Gravity's Angels - Guest artists from the Branson Dance Performance Ensemble and Stapleton School of Ballet lift your spirits with this airy performance. You'll be flyin' high! Nov 13-14 at 8. $10-$15, 415.485.9385. Studio Theatre, College of Marin, 835 College Ave, Kentfield (North Bay).

Dare - The China National Acrobatic Troupe presents ancient traditions done anew, with jugglers, ballerina and acrobatic stunts. Hosted by Dimension Performing Arts. Sat., Nov. 7, 3 & 8pm and Sun., Nov. 8, 3pm. $30-$60, 408.568.5861. Flint Center, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino (South Bay/Silicon Valley), 408.998.TIXS.

West Side Story - The Bernstein, Sondheim, Laurents classic presented by West Valley Light Opera Assoc. Regular shows Fri-Sat, 8pm, Sun, 2:30pm (no show Nov 27). Thru Dec 5. $26-$30, 800.838.3777. Saratoga Civic Theater, 13777 Fruitvale Ave, Saratoga (South Bay/Silicon Valley).

Annie - Presented by the Peninsula Youth Theatre. Please visit website for details. $7/$18, www.pytnet.org. Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St, Mountain View (South Bay/Silicon Valley), 650.903.6000.

Call for Plays - Tapas, a new annual short play festival, is accepting submissions of five- to 15-minute plays (max of two per playwright) for production in mid-May 2010. Local writers please submit to Lois Pearlman at lois5@sonic.net or 14290 Sunset Ave, Guerneville, CA, 05446. Email preferred; no fee to enter. Pegasus Theater Company, Guerneville Community Church, 14520 Armstrong Woods Rd, Guerneville (North Bay), 707.522.9043.

Dead Man's Cell Phone - The odyssey of a woman forced to confront her own assumptions about morality, redemption and the need to connect in a technologically obsessed world. Not recommended for children under 10. Nov 5 at 5 and 7:30; Nov 6 at 6 and 8; Nov 7 at 2 and 8; Nov 8 at 2 and 6:30. $7-$10, 707.636.2010. Fitzsimmons Black Box Theater, Sonoma Academy, 2500 Farmers Lane, Santa Rosa (North Bay).

Escape Clause - Dinner theater adaptation of the 1959 "Twilight Zone" episode featuring hypochondriac Walter Bedeker trying to outsmart the Devil in a deal for immortality. Ending Nov 16; Fri-Sat at 7. $15-$25, 415.454.6422. Belrose Theatre, 1415 Fifth Ave, San Rafael (North Bay), 415.454.6422.

Groundswell - Answers are not handed to the audience in San Jose Repertory Theatre’s newest, a psychological thriller about race relations, desperation and reparations in the post-apartheid world. In its second stateside production, South African playwright Ian Bruce’s volatile tale centering on his country’s tragic legacy is as challenging and heavy as theater gets. Tue, 7:30pm, Wed-Fri, 8pm, Sat, 3 and 8pm, Sun 2pm. Thru Nov 8. $35-$64. San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose (South Bay/Silicon Valley), 408.367.7255.

Growing Up in Neverland - The fantastical characters in "Peter Pan" come to life unexpectedly during a stage production of the classic favorite. Nov 13 at 9 and 11:30; Nov 14 at 2; Nov 17-19 at 7:30; Nov 20 at 9 and 11:30; Nov 21 at 7:30. $8-$12; SSU students free, 707.664.2325. Person Theater, SSU, 1801 E Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park (North Bay).

The Hobbit - Montreal's giant theatrical puppet company, Theatre Sans Fil, presents Tolkien's classic. Nov 8 at 3. $15-$30, 415.499.6800. Marin Center, 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael (North Bay), 415.499.6800, www.marincenter.org.

The Miracle Worker - Ross Valley Players present this Tony Award-winning classic tale of the inspiring life of Helen Keller and the power of communication. Through Dec 6; Fri-Sat at 8, Sun at 2 (Nov 15, 22, 29, Dec 6), Thurs at 7:30 (Nov 12, 19, Dec 3). $15-$25, 415.456.9555. Barn Theatre, Marin Art and Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Ross (North Bay), 415.456.9555.

On the Verge - Three Victorian ladies time-travel through a continuum of space, time, history, geography and fashion to the year 1955. Through Nov 22; Fri-Sat at 8 and Sun at 2. $17-$22, 707.523.4185. Sixth Street Playhouse, 52 W Sixth St, Santa Rosa (North Bay), 707.523.4185.

Picasso at the Lapin Agile - In Steve Martin's off-Broadway hit absurdist comedy, Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso muse on the century's achievements and prospects over drinks in a Parisian cafe in 1904, before they were cool. Nov 13-14 at 8; Nov 15 at 2. $10-$15, 707.259.8077. Napa Valley College Little Theater, 2277 Napa Vallejo Hwy, Bldg 1200, Napa (North Bay).

