LILY JANIAK’S THEATER PICKS
Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties: As part of Shotgun Players’ Champagne Staged Reading series, Brady BrophyHilton directs Jen Silverman’s play about five women, all Betty Boops, but with different personalities. The piece explores theater, relationships, boxing and more. 7 p.m. MondayTuesday, Jan. 8-9. Pay what you can. Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org
Our Great Tchaikovsky: Having already broken TheatreWorks box office records with his musical portrayals of Irving Berlin and Beethoven, solo performer Hershey Felder essays Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky for the company, delving into “Swan Lake,” “Nutcracker” and “The 1812 Overture,” as well as the musician’s life and times. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, Jan. 10-13; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14. Through Feb. 11. $45-$105, subject to change. (650) 463-1960. www.theatreworks.org
The Birthday Party: After directing a magnificent production of Harold Pinter’s “The Homecoming” in 2011, Carey Perloff returns to the canonical English playwright, known for his “comedies of menace,” as the last production she’ll direct for ACT as the company’s artistic director. Marco Barricelli and Judith Ivey are among the cast. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, Jan. 10-12; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13; 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14. Through Feb. 4. $15-$110, subject to change. ACT’s Geary Theater, 415 Geary St., S.F. (415) 749-2228. www.act-sf.org
Latin Standards: Marga Gomez’s “12th and final” solo show weaves together two tales: that of her father, a larger-thanlife producer and entertainer in 1960s Manhattan, and Gomez’s own story of trying to create a comedy night in the Mission District nightclub Esta Noche shortly before it closed. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 11-13; 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14. Through Jan. 28. $20-$50. Brava Theater Center, 2781 24th St., S.F. www.brava.org
Lifer: Lower Bottom Playaz’ 18th season, whose theme is “Catch a Fire,” continues with Ayodele Nzinga’s play that’s based on the true story of local ex-convict Glenn Bailey and which challenges the normalization of incarceration for African Americans. 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13; 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14. Through Jan. 28. $20-$40. The Flight Deck, 1540 Broadway, Oakland. www.lowerbottomplay az.com