Broadway San Jose

WHEN American Musical Theatre of San Jose abruptly closed its doors in December 2008, it left a significant hole in the San Jose performing-arts community. In an effort to replace the former Bay Area theater giant, the city of San Jose did a search and settled on the Nederlander Organization. Based out of New York, Nederlander (which also operates the newly renovated San Jose Civic) specializes in big bus-and-truck productions of its Broadway plays, which it ships to theaters across the United States.

"There is defiantly an audience for Broadway's musical theater in San Jose," says Ruth Pangilinan, general manager of the new Broadway San Jose. With the economic impact of AMT's death hitting the Center for the Performing Arts and downtown San Jose so severely last spring, Pangilinan says that the city was extremely receptive to getting Nederlander on board as soon as possible. "The sooner the better, get it out there, get it working and keep downtown a thriving place," she says of their approach. "Too much lag time in this economy would have been pretty detrimental." Broadway San Jose opens its premiere season with Spamalot on Sept. 15. "It's everything big we love about Broadway. It's got elements of irreverence, lots of fun, and it's honestly just a great night out, a great escape," Pangilinan says of the stage version of the Monty Python film.Spamalot will be followed by Spring Awakening, on Oct. 28, a sensual rock musical about teenagers and sexual discovery. The farewell tour of Riverdance will hit San Jose on Dec. 29, followed by the "full puppet nudity" of Avenue Q on Jan. 12 of the new year. Finally, the irrepressible Elle Woods will close out Broadway San Jose's first season in Legally Blonde, the Musical on March 16.

Monty Python's Spamalot Sept. 15–20.

Spring Awakening Oct. 28–Nov. 1.

Riverdance Dec. 29–Jan. 3, 2010.

Avenue Q Jan. 12–17, 2010.

Legally Blonde, the Musical March 16–21, 2010.

All shows are at the Center for the Performing Arts, 255 Almaden Blvd., San Jose; tickets are generally $20–$88; 866.395.2929; www.broadwaysanjose.com.

City Lights

WITH THE public's entertainment dollars thinning, Lisa Mallette says that it was important for her to keep City Lights Theater Company of San Jose's identity real in the face of the current recession. "It would be very easy to panic, to want to do all comedies that everybody's heard of," says Mallette, executive artistic director of the more-than-20-year-old company. "Leading up to when I had to pick these plays, I had a sense that it was very important to stick to our mission right now." This year, her first step was to update City Lights' old mission statement, honing it into something more active. It now reads: "City Lights Theater Company creates provocative live productions that engage, inspire, and challenge audiences and artists alike through innovative concepts, intimate staging and uncompromising storytelling." Mallette says that the courtroom dramedy The Last Days of Judas Iscariot embodies everything their 2009/2010 season is about. "This season has a theme to it that is speaking for voices less heard, the unexpected hero, redemption and mercy," Mallette explains. "Judas Iscariot has been known for a long time as the biggest sinner of all time. So, this is taking a look at his story and saying, 'Can't we give this guy a break?'" City Light's holiday show will be Another Night Before Christmas. This two-person musical centers on a cynical social worker whose apartment is invaded by a homeless man who tries to convince her he is Santa Claus. Tim Robbins' Dead Man Walking is City Lights' big drama of 2010.

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot Sept. 17–Oct. 18.

Another Night Before Christmas Nov. 19–Dec. 20.

Dead Man Walking Jan. 21–Feb. 21, 2010.

Cyrano de Bergerac March 18–April 18, 2010.

Second Weekend in September May 20–June 20, 2010.

Rent July 22–Aug. 29, 2010.

City Lights, 529 S. Second St., San Jose; $15–$40; 408.295.4200; www.cltc.org.

Renegade Theatre Experiment

RENEGADE is not for everybody," admits Sean Murphy, artistic director for Renegade Theatre Experiment. "We are not doing the traditional stuff that other companies do."

