Hart of Dixie (8pm, CW) - The townsfolk perform scenes from Shakespeare, and George and Zoe reluctantly agree to portray Romeo and Juliet.

In Performance at the White House: Memphis Soul (8pm, UNC-TV) - A celebration of the Memphis soul music of the mid- to late-1960s. Performers include Alabama Shakes, William Bell, Steve Cropper, Ben Harper, Queen Latifah, Mavis Staples and Justin Timberlake. Sam Moore and Joshua Ledet are shown here performing "Soul Man" for the President and First Lady.

The Central Park Five (9pm, UNC-TV) - This acclaimed documentary by Sarah Burns examines a 1989 case in which five black and Latino teens were convicted of raping a Central Park jogger before the true perpetrator admitted to the crime.

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (10pm, HBO) - Segments include a look at the role of soccer fans in Egypt's revolution and a chat with Miami Marlins president David Samson. Also, an interview with Christmas Abbott, the first woman to work on a NASCAR pit crew.

Golden Boy (10pm, CBS) - The team search for the killer of a priest, an investigation that leads them to suspect a criminal informant from a previous case is responsible for this murder. Elsewhere, Agnes is determined to find her missing mom.

Body of Proof (10pm, ABC) - A fund manager on trial for defrauding a billion dollars is kidnapped as he is leaving court, despite being surrounded by security, and during the escape, a protester is killed by the getaway vehicle. Later, video surfaces of the captive being murdered, but there are questions about whether he is really dead.

RALEIGH -- Seven years ago, Prince brought a tour to Raleigh that aimed to demonstrate who was the boss (him, of course). Wednesday night brought him back to the RBC Center, and the underlying context this time seemed to be a demonstration of just how many employees, underlings and spinoff divisions he's had.

Prince really was kind of the Motown of the 1980s, with an instantly recognizable sound. Whether it was his name or somebody else's on the Paisley Park Records label, you always knew it was him right away.

That point was made before Wednesday night's performance even began, as the video screens showed a series of videos by '80s-vintage Prince associates including The Family, Sheila E., Andre Cymone, The Time and Mavis Staples. Then after Prince introduced her as "my inspiration, the voice of seven generations, the bridge, my sister," opening act Chaka Khan came out and began with the hit he wrote for her, 1984's "I Feel For You."

As for Prince's two-hour headlining set, it was so tightly scripted he needed teleprompters to keep track. It was intermittently amazing, too, although the opening stretch was a touch too manic. "Y'all know how many hits I got?" he asked. "Wanna hear 'em tonight?"

Yes, but not crammed into a single half-hour. After beginning with "When Doves Cry," he launched into an ADHD-friendly medley featuring regrettably abbreviated snippets of "Sign o the Times," "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," "Hot Thing," "If I Was Your Girlfriend," "Scandalous" and I can't even recall what else.

If the format left something to be desired, Prince and his crack band showed impeccable virtuosity and showmanship. He himself did very little playing during the opening stretch, because he was too busy conducting, directing, shimmying, strutting, preening and stalking the crowd like a gigolo on the make. He put in some impressive footwork as he sang, especially considering that he was wearing red high heels.

Things were just picking up with "Raspberry Beret" and "You Got the Look" when Prince vacated the stage to do an outfit change. And that was when his backup singers sang Sarah McLachlan's "Angel," which was no less dreary as a gospel number than it is as soundtrack for those animal-cruelty commercials. It felt interminable.

Fortunately, Prince returned bearing a guitar. He brought Chaka Khan back onstage for a cameo performance of "Sweet Thing," in which she got a much kinder mix than during her own set (she'd been barely audible over the muddy, indistinct roar of her backup band). The following "Controversy" got everybody hopping up and down, and Prince played some of his best guitar of the night.

A cover of Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music" made the perfect excuse to invite a few dozen folks from the audience onstage to dance. After that, it was one bullseye after another: "Let's Go Crazy," "Delirious," "1999," "Little Red Corvette" and an epic 10-minute version of "Purple Rain." The encore version of "Kiss" (with the "Dynasty" lyrical reference changed to "Real Housewives") made for a nice victory lap.

He's still the boss, for sure.

david.menconi@newsobserver.com or blogs.newsobserver.com/beat or 919-829-4759

ADDENDUM (4/7/11): What's in Prince's refrigerator?

Mavis Staples has a great new album out, which she'll show off in Durham tonight. For verbiage past and present about music and family (plus an amazing and amusing tale about her near-marriage to another equally iconic musical figure), click on through.