Six Reasons in Fall '06 to Go to the Theater

1) It's Our Cover. Francis Jue stars in TheatreWorks' production of M. Butterfly. See the interview with playwright David Henry Hwang and Jue that leads off our Fall Arts section. Aug. 23-Sept. 17.

2) Epic Proportions. Fresh off its ambitious space-packing, sold-out production of Jesus Christ Superstar, City Lights Theater Company swings for the fences again with Angels in America: Part One, Millennium Approaches, the first half of Tony Kushner's modern epic about the AIDS crisis and a whole lot more. The most important American play of our time demands much of its cast, whose members are called upon to play multiple roles and negotiate a mine field of complexly interwoven plots. Sept. 14-Oct. 15.

3) 'Do you know how popular I am? I am *so* popular, everyone at this school loves me.' The Sweet Charity tour stops at American Musical Theatre of San Jose. It stars Molly Ringwald, and some of us will never forget The Breakfast Club, OK? Sept. 19-Oct. 1.

4) Octavo Campos. Miami performance artists Campos has choreographed works for solo dancers and bulldozers and created an opera for those sock-puppet monkeys. We can't wait to see what Lunda del Pinguino, the tale of a political penguin named Stan, starring students in Campos' local master classes, will look like. Oct. 20-21 at MACLA.

5) The Rhett Stuff. San Jose Repertory Theatre opens its season with Moonlight and Magnolias, a comedy about the making of Gone With the Wind, featuring the greatest of movie mogul ego of them all, David O. Selznick; the ultimate screenwriter/cynic, Ben Hecht; and hapless director Victor Fleming. Anybody who has sampled the famous collection of Sleznick rants knows as Memo will appreciate the comic possibilities of Ron Hutchinson's play. Timothy Near directors. Oct. 15-Nov. 12.

6) World Premieres. San Jose Stage Company presents Will Marchetti's Lil' Darlin', a comedy about a midlife crisis besetting not just one person but a whole family. It's set in San Francisco, which guarantees some local color. Sept. 20-Oct. 15. Renegade Theatre Experiment takes on politics in Bill of (W)rights, a 10-act comedy by 10 playwrights about the Ten Amendments. Sept. 8-23.

—Michael S. Gant

Actors Theatre Center
Various venues; $15-$22; 408.985.5500
Gilligan's Island, the Musical— Oct. 20-Nov. 6 at Mission City Center for Performing Arts, Santa Clara
The Rocky Horror Picture Show— Dec. 15-Jan. 8 at Historic Hoover Theatre, San Jose

American Musical Theatre San Jose
San Jose Center for the Performing Arts; season subscriptions available; 888.455.SHOW
Sweet Charity—Sept. 19-Oct. 1
The King and I—Oct. 31-Nov. 12
Christmas Dreamland, a world premiere—Nov. 24-Dec. 24
2007:
Camelot—Jan. 30-Feb. 11
Smokey Joe's Cafe—April 10-22
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels—May 1-13

Broadway by the Bay
Presented by the Peninsula Civic Light Opera. San Mateo Performing Arts Center; $15-$38; 650.579.5568 ext. 1
Miss Saigon—Sept. 22-Oct. 8

Broadway West Theatre Company
Broadway West Theatre, Fremont; $15-$20; 510.683.9218
Accomplice—Sept. 22-Oct. 21
Fully Committed—Nov. 17-Dec. 16
2007:
The Underpants—Jan. 12-Feb. 10
Thumbs, West Coast premiere production—March 16-April 14
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof—May 18-June 16
TBA—July 20-Aug. 17

Bus Barn Stage Company
Bus Barn Theatre, Los Altos; $20-$32; 650.941.0551
Tick, Tick ... Boom!—Sept. 7-30
Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge—Nov. 16-Dec. 16
2007:
A Midsummer Night's Dream—Feb. 1-24
Enchanted April—April 12-May 5
A Year With Frog and Toad—May 24-June 23

Calaveras Repertory Theatre
Milpitas Art Education Center; $8-$19; 408.586.8831
The Duck Variations and Mr. Happiness—Oct. 12-Nov. 4
2007:
Hamlet—March 8-31

Center Stage Productions
Center for Spiritual Living, San Jose; $12-$20; 408.294.1828
Ravenscroft—Oct. 6-14

City Lights Theater Company
City Lights Theater, San Jose; 408.295.4200; www.cltc.org
Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches—Sept. 14-Oct. 15
A Christmas Twist—Nov. 18-Dec. 22
2007:
Fat Pig—Jan. 25-Feb. 25
Voluntary Amnesia—March 22-April 15
The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?—May 17-June 17
The Full Monty—July 19-Aug. 26