From its start in 2001 as a grassroots theater company, RTE has grown into the role of being the theater company for the nontheatergoer. "I have a lot of friends and colleagues who don't go to theater because they think it's all opera or it's very pretentious, and they can't relate to it," Murphy says. "It doesn't have to be like that. ... Come and experience something with us. Come and see something Quentin Tarantino–esque, where it's bloody and gross." RTE kicks off its fall season on Sept. 11 with Bug by Pulitzer Prize– and Tony Award–winner Tracy Letts. This psychological thriller set in a rundown Oklahoma motel room follows a fraught night between a self-destructive divorcee and a paranoid Gulf War veteran that descends into insectoid madness. The 2006 film version with Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon won a lot of attention and mixed reviews. In November, the curtain raises on the Shape of Things by bad-boy playwright Neil LaBute. In this romance between Evelyn and Adam, the former embarks on a personal quest to see how far she can change sweet-tempered Adam. "When I was reading it, I was like 'This is not Renegade, I don't understand,'" Murphy admits. "And then at the end, there is a major twist, and it feels really dirty and makes you go back and reanalyze everything you see."

Bug Sept. 11–26.

The Shape of Things Nov. 6–21.

Right Place, Right Time Jan. 22–Feb. 6, 2010.

Historic Hoover Theatre, 1635 Park Ave., San Jose; tickets are $13–$20; 408.351.4440; www.renegadetheatre.com.

NEW GUY IN TOWN: Rick Lombardo begins his first full season at the head of San Jose Rep.

San Jose Rep

THIS FALL marks Rick Lombardo's inaugural season at the San Jose Repertory Theatre, and the four-time Elliot Norton Award–winning artistic director says he can't wait to see what San Jose will think of his work. "I'm looking forward to be able to use this year to really get to know this audience in a much more intimate way, because now these are plays that I've chosen for very specific reasons," he says. Lombardo, who moved from New England to became artistic director (succeeding longtime director Timothy Near) of the Rep in October 2008, produced A Picasso, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and The Kite Runner last season for the almost 30-year-old professional resident theater, but this year's lineup is all him.The season opener, As You Like It, will be personally directed by Lombardo, who plans to put a modern, media-filled spin on the Shakespeare classic. He says the show will include the use of cutting-edge theatrical technology, including a trio of three-story digital-projection towers. "What I'm trying to do is explore this play in the perspective of the infusion of technology and what it's doing to our modern world," Lombardo tells me. "I think when a director reimagines a play like this, that's when you really learn a lot about that director's aesthetic. So, I chose this play because it's an opportunity for the Rep audience to get to know a whole lot about who I am as an artist."

Though Lombardo describes his interpretation of As You Like It as "a conceptual director's playground," the second play he will be directing this season, The Weir (Jan. 23–Feb. 21, 2010) is the complete opposite. A very realistic actor's play that takes place in a pub, The Weir is a supernaturally tinged Irish mystery that will be staged next January.

South African playwright Ian Bruce's Groundswell will have its West Coast premiere this October. A drama set in the world of diamond prospecting, Groundswell explores lingering remnants of apartheid's racial and class prejudices. The holiday season will see the biggest-selling hit in the Rep's history, A Christmas Story, back by popular demand starting Nov. 21, while spring brings the Tony-winning revue Ain't Misbehavin' (March 20–April 18). Directed by Kent Gash, this high-energy musical will take audiences back to the creation of early jazz, featuring the tunes of Fats Waller, played by a seven-piece jazz band.

The Rep's season will close with the regional premiere of Melinda Lopez's Sonia Flew (May 8–June 6), a story that crosses time from Havana during the Castro revolution to Minneapolis after 9/11, while telling one woman's story of separation and loss. In light of the current economy, Lombardo has also instituted "pay what you can" nights at the Rep this season on the first Tuesday of every show.

As You Like It Aug. 29–Sept. 27.

Groundswell Oct. 10–Nov. 8.

A Christmas Story Nov. 21–Dec. 20.

The Weir Jan. 23–Feb. 21, 2010.

Ain't Misbehavin' March 20–April 18.

Sonia Flew May 8–June 6.

San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 San Antonio de Paseo, San Jose; tickets are $33 and up; 408.367.7255; www.sjrep.com.

Teatro Visión

THE LARGEST regularly performing Chicano/Latino theater company on the West Coast, Teatro Visión, will be taking a creative leap with the first show of its 26th season. Ghosts of the River, premiering on Oct. 1, is an innovative shadow-puppet play that uses a mix of live actors, video projection and music to illustrate a collection of vignettes. Written and conceived by playwright Octavio Solís in conjunction with San Francisco's Shadowlight Productions, the play tells short stories about people living on the Rio Grande.

