If you haven’t seen Shotgun Players’ “The Magnolia Ballet,” you still have a chance. Terry Guest’s award-winning play has been extended through Aug. 16 at the Ashby Stage on 1901 Ashby Ave. in Berkeley.
Set beneath the shadow of a magnolia tree, this powerful work combines movement, gesture, rhythm and magic surrealism to tell the story of Ezekiel “Z” Mitchell VI, a Black gay teen growing up in small-town Georgia. As he navigates his journey into love, ghosts of past elders with their own secrets appear.
“The complexity of masculine love lies at the heart of this work,” says director and choreographer AeJay Antonis Marquis. “Fathers, sons and friends navigate the razor’s edge between tenderness and violence, fear and vulnerability.”
Jaiden Griffin plays “Z” with Drew Walkins as his father and Nicholas René Rodriguez as his best friend/lover.
For tickets, call 510-841-6500, x303 or go to shotgunplayers.org/show/magnolia.
Vallejo: Love, laughter and loneliness take over a roadside diner when a busload of strangers is stranded by a blizzard in rural Kansas. This scenario might sound familiar if you saw the 1956 movie “Bus Stop” starring Marilyn Monroe or the television series which followed. Now, however, you can see the iconic work performed live courtesy of Bay Area Stage.
For those not familiar with William Inge’s 1955 play, it features a rugged cowboy chasing love, a disillusioned professor fleeing his past and, of course, the aspiring nightclub singer Cherie, played in the movie version by Monroe.
“Bus Stop” plays through Aug. 24 at Bay Area Stage on 515 Broadway St. in Vallejo. Call 707-649-1053 or go to bayareastage.org.
Martinez: Join Partners in Crime for another spontaneous murder mystery — “Murder at the Theater” — Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Sam and Bo host the completely improvised fun with no predetermined script and no idea who is the murderer. The story unfolds in real time shaped by the cast and the audience.
The fun happens at the Campbell Theater on 636 Ward St. For tickets, go to campbelltheater.com.
Alameda: Altarena Playhouse begins its new season with David Lindsey-Abaire’s “Good People” Aug. 22 through Sept. 21.
Set in the Southie neighborhood of Boston, Lindsey-Abaire follows a single mom who has lost her job at a dollar store. She becomes desperate enough to contact an old fling who managed to get out of the neighborhood where this month’s paycheck pays last month’s bills. She’s hoping he’ll be her ticket to a fresh start.
Told with Lindsey-Abaire’s humor, the powerful work explores the struggles and unshakable hopes of those who have next to nothing in America.
The cast includes Rezan Asfaw, Sam Barksdale, Daron Jennings, Nicole Naffaa, Alicia Rydman and Marsha van Broek. Russell Kaltschmidt directs.
For tickets, call 510-523-1553 or go to altarena.org.
Mill Valley: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, and even more so now with the cutback in Federal grants, theater companies have partnered with each other to share costs and talents. Such is the case for Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre Company and Mill Valley’s Marin Theatre.
The two award-winning companies will jointly produce Jonathan Spector’s “Eureka Day” Aug. 28 through Sept. 21. The production takes place at Marin Theatre on 397 Miller Ave.
“When we premiered ‘Eureka Day’ at Aurora in 2018, Jonathan Spector and I had no idea that the play would go on to such incredible success,” said Aurora’s artistic director, Josh Costello. “Would such a Berkeley story play in other places? Seven years later, after productions all over the world, the answer is a definitive yes, and the story is more relevant than ever. I’m so excited to bring this play to life again in the Bay Area.”
In 2024, Spector’s play had a Broadway run at the Manhattan Theatre Club where the New York Times made it a Critic’s Pick.
The Marin Theatre production reunites most of the world premiere design team and cast including Charisse Loriaux, Lisa Anne Porter, Rolf Saxon and Teddy Spencer. Leontyne Mbele-Mbong joins the Marin cast with Costello returning to direct the piece once more.
For tickets, call 415-388-5200 or go to marintheatre.org/box-office-info.
S.F.: If you’re looking for something fun and more than a little bit wacky, you won’t want to miss “Jurassiq Parq: A Musiqal Parody.”
The popular spoof continues through Sept. 13 at Oasis Arts on 298 11th St. in San Francisco.
Cited as “the type of ridiculous theater we need right now,” the musical is a high energy blend of camp, drag and musical parody as it follows Dr. Laura Dern’s venture to a mysterious island where dinosaurs are alive. The show includes hits of the ’90s, 2000s and current pop vocals.
The show is written by Michael Phillis, who also directs. For tickets, go to https://www.oasisartsinc.org/.
Reach Sally Hogarty at sallyhogarty@gmail.com, and read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.