Contra Costa Civic Theatre
Contra Costa Civic Theatre, Pomona Avenue and Moeser Lane, El Cerrito; 510.524.9132
The Orchid Sandwich—Sept. 22-Oct. 21
And Then There Were None—Nov. 10-Dec. 9
2007:
Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street—Jan. 26-March 3
A Streetcar Named Desire—April 13-May 12
Meet Me in St. Louis—June 29-Aug. 4

Dragon Productions
Dragon Theatre, Palo Alto; $11.50-$21.50; 650.493.2006
Caucasian Chalk Circle—ends Aug. 27
The Underpants—Sept. 21-Oct. 15
Brilliant Traces—Nov. 2-19

Foothill College Drama Department
Foothill College, Los Altos Hills; $7-$16; 650.949.7414
Two Gentleman of Verona—Nov. 3-18
East of the Sun and West of the Moon, a family show—Nov. 16-19

Hillbarn Theatre
Hillbarn Theatre, Foster City; $17-$30; 650.349. 6411
Grand Hotel, the musical—Sept. 7-Oct. 1
Inherit the Wind—Oct. 19-Nov. 12
Big, based on the film—Nov. 30-Dec. 30
2007:
The Foreigner—Jan. 25-Feb. 18
Golden Child—March 15-April 7
The Music Man—May 3-June 3

Lyric Theatre
Devoted to Gilbert & Sullivan; Mayer Theatre, Santa Clara University and Montgomery Theatre, San Jose; 408.986.1455
Trial by Jury—Oct. 5-8
2007:
Iolanthe—March 24-April 1
HMS Pinafore—June 16-24
The Quaker Girl—July 28-29

MACLA
Castellano Playhouse, San Jose; call for ticket info; 408.998.2783
The Suicide Kings, slam poetry and In Spite of Everything, a spoken-word theater piece from the Oakland troupe—Sept. 22 at 8pm
Madmedia, art collective presents What Are You Doing Tonight?—Oct. 5 at 8pm
Octavio Campos, national performance network residency, with master class and workshop—Oct. 16-21
Lunda del Pinguino, written and performed by Octavio Campos—Oct. 20-21 at 8pm
Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, one-woman serious comedy with Kristina Wong, in conjunction with Contemporary Asian Theatre Scene—Dec. 15-16 at 8pm

Northside Theatre Company
Black Box Theatre, San Jose; $12-$15; 408.288.7820
The Shape of Things—Oct. 5-29
A Christmas Carol—Dec. 6-24
2007:
Prelude to a Kiss—Feb. 15-March 11
Crime and Punishment—April 19-May 13
Wrong Turn at Lungfish—June 21-July 15

PacRep Theater
Forest Theater and Golden Bough Playhouse, Carmel; $6-$35; 831.622.0100
Timon of Athens—ends Oct. 8
Disney's Beauty and the Beast—ends Sept. 24
The Woman in Black—Sept. 7-Oct. 1
Measure for Measure—Sept. 29- Oct. 15
Buddy, the Buddy Holly Story— Nov. 22-Dec. 31

Palo Alto Players
Lucie Stern Theater, Palo Alto; $20-$30; 650.329.0891
Beehive—Sept. 16-Oct. 1
Our Town—Nov. 4-19
2007:
Pack of Lies—Jan. 20-Feb. 4
Jekyll and Hyde—April 28-May 13
Noises Off—June 16-July 1

The Pear Avenue Theatre
The Pear Avenue Theatre, Mountain View; $10-$25; 650.254.1148
Long Day's Journey Into Night— Sept. 22-Oct. 22
The Baltimore Waltz—Nov. 17-Dec. 3
2007:
A Doll's House—Jan. 19-Feb. 4
Arcadia—Feb. 23-March 18
Pear Slices 2007—Apri 13-29
The Playboy of the Western World—May 18-June 10
Space Is Blue (and Birds Fly in It), a world premiere by Gregory Meyer—June 29-July 15

The Renegade Theatre Experiment
Historic Hoover Theater, San Jose; $15-$20; 408.351.4440
Bill of (W)Rights—Sept. 7-23
Sideways Stories From Wayside School—Nov. 2-25
2007:
Titus Andronicus—Jan. 25-Feb. 10

San Jose Repertory Theatre
The Rep, San Jose; various series packages available; 408.367.7255
Moonlight and Magnolias—Oct. 15-Nov. 12
A Christmas Story—Nov. 25-Dec. 30
2007:
Long Day's Journey Into Night—Jan. 27-Feb. 25
Pick Up Ax—March 24-April 22
Rabbit Hole—May 12-June 10
Ella—June 23-July 22

San Jose Stage Company
The Stage, San Jose; $20-$45; 408.283.7142
Lil' Darlin'—Sept. 20-Oct. 15
Greater Tuna—Nov. 15-Dec. 10
TBA—Feb. 7-March 4
The White House Murder Case, by Jules Feiffer—April 4-29
Citizen Ruth, world premiere of musical based on the movie—May 30-June 24