"We were interested in doing a work that was very, very different than other performances that we have produced," says artistic director Elisa Marina Alvarado. "We're using a huge screen, and we have these big, very expensive lamps. The puppets are actually actors who are dressed in the technology of the shadow puppets, but with a Chicano aesthetic, and their image is projected." Following Ghosts of the River's opening night, Teatro Visión will host a meet-and-greet with director Octavio Solís, along with a behind-the-scenes look at how the technically complex shadow puppets are operated by the actors.Taking Flight, the second play of the season, chronicles the friendship between two women and how it is tested after one of them is hurt on 9/11. Alvarado describes the play as "very much a woman's story, the story of girlfriends. Teatro Visión was originally founded by women, and that remains a commitment of ours to explore the experience of women through theater." Taking Flight is written by and stars Adriana Seván.

Ghosts of the River Oct. 1–11.

Taking Flight Jan. 28–Feb. 14, 2010.

Perla de Luna April 15–May 2, 2010.

Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose; $7–$50; 408.272.9926. www.teatrovision.org.

SISTERS: Meredith Hagedorn and Laura Jane Bailey star in 'Memory of Water.'

Dragon Productions

IN THE PAST 10 years, Dragon Productions has grown from a nomadic company into a permanent fixture in downtown Palo Alto. Dragon, which settled into its 42-seat black-box theater on Alma Avenue in 2006, strives to bring an intimate theater experience to its audiences while performing works that are off the beaten path. "I wanted us to find our own niche," says Meredith Hagedorn, executive producer. "We aren't doing new works. We are doing works that are already published, already fine-tuned, but not a lot of people go down that road."

This fall, Dragon (which marches to a different scheduling drummer) wraps up its 2009 season with Memory of Water by Shelagh Stephenson and Side Man by Warren Leight. Memory of Water, a British-accented show, is a dark comedy about three sisters who come together—and come to terms with their own lives—in the wake of their mother's death. Next, Dragon will begin production on the Tony Award–winning play Side Man, which follows the life of a self-absorbed jazz musician who would rather live for his art than provide for his family. "We try to offer a little something for everyone in our season," says Hagedorn.

Memory of War Runs through Sept. 13.

Side Man Nov. 13–Dec. 6.

Dragon Theatre, 535 Alma St., Palo Alto; tickets are $16–$25; 650.493.2006.

www.dragonproductions.net.

SINGING SWEETHEARTS: Justin Taylor-Nixon and Kate McCormick play 'Pete 'n' Keely.'

Palo Alto Players

As THE OLDEST, continuously running theater company on the peninsula, Palo Alto Players wants to expose as many people to the theater as it possibly can. "That's a big challenge these days. With all different kinds of media that is available, I think theater is still, and will continue to be, relevant," says Matt Sameck, operations manager. "We bring that message and that idea through classics, through new plays and by showing people all the vibrancy that is here for them in their own community."

Palo Alto Players opens its 79th season in September with Pete 'n' Keely, a musical revue by James Hindman. Pete Bartel and Keely Stevens, once America's singing sweethearts, are preparing to face each other for the first time in five years—on live TV. The musical tracks the duo as they relive their musical careers, their romance and their eventual divorce. "It's a staged version of a live taping of one of the musical variety shows from the '60s, like a Sonny and Cher," Sameck explains.

The troupe then shifts gears to a Shakespearean classic with Romeo and Juliet in November. "The director of The King and I [Bill Olson] had a really strong vision in terms of what he thought he could bring to the story," says Sameck. "He wanted to give it a bold new feeling and really bring something new into it so people who have seen it before will have something new to discover."

This season's theme, "Making Every Minute Count," is about "taking advantage of things that you have and are important to you," says Sameck. "Things change, and in light of that, you have to learn what is important in life."

Pete 'n' Keely Sept. 18–Oct. 4.

Romeo and Juliet Nov. 6–22.

Rabbit Hole Jan. 22–Feb. 7, 2010.