Romeo and Juliet - The Shakespeare classics presented by Palo Alto Players. Thu-Sat, 8pm, Sun, 2pm. Thru Nov 22. $22-$33, 650.329.0891. Lucie Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto (South Bay/Silicon Valley).

Sly Fox - A dubiously dying man in 1880s San Francisco tests his friends and loved ones in this three-act farce. Through Nov 29; Fri-Sat at 8, Sun at 2. $13-$19, 707.433.6335. Raven Theater, 115 North St, Healdsburg (North Bay), 707.433.3145.

Urinetown - A terrible water shortage has crippled the city, and in a mad attempt to regulate consumption, the government has outlawed the use of private toilets. Broadway hit lampoons musical theater all while revealing a deep knowledge and love for it. Through Nov 22, Thurs-Sat at 8, Sun at 3. $15-$25, 415.883.4498. Pacheco Playhouse, 484 Ignacio Blvd, Novato (North Bay).

Apollo: To the Moon - California Theatre Company celebrates the 40th anniversary of the moon landing with a dramatic presentation for the whole family. Sat., Nov. 7, 11am. $11/$12, 408.245.2978. Sunnyvale Community Center Theatre, 550 E. Remington Dr, Sunnyvale (South Bay/Silicon Valley).

Broadway Up Close and Personal - Broadway by the Bay presents a tribute to Cy Coleman. Sat., Nov. 7, 2 & 8pm and Sun., Nov. 8, 1:30 & 5pm. $20-$48, 650.579.5565. San Mateo Performing Arts Center, 600 N. Delaware, San Mateo (The Peninsula).

Beach Blanket Babylon - The nation's longest-running musical revue. Fridays, Saturdays, 6:30 & 9:30pm, Sundays, 2 & 5pm and Wednesdays, Thursdays, 8pm. $25-$78, 415.421.4222. Club Fugazi, 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd, San Francisco.

K2/Lifeline - Two plays about surviving in the mountains. Presented by Los Gatos High. Sat., Nov. 7, 7pm and Sun., Nov. 8, 7pm. $2/$5, 408.354.2730. Prentiss Brown Auditorium, Los Gatos High School, 20 High School Court, Los Gatos (South Bay/Silicon Valley).

Rainbow Theatre 2009 Season - Every year since 1994 this troupe has presented a collection of four student plays and a play-length recitation of poetry from different segments of our culture, and this time they're cycling three programs, all of which take place at the Stevenson Events Center (UCSC), start at 7pm and play on Nov 5,6,7,8,13, 14, 20 and 21. Through Nov. 21, 7pm. Free. Stevenson College, UCSC, Santa Cruz.

Sleeping Beauty - Nineteen MPC theatre arts students, some on stage for the first time, present a fun version of the classic geared especially for children. Preview Thu Nov 5, 7pm and continues Fri Sat and Sun through Nov 22. Some shows are already sold out, so call for schedule at 831.646.4213. $9-$15. Studio Theater, Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey (Monterey Bay).

The Chosen - Reuven and Danny are Jewish teenagers who live five blocks from each other but might as well be from different worlds. Certainly that is the way things seem to each boy in the new TheatreWorks production of The Chosen, based on Chaim Potok’s book. Reuven (Jonathan Bock) comes from a home where Judaism is the foundation for activism and engagement in the world. Danny (Thomas Gorrebeeck) is the son of a legendary Hasidic rabbi, who is so suspicious of outsiders that he must approve his son’s friends. Danny is slated to follow in his father’s footsteps by leading his congregation when the great man retires. Reuven’s dad wants him to be a college professor. Naturally, each boy is curious about the other’s preordained future. Gorrebeeck and Bock work well together, as they surmount their distrust of each other long enough to find common ground. Fri-Sat, 8pm, Sun, 2pm, thru Nov 8. $24-$62, 650.463.1960. Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St, Mountain View (South Bay/Silicon Valley), 650.903.6000.

The Grapes of Wrath - The new Crocker Theater's first production, this Steinbeck classic offers special effects, live music and additional events such as a Fri Nov 13 special performance for schoolchildren at 10am, a post-performance discussion of the work's cultural context on Sun Nov 15, and a Fri Nov 20 6:30pm Black Box Theater discussion of farmworker history. Call for more info on these at 831.477.3257. Plays Nov 6-21 Fri and Sat 8pm and Sun 3pm except Sat Nov 21, 3pm, no evening show. Through Nov. 21, 8pm. $12-$18. Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Dr, Aptos (Santa Cruz).

Hay Fever - Noel Coward's popular comedy about a flamboyant family of actors beset by unwanted guests is presented by the Pear. Thu-Sat, 8pm, Sun, 2pm. Thru Nov 8. $15-$30, 650.254.1148. Pear Avenue Theatre, 1220 Pear Ave, Mountain View (South Bay/Silicon Valley), 650.254.1148.