Best Bet: ‘Bent’ Friday, March 16, to March 31

This look at the persecution of homosexuals during the Holocaust also highlights love, redemption and self-acceptance. In the wake of Hitler's bloody political purge known as the Night of the Long Knives, 'Bent” follows the horrific and transformative experiences of Max Berber, a homosexual man living in 1934 Berlin. He and his lover, Rudy, are chased by the Gestapo from a prewar life of excess to the forests of Cologne, then Dachau, where Max finds forbidden intimacy with fellow prisoner Horst. Rated R for violence, sexuality and nudity.

'Bent”

Friday (3/16) to March 31, 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday; Grandon Studio, Theatre Cedar Rapids, 102 Third St. SE; $19 to $24, TCR Box Office, (319) 366-8591 or Theatrecr.org