Rent April 23–May 9, 2010.

Jewtopia June 11–27, 2010.

Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto; 650.329.0891; www.paplayers.org.

San Jose Stage Company

This fall, the San Jose Stage Company is branching out with a more international perspective, according to artistic director Randall King. "There is really more of a comparative element here, I think," says King when contrasting the 2009–10 session to his past theater lineups. "We're opening with [Martin] McDonagh, who is an Irishman raised in London. Then there is a piece by Conor McPherson, who is one of the hot new Irish playwrights. We've never done a Stoppard play, and then we go straight into Americana with Mae West and Tuna." In the past, the almost 30-year-old professional theater company has stuck to producing primarily contemporary American playwrights, but this year San Jose Stage is opening with an uncharacteristically surreal dark comedy titled The Pillowman. The Tony Award–winning play is the story of a young writer living in a totalitarian state who finds himself being interrogated by government officials for his tall tales. "It's really McDonagh's 21st-century Grimm's fairy tale for adults," says King. Filling the holiday card is The Seafarer, a comical Irish fable by Conor McPherson about a group of friends who get an unexpected visit from Satan on Christmas Eve. The theater's largest show of the season will be Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll.

The Pillow Man Sept. 23–Oct. 18.

The Seafarer Nov. 18–Dec. 20.

Rock 'n' Roll Feb. 10–March 7, 2010.

Dirty Blonde April 7–May 2, 2010.

Red, White and Tuna June 2–July 4, 2010.

The Stage, 490 S. First St., San Jose; $20–$45; 408.283.7142; www.sjstage.com.

SHORT-DISTANCE CALL: Francis Jue (left) and Pun Bandhu attempt to communicate in 'Yellow Face.'

TheatreWorks

WHEN TheatreWorks artistic director Robert Kelley was composing the lineup for his company's 40th anniversary season, he found himself reflecting on how far the Palo Alto–based professional theater has come in the last four decades. "From the beginning to where we are now, we have really traveled an incredible distance and I'm truly proud of that," says Kelly.

Kelly founded TheatreWorks back in 1970, as a stage workshop for high school and college students. In those heady early days, the small company often performed its original musical productions in parking garages, warehouses and parks. Now boasting 10,000 subscribers and an annual budget of $7.2 million, TheatreWorks has earned a shining reputation for its original new works and diverse programming. "We have gone from being a very young and somewhat amateur theater," says Kelley. "With what I feel is a great deal of integrity, commitment and spirit, we've emerged as the Bay Area's third-largest theater and one of America's major professional companies."

If there is one theme that ties together most of TheatreWorks' 2009–10 plays, it's father-son issues, Kelley says. Tinyard Hill, the rollicking country musical that kicked off the New Works Festival back in July, featured a singing father-son blacksmith team. Yellow Face, an Obie-winning memoir by David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) that premieres on Aug. 26, shows a father and son struggling over racial identity but with a humorous view. The Chosen, based on the novel by Chaim Potok, is a story of two Jewish teenagers in Brooklyn dealing with family expectations while discovering their own strengths. The holidays will bring Paula Vogel's A Civil War Christmas, a family show featuring old-time carols and even an appearance by President Abraham Lincoln. In January, the company presents the world premiere of the musical romance Daddy Long Legs. José Cruz González's Sunsets and Margaritas will crash, literally, onto their stage this spring. This new play opens with a car actually smashing through the wall of a cantina, launching the action of this Mexican theater–tinged comic confection.

The pillar of the season will be the classic drama To Kill a Mockingbird, which Kelley says he's been saving for the company's anniversary: "It just summarizes America in so many ways. It's not just an emotional roller coaster, it's a play that deals with the prejudice that has hounded us for many years, and what I think we are in the slow process of surmounting as Americans."  TheatreWorks closes the season with the regional premiere of Opus, a dramedy that centers on a group of orchestra performers. "It's our 40th season, so to conclude it with something about the making of art, the process and people behind works of art that matter and that linger in your mind, that was something I was particularly drawn to," Kelley says.

Yellow Face Aug. 26–Sept. 20 in Mtn. View.

The Chosen Oct. 7–Nov. 1 in Mtn. View.

