'Aunt Jack"' is full of surprises. Playwright Nora Brigid Monahan's enjoyably overstuffed comic family drama, now in its premiere West Coast production at New Conservatory Theatre Center, has several genuinely unexpected narrative twists.

"I want to do queer theater and I want to do weird theater," says River Bermudez Sanders, 24, who makes their San Francisco directorial debut with "Bad Hombres," the first show in Theatre Rhinoceros' 46th season, which opens this Friday.

Montreal-based nouveau cirque troupe 7 Fingers' acrobatic spectacular, "Passengers," is now chugging into its final weekend at A.C.T.'s newly rechristened Toni Rembe Theatre.

It's time to get back out there and enjoy the communal experience of the arts in person. There is plenty in the pipeline from our readers' local favorites in both the visual and performing arts.

Three productions —"the ripple, the wave that carried me home" at Berkeley Rep, "To Kill A Mockingbird" at the Golden Gate Theater and "Lear" at CalShakes— employ narrator figures for various purposes and with varying degrees of success.

Cyndi Lauper's infectious score and the cast's all-in performances made the original production —and now the Ray of Light iteration — of 'Kinky Boots' well worth seeing.

Spectacular sets, extravagant costumes, dozens of pop song snippets woven together in a sonic field of dreams. The national tour of "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" now playing at the Orpheum Theater, offers audiences an eye-popping, ear-tickling escape.

Former local returns to Feinstein's this weekend as a bonafide Broadway star, shortly after winning a Tony for his role in the acclaimed revival of 'Company.'

Anticipation runs justifiably high for SFO's fifth production with composer John Adams' 'Antony and Cleopatra,' adapted from William Shakespeare's tragic love story, with consultation by director Elkhanah Pulitzer and dramaturg Lucia Scheckner.

A crowd-pleasing package of infectious music, thrilling choreography, vibrant costumes and charismatic performances, "Goddess," now having its world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, probably already has all it takes to achieve Broadway success.

There's no doubt that live performances are back, and our resilient Bay Area dance community, and visiting ensembles, have emerged with a dazzling line-up of plans for the fall.

For the first time in three years, the Bay Area is welcoming a full-fledged fall theater season, with a parade of opening nights that starts next week and marches all the way into December at a head-spinning pace.

Opening night of the new musical "Goddess" on August 24 drew numerous local and national celebrities to see the acclaimed production at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Three of the actors who co-starred in the lavishly lathery soap opera 'Dynasty' —Jack Coleman, John James and Gordon Thomson— have reunited for a rat pack-inspired evening of drollery and dish that they're calling "Cocktails with the Carringtons."