New at TheatreWorks, City Lights
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley and City Lights Theater Company this weekend open 2020 with emotionally charged works that could not be more different. TheatreWorks is presenting the acclaimed and hugely popular “The Pianist of Willesden Lane,” pianist Mona Golabek’s solo show about her mother, a young musician who escaped Nazi-occupied Austria during World War II and later survived the London Blitz. Golabek recounts the stirring story while performing segments of works by Bach, Beethoven and Rachmaninoff that her mother cherished. The show is adapted from Golabek’s memoir by pianist-actor-director Hershey Felder, who has scored several hits with his solo shows examining the lives and music of famous composers. “Willesden Lane” was a huge hit for Berkeley Repertory Theatre a few years back and will likely be the same for TheatreWorks — it’s already been extended a week (in other works, snag your tickets sooner rather than later). Details: In previews through Friday, main run is Saturday through Feb. 16; Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts; $30-$100; theatreworks.org. City Lights Theater Company, meanwhile, is going for melodrama, Sarah Ruhl-style, with a production of “Stage Kiss.” Ruhl’s comedy-farce — noteworthy for, among other things, containing two plays within a play — follows two actors who were lovers many years ago cast in a dubious revival of a 1930s melodrama in which they play — wait for it — long-ago lovers. Behind all the silliness, Ruhl’s play examines the line between actors’ performances and personal lives. Details: In previews today and Friday, main run is Saturday through Feb. 16; City Lights Theater, San Jose; $23-$44; cltc.org.