San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
LILY JANIAK’S THEATER PICKS
Muriel Spark: “The Abbess of Crewe”:
Word for Word, which adapts fiction to the stage without changing a word of the prose, stages a reading of the Scottish writer’s 1974 allegory of Watergate. 7 p.m. Monday, June 25. $20 suggested donation. Z Below, 470 Florida St., S.F. www.zspace.org
“School of Rock”:
You’ve heard of musical theater triple threats, but the youth performers in this Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about a rocking substitute teacher are quadruple threats. They act, sing, dance and play their own instruments. 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday, June 27 and 30; 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, June 28-29. Through July 22. $55-$256, subject to change. Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market St., S.F. 888-746-1799. www.shnsf.com
ShortLived VII:
PianoFight’s summer-long audience-judged playwriting competition is in full swing, with local playwrights and comedy groups going head to head with short plays and sketches in hopes of winning a $5,000 cash prize at the finals in August. Round III runs 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, June 28June 30. $20-$40. PianoFight, 144 Taylor St., S.F. www.piano fight.com
“Universal Robots”:
Sci-fi in live theater might sound like a novelty, but it dates at least to 1920, when Karel C apek premiered “R.U.R.,” which envisions the rise — and rebellion — of robots. Playwright Mac Rogers loosely adapts it, and local troupe Quantum Dragon Theatre presents its West Coast premiere. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, June 29-30. Through July 14. $25 suggested donation. Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason St., S.F. www.quantumdragon.org
“The Importance of Being Earnest”:
For Livermore Shakespeare Festival, Domenique Lozano directs the English language’s preeminent farce, written by Oscar Wilde, with comic dynamo Gwen Loeb as Lady Bracknell. 7:30 p.m. ThursdaySaturday, June 28-30. Through July 15. $25-$58. Wente Vineyards Estate Winery & Tasting Room, 5565 Tesla Road, Livermore. 925-443-2273. www.livermoreshakes.org