Stepping Out

Kevin Berne/Special to the Town Crier
Jeremy Webb, left, plays David Frost and Allen McCullough portrays Richard Nixon in TheatreWorks’ “Frost/Nixon.”

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s production of “Frost/Nixon,” directed by Leslie Martinson, is set to close Sunday at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St.

Based on a true story, the play reveals the conflicts between former U.S. President Richard Nixon and British talk-show host David Frost during a series of TV interviews that illustrate the media’s influence on the national consensus.

Courtesy of Barbie Koch
The directors of the fourth annual High School One-Act Play Festival include, from left, Aubrie Ferris, Sam Evans, Braden Koch and Swati Goel. The festival runs this weekend in Mountain View.

Four area students direct vignettes from Neil Simon’s “The Good Doctor” in the fourth annual High School One-Act Play Festival, scheduled 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, SecondStage, 500 Castro St.

Directors include Braden Koch (Los Altos High School), Sam Evans (Mountain View High School), Swati Goel (Gunn High School) and Aubrie Ferris (Woodside High School). Each of them was assigned a mentor for one-on-one professional guidance throughout the process.

Los Altos Stage Company’s production of “American Night: The Ballad of Juan José” opened last week and is set to run through Feb. 17 at Bus Barn Theater, 97 Hillview Ave.

Richard Montoya’s fast-paced satire centers on the glories and pratfalls of the American Dream. Mexican immigrant Juan Jose has a feverish dream while studying for his American citizenship exam. His obsession to pass leads him on a fantastical odyssey guided by a handful of unsung citizens who made courageous choices in some of the country’s toughest times. He meets a parade of characters – from Sacagawea to Jackie Robinson – who take him on a mind-bending trip through U.S. history.

Joyce Goldschmid/Special to the Town Crier
April Culver stars as Viola de Lesseps and Drew Benjamin Jones plays William Shakespeare in Palo Alto Players’ “Shakepeare in Love.”

The Palo Alto Players production of “Shakespeare in Love” is scheduled to close Sunday at the Lucie Stern Theatre.

A stage adaptation of the 1998 Oscar-winning film, the romantic romp imagines the forbidden love affair between William Shakespeare and the woman who inspires him to write his first great masterpiece, actress Viola de Lesseps. The fictitious story involves mistaken identity, ruthless scheming and backstage theatrics.

Pear Theatre’s world premiere of “Spending the End of the World on OkCupid” is set to run Thursdays through Sundays through Feb. 17 in Mountain View.

Created by Jeffrey Lo, the play is about a pending apocalyptic event that pushes the characters to spend their last 12 hours alive on the internet.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s production of “Frost/Nixon” opened last week and is set to run through Feb. 10 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St.

Based on a true story, the play reveals the conflicts between former U.S. President Richard Nixon and British talk-show host David Frost during a series of TV interviews that illustrate the media’s influence on the national consensus.