City Lights Theatre Company

Covering The San Francisco Bay Area & Sacramento Valley Since 2001

City Lights Theatre • 529 S Second St, San Jose, CA 95112

Plays • Musicals • Opera • Dance

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Current Production

• NOV 20 - DEC 21, 2026 •

Over the River and Through the Woods / Play

For Tickets & Info:

Over the River and Through the Woods,” written by Joe DiPietro, is a heartfelt comedy about family, tradition, and the tug-of-war between old-world values and modern independence. It follows Nick, a young Italian-American from New Jersey whose life takes an unexpected turn when a dream job opportunity threatens to move him across the country, away from his two sets of doting, meddling grandparents. Every Sunday dinner becomes a hilarious and touching battleground of love, guilt, and lasagna as the grandparents pull every trick in the book to keep him close. Through laughter, misunderstandings, and moments of tender reflection, the play explores how family ties can both comfort and confine, and how saying goodbye to the people who raised you is never as simple as crossing a river or a few city blocks.

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Coming Soon

• OPENS JAN 22, 2026 • Running After Shadows / Solo Play In the quirky yet weighty solo play Running After Shadows, we follow Morgan Collins, once a budget-cookware shopper at the 99-cent store and now an aspiring gourmet chef who livestreams his kitchen antics complete with the newest garlic press. When he opens a mysterious box during a live Instagram un-boxing, what arrives isn’t just notch-worthy cookware but the long-buried memories of his childhood: an absentee father, a step-father who didn’t quite fill the role, a mother hanging on with love and worry, and a cashier with attitude who offered more wisdom than anyone expected. With razor-sharp wit and tender ache woven together, Morgan mixes humor and heartbreak in the same bowl as he grapples with identity, legacy, belonging and love. As he chops, stirs and narrates, we’re drawn into one man’s kitchen-table reckoning with the past, his bold dreams for the future and the quiet hope of forgiveness.
• OPENS JAN 25, 2026 • Not A Genuine Black Man / Solo Play Not a Genuine Black Man by Brian Copeland is a solo stage play (one-man show) that blends comedy, drama and social commentary. The story takes us back to the 1970s when Copeland, as a young African-American boy, moves with his family into a predominantly white suburb in the Bay Area known for its hostility towards Black residents. Through sharply funny anecdotes and honest reflections, the piece traces how the environment, the people and the shifting landscape of identity shaped his life. It’s equal parts laugh-out-loud moments and heart-tugging realizations as he confronts stereotypes, cultural expectations and the search to become himself despite being told many times that he didn’t quite belong. With a traditional stand-up vibe combined with theatrical flourish, this show invites the audience along on a journey of resilience, identity and belonging, celebrating personal voice while challenging societal assumptions about race and authenticity.
• OPENS MAR 12, 2026 • Diam M for Murder / Play Dial M for Murder, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, is a full length stage play in the mystery thriller genre that drops the audience into the polished world of 1950s London, where elegance mixes with danger just beneath the surface. The story centers on Tony Wendice, a man whose charm hides a colder edge as he grows increasingly uneasy about his wife Margot and the life they share. His desire to control every detail of their future pulls him into a scheme built on precision, manipulation, and the belief that he can outsmart anyone in his path. Margot soon finds herself navigating shadows she never expected, while an investigator with a sharp mind begins tugging at the loose threads of the situation. What follows is a tight and atmospheric battle of wits where trust feels fragile and every small detail matters. Hatcher’s adaptation heightens the tension with crisp dialogue, a focused setting, and a sense of unease that slowly winds its way through the room. The result is a classic style thriller that invites the audience to lean in closer, listen harder, and wonder how quickly a seemingly perfect life can tilt into something far more dangerous.
• OPENS MAY 14, 2026 • Anthropology / Play anthropology is a full length play by Lauren Gunderson that sits solidly in the drama genre with touches of thriller and science fiction woven through its core. The story follows Merril, a brilliant Silicon Valley software engineer who is still reeling from the disappearance of her younger sister Angie. A year after the search ends and the world seems ready to move on, Merril refuses to let go. Instead, she turns to the only tool she trusts: her own code. Using every scrap of Angie’s digital life, she creates an advanced virtual version of her sister, a simulation built from texts, emails and online traces. What begins as a desperate attempt to feel close to Angie again slowly evolves into something far more complicated as the virtual Angie starts offering insights that feel eerily real. The play explores how grief can collide with technology, how memory can be shaped by what we leave online and how far someone will go when love and loss leave no clear path forward.
• OPENS JUL 16, 2026 • Ride the Cyclone / Musical Ride the Cyclone is a darkly witty musical that follows a group of Canadian teenagers whose choir trip takes an unexpected turn when a visit to a rundown carnival thrusts them into a strange contest for a second chance at life. The story leans into humor as much as heart, blending quirky charm with moments of genuine introspection. A mysterious mechanical fortune teller sets the stage, drawing each student into a spotlight that reveals their dreams, fears, and the odd little truths they never said out loud. Instead of leaning into gloom, the show uses its unusual setup to explore identity, purpose, and the messy business of growing up, all wrapped in lively music that swings from playful to haunting with ease. The carnival setting adds an offbeat spark that feels both whimsical and slightly unsettling, and the characters bring enough personality to keep the audience guessing what might be revealed next. Ride the Cyclone invites viewers into a world where humor softens the heavy moments, friendship flickers even in the weirdest corners, and every voice gets a chance to be heard.