A Civil War Christmas Dec. 2–27 in Palo Alto

Daddy Long Legs Jan. 20–Feb. 14, 2010, in Mtn. View.

Sunsets and Margaritas March 10–April 4, 2010, in Palo Alto.

To Kill a Mockingbird April 7–May 2, 2010 in Mtn. View.

Opus June 2–27, 2010, in Mtn. View.

Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View, and the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto; tickets are $24–$62; 650.463.1960; www.theatreworks.org.

Performing Arts

Broadway and More

Flint Center, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino; 408.864.5885.

Cirque Dreams Illumination: Oct. 27–28 at 7:30pm.

Irving Berlin's 'I Love a Piano': Nov. 19 at 7:30pm.

Community School of and Arts

230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View; 650.917.6800, ext. 314.

Uri Caine, Stanford Lively Arts Informance Series: Oct. 8 at 6pm.

Family Concert, Dr. Noize Live, electronic music: Oct. 18 at 2 and 4pm.

Contrasts Quartet, Stanford Lively Arts Informance Series: Nov. 17 at 6pm.

Family Concert, Aux Cajunals: Dec. 13 at 2 and 4pm.

Evenings of Cultural Arts

Sunnyvale Community Center Theatre, 550 E. Remington Ave., Sunnyvale; 408.733.6611.

Golden Bough, America Bound!: Sept. 12 at 8pm.

Mahealani Uchiyama and Ka Ua Tuahine Polynesian Dance Company: Oct. 17

Bayland Dancing, Rainbow Land: Nov. 28 at 8pm.

VOENA, Voices of Eve 'n' Angels: Dec. 12 at 8pm.

MACLA

500 S. First St., San Jose; 408.938.3594.

Marga Gomez, Thai Rivera, Marty Grimes, Comedy for the People: Sept. 27 at 3 and 7pm.

John Jota Leaños/Imperial Silence Performing Arts Residency: Oct. 19–25.

Gustavo Arellano, Ask a Mexican: Nov. 4 at 7pm.

The 408 Sessons, Youth Slam Poetry Open-Mic: Dec. 4 at 7pm.

San Jose Taiko

Heritage Theater, 1 W. Campbell Ave., Campbell; 408.866.2700.

Rhythm Spirit Concert, annual showcase for the drumming prowess of the Japantown ensemble: Sept. 11 at 8pm and Sept. 12 at 2 and 8pm.

South Bay Guitar Society

Le Petit Trianon, 72 N. Fifth St., San Jose; 408.292.0704.

Tapestry Arts Festival, classical guitar stage: Sept. 5 in downtown San Jose.

Steve Ling: Sept. 22 at noon at Evergreen Valley College, San Jose

Hanser-McClellan Guitar Duo: Oct. 17 at 8pm.

SJSU Guitar Quartet: Oct. 22 at noon at City Hall, San Jose.

Adam del Monte: Nov. 21 at 8pm.

FLOWER POWER: Cyro Baptista (with flowers) and his Banquet of the Spirits.

Stanford Lively Arts

AS A Brazilian expat living in the United States since the early '80s, percussionist Cyro Baptista, one of the fall stars at Stanford Lively Arts, got an earful every night from his former fellow countrymen when he toured with Paul Simon for the Rhythm of the Saints album. The charge at the time, of course, was that Simon had become some kind of music imperialist, "exploiting" various countries by forcing their musicians to be exposed to an audience of millions."People would say, 'You are stealing my culture!'" Baptista recalls. "It was bullshit. In Brazil, they play rock & roll every day! Are you going to tell me Elvis Presley was Brazilian? People don't realize he didn't die, he just went home to live in São Paulo."

But Baptista, a headbanger of choice for not just Simon but Herbie Hancock, Laurie Anderson, John Zorn, David Byrne, Brian Eno and countless others, can't be called a purist by any stretch. His new album, Infinito, opens with a startling culture clash—flute and melodica meet heavy-metal guitar riff. Baptista himself is credited on the track with "vocals, frogs and grapes, cassa grande." Another song, "In Vitrous," employs four glass instruments and sounds like one of the catchy, bouncy collages that Trevor Horn's Art of Noise used to do. Through it all, Baptista's mesmerizing beat remains the anchor.

