Peninsula theater companies spring to life with new shows

Live theater is re-emerging with a vengeance on the Peninsula, with a handful of theater companies opening new productions by the end of March.

 

Stanford Shakespeare Company is staging “As You Like It” Feb. 24-26, directed by student Audrey Senior, who has added modern language and original music to the comedy. This is Stanford Shakespeare’s first full-length production in two years.

 

“As You Like It” will be performed in the Elliott Program Center, 589 Governor’s Ave., on the Stanford campus. Tickets are free. For more information and performance times, visit www.stanshakes.squarespace.com.

 

Los Altos Stage Company is staging “Roe,” the Lisa Loomer play based on the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion, March 3-6 and 9-13. The show was postponed several times due to COVID, and the run had to be shortened due to other theater commitments.

 

“Roe” can be seen in person or live streamed. Tickets for “Roe” are $23-$43 for in-person shows, and live-streaming tickets are $30 at www.losaltosstage.org/roe or 650-941-0551.

 

Lamplighters Music Theatre will present “Lamplighters Celebrate 150 Years of Gilbert & Sullivan” March 5-6 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. The show features both beloved and seldom-heard selections from all 14 of the duo’s operettas. Each of the two shows starts at 2 p.m., and tickets run $31-$80 at https://www.mountainview.gov/depts/cs/mvcpa.

 

The Foothill College Theatre Arts Department is staging “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” directed by Milissa Carey, March 11-20. “Drood” is a musical based on the unfinished Charles Dickens novel of the same name. It got new life on Broadway when Rupert Holmes created a musical that has multiple endings for the audience to choose from.

 

“Drood” will be performed in the Lohman Theatre on the Los Altos Hills campus. Tickets are $15-$40, plus a $3 processing fee, at https://foothill.edu/theatre.

 

Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto is the setting for TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s next production, the musical “Sense and Sensibility,” which runs March 12-April 3.  Directed by TheatreWorks’ founding artistic director Robert Kelly, “Sense” is based on the Jane Austen novel of the same name. Book, music and lyrics are written by Tony-nominated composer Paul Gordon. Tickets are $25-$95 at www.theatreworks.org or 877-662-8978.

 

“Metamorphoses” runs March 18-April 10 at Mountain View’s Pear Theatre. Playwright Mary Zimmerman’s take on Ovid’s tales are juxtaposed with both ancient and contemporary mores. The Pear’s 2015 production was an audience favorite, so artistic director Sinjin Jones decided to bring it back.

 

Directed by Giulio Perrone, “Metamorphoses” runs Thursdays through Sundays. For tickets, visit www.thepear.org or call 650-254-1148.