers did, including the indispensible art of rewinding a cassette tape with a pencil. He describes the process of evolving from someone who once knew where all the 24-hour-restaurants were in the area to the guy who has no idea what’s open late but does know where all the public restrooms are within a twenty mile radius of his home.

"Boomer-Raging" runs just twice this weekend, on Thursday and Sunday nights.

And on Friday and Saturday nights, and Sunday afternoon, director Elly Lichenstein has unleashed one of the best operatic productions in Cinnabar’s recent history, which is saying something. "The Marriage of Figaro," by Mozart, is not just packed with gorgeous music, it’s got sex, too, and lots of it, everything from erection jokes and spanking to smutty rhymes, cross-dressing and randy servants, served up in four acts that make three hours and fifteen minutes seem like binge-watching a great comedy series in a single afternoon.

The cast of singers are also first-rate comedians, and it’s all presented in English so you will get every joke.

"The Marriage of Figaro" runs through June 15 at Cinnabar Theater,

cinnabartheater.org.