It’s a crazy mix of race, sex, guns and sports in Masquers Playhouse’s next offering “Big Scary Animals” at its intimate theater on 105 Park Ave. in Point Richmond, running Sept. 5-28.
Here an older white couple moves from the country to the city and unknowingly settles in a gay neighborhood. Polite dinner conversation with their gay, multi-ethnic neighbors careens out of control.
Playwright Matt Lyle invites us into the homes of these two couples who have more in common than they think. Lyle’s clever dialogue examines shifting generational beliefs and the problems raising a child regardless of who you are and where you live.
Gabriel Ross directs a cast consisting of Natalie Ford, Duane Lawrence, Tristan Rodriguez, Kim Saunders, Joseph Walters and David Zubiria.
For tickets, call 510-232-4031 or go to masquers.org.
San Rafael: Oakland Theater Project’s next production is so big it can’t be contained in Oakland, or at least not in OTP’s intimate theater. Instead, the company will stage its ambitious, 23-person “Hamlet” at Marin Shakespeare Company on 514 Fourth St. in San Rafael, Sept. 5-21.
“‘Hamlet’ is an unparalleled exploration of corruption in halls of power and the personal cost of confronting systemic injustice,” said Director Michael Socrates Moran. “Rather than offering salvation through forgiveness, Hamlet seeks justice through blood, asking whether redemption can ever come through destruction.”
His cast includes Dean Linnard (Hamlet), Lisa Ramirez (Gertrude), Dov Hassan (Claudius), Nathaniel Andalis (Laertes) and Regina Morones (Ophelia).
“Each play [this season] confronts the urgent questions of our era,” said Moran, who is also OTP’s executive director. “From the targeting of trans people and mass deportations to the erasure of truth in authoritarian regimes, the explicit return of colonial ambitions, and the role of art as both refuge and resistance. We aim to engage our audience in a way that is personal, compassionate, and moving — not punishing, but also not escapist. In a time of growing numbness and disillusionment, we believe theater has an essential role to play. As the ground shifts beneath us, we refuse to look away.”
For tickets, call 510-646-1126 or go to oaklandtheaterproject.org.
Castro Valley: Just when you thought it was safe to go on the dance floor, Plethos Production warns against it. The intrepid thespians open their season with “Murder on the Dance Floor: Rave at the Vineyards.”
Audience members become an integral part of the action as they mingle with shady moguls, masked strangers and feuding ex-lovers. By following clues, eavesdropping on suspects and trading theories, audience members work together to unravel the mystery. Costumes are encouraged.
It all happens at TwiningVine Winery on 16851 Cull Canyon Road in Castro Valley, Friday through Sunday, at 7 p.m. (TwiningVine wines and food truck dinners are available for purchase.)
I love how theater presents controversies in a new light — one that may help us understand our world and ourselves better.
Walnut Creek: Such is the case with Center Repertory and the Yiddish Theatre Ensemble partnership to present “Indecent,” running Sept. 7-28. Paula Vogel’s work recounts the true story behind the controversial 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch’s work “God of Vengeance.”
Vogel explores this true story of a play shut down and its creators and cast arrested for obscenity.
“A love letter to the theatrical form, ‘Indecent’ is simultaneously an exquisitely expressed indictment of artistic censorship, and a profoundly moving story of romance,” said Center Rep Artistic Director Matt M. Morrow. “We are grateful to her for illuminating this powerful part of American history for us to experience and learn from.”
Directed by Elizabeth Carter, the cast includes Michael Champlin, Michelle Drexler, Cindy Goldfield, Kina Kantor, Adam KuveNiemann, Vinny Randazzo and Joel Roster.
For tickets, call 925-943-7469 or go to centerrep.org.
Oakland: August Wilson’s “Two Trains Running” highlights 2025 BAMBDFEST International. The festival features virtual and public performances through Aug. 31 in a rich celebration of Black arts and culture.
Set in 1969 Pittsburgh, “Two Trains Running” explores the lives of African Americans as their neighborhood faces demolition and redevelopment.
The director Dr. Ayodele Nzinga said: “The theme for this year’s BAMBDFEST is the stories we have the right to tell, and the stories we have the responsibility to tell. … We tell stories to make people think and inspire them to action. Oakland needs a little fire in its belly right now — there are always two trains running; where are we trying to go?”
Performances take place at BAM House on 1540 Broadway Ave. in Oakland. Go to onthestage.tickets/show/the-lower-bottom-playaz/67be8abea24e940f61dd4990 for tickets.
Piedmont: Festival Opera continues its salon series with “American Song Cycle” featuring soprano Carrie Hennessey and pianist Daniel Lockert on Sunday at 4 p.m.
The August salon includes Jake Heggie’s poignant and humorous “At the Statue of Venus,” and Julia Seeholzer’s gripping reflection on our modern world “Portraits of Disquiet” at the intimate Piedmont Center for the Arts on 801 Magnolia Ave. in Piedmont.
For tickets, go to festivalopera.org.
Reach Sally Hogarty at sallyhogarty@gmail.com, and read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.