Thru May 11: Northside Theatre Company presents Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Edward Albee’s harrowing drama about a husband and wife whose mutual hatred ignites an emotional war during an evening of post-party drinks with a young couple. The source of the bitter feud is revealed in the end, exposing just exactly where their relationship went wrong. 8pm. (San Jose: Black Box Theatre, 848 E. William St.; 408/288-7820; www.northsidetheatre.com)
Thru May 11: Palo Alto Players presents The Light in the Piazza. When Clara Johnson and her mother, Margaret, tour the Italian countryside, Clara has a chance encounter with a handsome young Florentine named Fabrizio, sparking a vivid musical courtship. Margaret, however, rails against the budding romance, for reasons unknown to the audience until the end. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun 2:30pm. (Palo Alto: Lucie Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Rd.; 650/329-0891; www.city.palo-alto.ca.us)
May 10–June 8: San Jose Repertory Theatre presents The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. How do you know what really lies in heart of another? Watch this adaptation of Robert Lewis Stevenson’s timeless story about Dr. Jekyll and his evil alter ego Mr. Hyde to find out—it’s as gripping today as it was in the 19th century. Tues 5:30pm (no show on May 13); Wed-Fri 6pm (extra 9am showing May 14); Sat 1pm & 6pm (6pm only on May 10); Sun 12pm; extra 5pm showing on May 11. (San Jose: 101 Paseo de San Antonio; 408/367-7255; www.sjrep.com)
May 13-25: American Musical Theatre of San Jose presents Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Adapted from the beloved Academy Award-winning animated film, this heart-warming musical with a book by Linda Woolverton tells the classic fairy tale of Belle, an intelligent beauty imprisoned in a forbidding castle, where she forms an unlikely friendship with her captor, a hideous beast. Tue-Fri 8pm; Sat 2pm & 8pm; Sun 1pm & 6:30 pm. (San Jose: Center for the Performing Arts, 255 Almaden Blvd.; 408/453-7100; www.amtsj.org)
May 15-June 15: City Lights Theatre Company presents A Few Good Men. This award-winning play, which was famously adapted into an acclaimed film, follows the trial of two Marines accused of killing one of their own makes for a politically charged performance. Thurs-Sat 8pm; Sun 2pm (June 8 & 15) & 7pm (May 25 & June 1) (San Jose: 529 S. Second St.; 408/295-4200; www.cltc.org)
May 18: Rent. This Tony Award-winning rock musical, inspired by Puccini’s opera La Boheme and adapted into a film tells the story about a tight-knit group of free-spirited young artists and musicians struggling to survive in New York's East Village during the AIDS epidemic. 7pm. (Cupertino: Flint Center, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd.; 408/864-8816; www.flintcenter.com)
May 28-June 22: San Jose Stage Co. presents Altar Boyz, a comedy about five small-town boys—one of them Jewish—trying to save the world with pious pop songs like “Girls You Make Me Wanna Wait” and “Jesus Called Me On My Cell Phone.” Wed-Thurs, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. (San Jose: 490 S. First St.; 408/283-7142; www.sanjose-stage.com)
May 31: Chicago. With a vibrant 20s-inspired score, this Prohibition-era hit musical tells the sordid tale of two murderesses who compete for celebrity sympathy to avoid getting sent to the gallows. 8 pm. (Cupertino: Flint Center; 408/864-8816; www.flintcenter.com)