He admits that he likes to gets a rise out of his listeners. "Not just to surprise, but shock," he says. "Create any type of emotion." The whole idea behind his Banquet of the Spirits project, for which Infinito is the second album, is that there really is no musical purity. The name relates to anthropophagy—or cannibalism, as we like to call it. You see, when the Portuguese arrived in Brazil, native Brazilians sometimes welcomed them by ... well, eating them. This was not considered rude! In fact, it was a compliment of the highest order, that one would be thought worthy of being ingested—and there was the hope that the consumee would pass on his or her specialness to the consumer. Baptista sees this same ingestion of influence happening in every realm, including music. And he freely admits that he's been chowing down for years. "I ate New York," he says. "And when you eat New York, it's a big dish."

Daniel Pearl World Music Days Concert: Oct. 8 at 8pm at Memorial Church.

'The Othello Syndrome' by Uri Caine: Oct. 10 at 8pm.

Anonymous 4—Secret Voices, the Sisters of Las Huelgas, music of 13th-century Spain: Oct. 21 at 8pm at Memorial Church.

Emerson String Quartet: Oct. 28 at 8pm.

Cyro Baptista: Oct. 30 at 8pm.

St. Lawrence String Quartet, Haydn Celebration: Nov. 1 at 2:30pm.

A Portrait of Leonard Bernstein, with Jamie Bernstein and Michael Barrett: Nov. 7 at 8pm.

The Prokofiev Project: Nov. 12–15, various times and locations.

Contrasts Quartet, 20th-century classical inspired by folk music: Nov. 18 at 8pm.

'From the Top' with Christopher O'Riley: Dec. 5 at 8pm.

A Chanticleer Christmas: Dec. 10 at 8pm at Memorial Church.

Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford; 650.725.ARTS.

READY TO TOSS: The Taffetas hoist their bouquets high for Tabard's 'A Taffeta Wedding.'

Tabard Theatre Company

IN THE years since Tabard Theatre Company settled into Theatre on San Pedro Square, it's become a hub of the downtown San Jose theater community. The 100-plus-seat theater is striding into the fall season with the world premiere of A Taffeta Wedding, the third Taffeta staple from playwright Mark Lewis. Audiences will be swept back to 1964 for the world's first on-air quadruple wedding broadcast by the fittingly named Happily Ever After fictional TV variety show.

The four taffeta-toting sisters will marry their four sweatered sweethearts, the Cardigans. As they ready themselves to take the plunge, the actors will sample tunes from the era. Audiences will hear familiar pop songs like "Locomotion," "Mister Sandman" and "That's Amore." With sold-out shows for the last two Taffeta musicals—The Taffetas and A Taffeta Christmas—Tabard executive director Cathy Spielberger Cassetta said that she is excited for the fall world premiere. "People have asked me over the years, 'When are the Taffetas coming back?'"

As the theater puts finishing touches on the freshly written script, Cassetta explains how her crew works hand-in-hand with Lewis to ensure another success. "We have had influence," Cassetta says. "We worked back and forth on some of the dialogue. He's been really great to listen to our ideas." One aspect audiences can count on is an interactive performance with some unexpected surprises. The stage will be outfitted to look like a TV set where the theater audience can see all the shenanigans that happen on the onstage "backstage" of the televised production.

Theatergoers might feel as though they've stepped into a time warp when the show gives a few winks and nods to the 1960s variety show days. They'll be instructed to applaud with the help of "applause" signs. They'll also experience various live commercials from none other than the Taffetas, who tout fictional Galaxy Beauty Products.

The family-friendly production will be sprinkled with tidbits that any age audience can appreciate. "We believe theater is more than a show," said Cassetta. "We involve the audience as much as possible."

A Taffeta Wedding Oct. 23–Nov. 14.

Not a Genuine Black Man, with Brian Copeland Nov. 27–29.

The Poptimists, with Ted Kopulos Dec. 4–12.

Hold On to Love, by James M. Barrie Jan. 29–Feb. 20, 2010.

Lady, Be Good, by George and Ira Gershwin March 5–27, 2010.

Theatre on San Pedro Square, 29 N. San Pedro St., San Jose; tickets are $10–$35; 408.679.2330; www.tabardtheatre.org.