San Jose State University
University Theatre, San Jose State University; $10-$15; 408.998.TIXS
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest—Oct. 6-14
Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet—Nov. 10-18
2007:
Picasso at the Lapin Agile—Jan. 25-27
The Kite Runner—Feb. 22-March 8
Music Video—March 16-19
Big Love—April 27-May 5

Santa Clara Players
Triton Hall Pavilion, Santa Clara; $15-$18; 408.248.7993
Don't Dress for Dinner—Oct. 27- Nov. 18
2007:
The Hound of the Baskervilles—Feb. 23-March 17
A Bench in the Sun—May 11-June 2

Santa Clara University
Productions at the SCU Center of Performing Arts and other venues; 408.554.4000
Coriolanus—Nov. 3-11 at Mayer Theatre
2007:
A View From the Bridge—March 2-10 at Mayer Theater
Musical Theatre Workshop—March 15-16 at Fess Parker Theatre
The Heidi Chronicles—May 11-19 at Fess Parker Theatre
The Importance of Being Earnest—June 1-9 at Mayer Theatre
New Playwrights' Festival—June 4-5 at Fess Parker Theatre

Saratoga Drama Group
Saratoga Civic Theater, Saratoga; $18-$24; 408.266.4734
Bye Bye Birdie—Sept. 23-Oct. 14
2007:
She Loves Me—Jan. 27-Feb. 17

Shady Shakespeare Theatre Company
Sanborn-Skyline Park, 16055 Sanborn Rd., Saratoga; free; 408.298.0649
The Taming of the Shrew—ends Sept. 15
Romeo and Juliet—ends Sept. 17

South Valley Civic Theatre
Morgan Hill Community Playhouse; $12-$15; 408.842.SHOW
1776—Sept. 15-Oct. 7
Treasure Island—Nov. 17-Dec. 9
2007:
Schoolhouse Rock—March 9-31
California Suite and Plaza Suite—May 11-June 2
The Music Man—June 29-July 21

Stanford Drama
Various locations, Stanford University, Palo Alto; 650.725.ARTS
Let Me Down Easy, by Anna Deavere Smith—Oct. 25-26 at 7pm at Roble Studio Theater
Frenzy for Two or More, translated by Donald Watson—Nov. 2-4 at 8pm at Pigott Theater
Ten Myths, site-specific work staged by Anna Halprin—Nov. 15 and 29 and Dec. 6 at 7pm at a venue TBA
The Cherry Orchard—Nov. 16-18 at 8pm at Roble Studio Theater
2007:
Splendour, by Abi Morgan—Feb. 8-10 at 8pm at Roble Studio Theater
Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, written and directed by Stan Lai—Feb. 22-24 and March 1-3 at Memorial Auditorium
Spring Migration Dance Concert—May 3-5 at 8pm at Roble Studio Theater
Suddenly Last Summer, by Tennessee Williams—May 24-26 at 8pm at Roble Studio Theater

Stanford Savoyards
Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford University; $10-$15; 650.725.ARTS
The Sorcerer, by Gilbert and Sullivan—Nov. 10-19

Sunnyvale Community Players
Sunnyvale Community Center Theatre; $20.50; 408.733.6611
West Side Story—Sept. 15-Oct. 8
F orever Plaid—Oct. 27-Nov. 19
2 007:
T he Wiz—Feb. 16-March 11
I nto the Woods—April 20-May 13

Tabard Theatre Company
Triton Museum Hall Pavilion, Santa Clara; $10-$18; 408.979.0231
Mr. Pim Passes By, a comedy by A.A. Milne—Sept. 8-16
The All-Night Strut, a musical— Dec. 1-16
2007:
The All-Night Strut, a musical—Dec. 1-16
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—April 20-May

Tabia African-American Theatre Ensemble
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, excerpts, poetry, music and dance—Oct. 6-7 at 8pm and Oct. 8 at 4pm at Theatre on San Pedro Square

Teatro Visión
Mexican Heritage Plaza, San Jose; $6-$40; 408.272.9926
La Victima, a bilingual performance in both English and Spanish—Oct. 12-29
Dog Lady and Evening Star—Nov. 30- Dec. 17
2007:
Dog Lady and Evening Star#8212;Nov. 30-Dec. 17
Bodas de Sangre (Blood Wedding)—April 26-May 13

Theatre on San Pedro Square
Various groups and events; 29 N. San Pedro St., San Jose; 408.283.0200
Dot You: The Musical, by Saratoga Drama Group—Aug. 25-Sept. 10 at 7 or 8pm
Abhinaya Dance Company fundraiser—Sept. 16 at 7pm
San Jose Chamber Orchestra fundraiser—Sept. 25 at 6pm
Cantonese Opera Association of San Jose fundraiser—Oct. 2 at 6pm
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf—Oct. 6-7 at 8pm and Oct. 8 at 7pm
Tom Foolery by Studio Theatre of California—Oct. 13-29 at 7 or 8pm

