South Bay's Best Community Theatre
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
Mountain View Performing Arts Center
500 Castro St
Mountain View, CA 94041
(650) 463-1950
theatreworks.orgDate: "The Mountaintop" from March 6 through March 31, 2013
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has been a mainstay of the South Bay theater scene for decades. TheatreWorks seeks to support new theatre and holds a New Works Festival each summer, as well as commissioning new works from Bay Area play writers. Performances are held at the Mountain View Performing Arts Center as well as the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto. TheatreWorks' 2012-2013 season includes a world premiere, a regional premiere and several musicals as well as a performance of "The Mountaintop," Katori Hall's new play about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the hotel maid who meets him on the night before his death. "The Mountaintop" won Best New Play in 2010 from the Olivier Awards.
Related: Best Summertime Theater Activities For Kids In San Francisco
San Jose Repertory Theater
101 Paseo de San Antonio
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 367-7255
sjrep.comDate: "The Death of the Novel" from August 30 through September 23, 2012
The mission of San Jose Repertory Theatre is "to engage, entertain and inspire people," and it does just that. San Jose Repertory's 2012-2013 season is full of exciting works, including several Bay Area and west coast premieres. The first play in its season, a world premiere, will star Vincent Kartheiser, one of the stars of AMC's popular show "Mad Men." "The Death of the Novel" is the story of a writer paralyzed by the events of 9/11 and the mysterious woman who appears to him in his Manhattan apartment.
Sunnyvale Community Players
550 E Remington Drive
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 733-6611
sunnyvaleplayers.orgDate: "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" from October 26 through November 18, 2012
The Sunnyvale Community Players is a non-profit organization that strives to to bring theater to the Sunnyvale area by offering quality performances and opportunities to participate in the production as well. In its 2012-2013 season, the Sunnyvale Community Players is presenting a lineup of four cherished tales. As well as "Legally Blonde: The Musical," "The Wizard of Oz" and "Little Women," the Players will be performing a screenplay adaptation of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," based on the book by Rachel Sheinken. The screenplay chronicles the successes and failures of a group of adolescent spelling bee participants and their teachers and families.
South Valley Civic Theatre
Morgan Hill Community Playhouse
17090 Monterey Road
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
(408) 201-2382
svtc.org
Date: "James and the Giant Peach" from October 27 through November 17, 2012
South Valley Civic Theatre serves the southern part of Santa Clara County, with a base in Morgan Hill. It was honored with a 2011 Silicon Valley Small Venue Award from Artsalot for two of its recent performances. Entirely volunteer-run, this community theater organization is presenting five pieces during its 2012-2013 season. In October, the SVCT will be performing an adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved novel "James and the Giant Peach." Meet James and his insect companions as this fantastical tale comes to life on stage.
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The Tabard Theatre Company
Theatre on San Pedro Square
29 N San Pedro St
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 679-2330
tabardtheatre.org
Date: "Trying" from November 2 through 18, 2012
At the Theatre on San Pedro Square in San Jose, this venue hosts both live music as well as musicals and plays. The venue's resident theater company, Tabard Theater, presents a varied slate of theater performances. Tabard Theater aims to provide quality performances to the San Jose community that can be fitting and enjoyable for all audiences. In its 2012-2013 season, Tabard Theater is focusing on true tales, plays based on real people and historical events. Premiering in San Jose in November, the play "Trying," starring Kurt Gravenhorst, tells the story of a former US Attorney General attempting to write his memoirs and the young Canadian secretary who learns to put up with his irascible nature. The play was written by Joanna McClelland Glass about her real-life experiences working with Francis Biddle, a retired US politician, in the 1960s.
Laura Tarwater-Scharp is a freelance writer, editor and historian. Originally from the Midwest, she has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over a decade. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.