Staging Zone

Actors Theatre Center

Theatre on San Pedro Square, 29 N. San Pedro St., San Jose; reserved seating $25; 408.925.5500.

Little Shop of Horrors: Sept. 12–26.

Broadway by the Bay

Performing Arts Center, 600 N. Delaware St.,

San Mateo; 650.579.5565.

The Full Monty: Sept. 17–Oct. 4.

Broadway Up Close and Personal: A Tribute to Cy Coleman: Nov. 5–8.

Bus Barn Stage Company

97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos; 650.941.0551.

Treasure Island, a new adaptation by Ken Ludwig: Sept. 3–Oct. 3.

The 2009 Follies: Oct. 8–10.

A Christmas Pudding, a collection of holiday memoirs: Nov. 19–Dec. 19.

El Teatro Campesino

El Teatro Playhouse, 705 Fourth St., San Juan Bautista; 831. 623.2444.

Sam Burguesa and the Pixie Chicks: Runs through Sept. 19.

Lyric Theatre

Montgomery Theater, Market and San Carlos streets, San Jose; 408.986.1455.

Cinderella, by Rodgers & Hammerstein: Oct. 3–11.

Northside Theatre Company

Olinder Theatre, 848 E. William St., San Jose; 408.288.7820.

Sylvia, by A.R. Gurney: Oct. 8–Nov. 1.

A Christmas Carol: Dec. 9–24.

The Retro Dome

1694 Saratoga Ave., San Jose; 408.404.7711.

Schoolhouse Rock Live!: Sept. 4–Oct. 4

San Jose State University

University Theatre or Todd Theatre, SJSU;

The Colored Museum: Oct. 9–17.

The Magic Carpet Theatre: Cinderella: Nov. 13–Dec. 7.

Santa Clara Players

Triton Museum Hall Pavilion, Don Avenue near Warburton, Santa Clara; 408.248.7993

Cabin Fever, a Texas Tragicomedy: Oct. 30–Nov. 21.

Santa Clara University

Fess Park Studio Theatre or Louis B. Mayer Theatre, SCU; 408.554.4015.

Fall One-Act Festival: Oct. 24–25.

The Saint Plays, by Erik Ehn: Nov. 6–14.

South Bay Musical Theatre

Previously Saratoga Drama Group; Saratoga Civic Theater, 13777 Fruitvale Ave., Saratoga; 408.266.4734.

The Producers: Sept. 19–Oct. 10.

South Valley Civic Theatre

Community Playhouse, 1775 Peak Ave., Morgan Hill; www.svct.org.

The Butler Did It: Aug. 28–Sept. 13.

Bugsy Malone Jr., a children's musical: Nov. 22–Dec. 12.

Sunnyvale Community Players

Community Theatre, 550 E. Remington Dr., Sunnyvale; 408.783.6611.

Once Upon a Mattress: Sept. 18–Oct. 11.

The Fantasticks: Oct. 20–Nov. 22.

Tabia African American Theatre Ensemble

Theatre on San Pedro Square, 29 N. San Pedro St., San Jose; 408.272.9924.

Mirror, Mirror of My Soul: Mystical Reflections of Four Legendary Songstresses: Aug. 28–30.

West Valley Light Opera

Saratoga Civic Theater, 13777 Fruitvale Ave., Saratoga; 408.268.3777.

West Side Story: Nov. 7–Dec. 5.

Children's TheaterCalifornia Theatre Center

Sunnyvale Community Center Theatre 550 E. Remington Dr., Sunnyvale; 408.245.2978.

Brave Irene: Oct. 17 and 24.

Apollo: To the Moon: Oct. 31 and Nov. 7.

Jack and the Beanstalk: Nov. 14 and 21.

The Elves and the Shoemaker: Dec. 5.

Madeline's Christmas: Dec. 11–12, 18–19.

Children's Musical Theater San Jose

Montgomery Theater, Market and San Carlos streets, San Jose; www.cmtsj.org.

Oliver!: Dec. 4–13

13, the Musical: Nov. 18–22.

Peninsula Youth Theatre

Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View; 650.903.6000.

Annie: Nov. 14–22.

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