TheatreWorks
Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts and the Lucie Stern Theater, Palo Alto; $20-$62; 650.463.1960
M. Butterfly—Aug. 23-Sept. 17 at MVCPA
Dessa Rose—Oct. 4-29 at MVCPA
The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue—Nov. 29-Dec. 23 at Lucie Stern
Ambition Facing West—Jan. 17-Feb. 11 at MVCPA
2007:
Ambition Facing West—Jan. 17-Feb. 11 at MVCPA
Trying—March 7-April 1 at Lucie Stern
Follies—April 4-29 at MVCPA

West Valley College Theatre Arts Department
West Valley College Theatre, Saratoga; 408.741.2058
All in the Timing—Oct. 20-29
A Tale of Two Cities—Nov. 17-Dec. 3

West Valley Light Opera
Saratoga Civic Theater; $20-$26; 408.268.3777
Aida, by Elton John and Tim Rice— Nov. 4-Dec. 2
2007:
Honk!—March 3-31
Wonderful Town—June 23-July 21

Western Stage
Hartnell Performing Arts Center (Studio Theater and Main Stage), Salinas; $16-$30; 831.755.6816
The Real Thing—Sept. 15-Oct. 8
Inherit the Wind—Sept. 23-Oct. 16
Big River, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—Oct. 7-28
Oliver!—Dec. 1-17
2007:
Oliver!—Dec. 1-17

Youth Movement California Theatre Center
Sunnyvale Community Center Theatre; $11-$12; 408.245.2978
The Emperor's New Clothes—Oct. 7 and 14
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown—Oct. 13 at Mayer Theatre
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow—Oct. 28 and Nov. 4
The Frog Prince—Nov. 11 and 18
The Elves and the Shoemaker— Dec. 1-2
Madeline's Christmas—Dec. 9, 15 and 16
2007:
Charlotte's Web—Jan. 12 at Mayer Theatre
Dear Mr. Henshaw—Jan. 20 and 27
Rumpelstiltskin—Feb. 3 and 10
Most Valuable Player—March 3 and 10
Once Upon a Bedtime—March 17 and 24
The Bremen Town Musicians—April 7, 14 and 21
Jack and the Beanstalk—April 13 at Mayer Theatre
Heidi—April 28 and May 5 and 12

Children's Musical Theater San Jose
Montgomery Theater, San Jose; subscriptions available; 408.288.5437; www.cmtsj.org
Disney's The Jungle Book—Nov. 16-19
Disney's Beauty and the Beast— Dec. 1-10
2007:
The Wizard of Oz—March 1-4
Evita—March 9-18

Los Altos Youth Theatre
Bus Barn Theatre, Los Altos; 650.947.2796
Disney's Aladdin Jr.—Oct. 20-Nov. 4

Peninsula Youth Theatre
Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts; $7-$10 650.903.6000
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Stories on Stage—Oct. 20-21
Fiddler on the Roof, Center Stage series—Nov. 11-19
Many Moons, Stories on Stage—Nov. 17-18
A Christmas Carol, Stories on Stage—Dec. 15-16
2007:
Mr. Popper's Penguins, Stories on Stage—Jan. 19-20
Pippi Longstocking, Stories on Stage—Feb. 16-17
Thoroughly Modern Millie, Center Stage series—March 10-18
10 Minutes Till Bedtime, Stories on Stage—March 23-24
Charlotte's Web, Stories on Stage—April 27-28
Cinderella, Center Stage series—May 12-20
James and the Giant Peach, Stories on Stage—May 25-26
A Little Princess, Center Stage series—July 6-15
Sweet Charity, Center Stage series—July 28-Aug. 5

Pied Piper Players
Bayside Performing Arts Center; $10-$15; 650.992.PIED
Seussical the Musical—Oct. 20-29

Rainbow Theatre
Milpitas Community Center; $4-$6; 408.586.3210
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe—Oct. 20-28

Target Family Series
Carriage House, Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga; $8-$16; 408.961.5858
Shkidy Clown/Mime Theatre—Oct. 7 at 11am and 1pm
The Cashore Marionettes—Oct. 14 at 11am and 1pm
Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day—Nov. 4 at 11am and 1 and 3pm
The Wolf & the Seven Little Goats—Nov. 11 at 11am and 1pm
Bay Shore Lyric Opera's Hansel & Gretel—Dec. 2 at 11am and 1pm
American Family Theater's A Christmas Carol—Dec. 9 at 11am and 1 and 3pm

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