What’s on stage in January
Performances coming to San Diego this month include Dear Evan Hansen, The Humans, A Chorus Line, Shen Yun, and Martha Graham Dance Company.
Through 1.12: “Dear Evan Hansen”
A misunderstood letter, family troubles and teenage angst drive this touring Broadway hit, with songs by Oscar and Tony winners Pasek & Paul.
Broadway/San Diego, downtown. broadwaysd.com
1.3: “Boozin’ With the Bard: A Midsummer Night’s Dream!”
Shakespeare meets cocktail shakers as New Match Collective’s actors summon the spirit of Midsummer with help from some serious spirits.
Amplified Ale Works, East Village. newmatchcollective.wixsite.com/homesite
1.8-2.2: “Bloomsday”
Named for the annual celebration of the great Irish writer James Joyce, Steven Dietz’s play is a time-hopping, Joyce-invoking exploration of romance spanning more than three decades.
North Coast Repertory Theatre, Solana Beach, northcoastrep.org
1.9-2.2: “The Humans”
Stephen Karam’s darkly comic play, a Tony Award winner, probes the story of an Irish-American family whose Thanksgiving reunion ignites into conflict.
San Diego Rep, downtown. sdrep.org
1.10-12: “The Maids”
The nomadic Nervous Theatre transits through San Diego with its touring production of Jean Genet’s provocative classic about a pair of maids who role-play a murder plot.
Nervous Theatre at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center, downtown, nervoustheatre.com/the-maids
1.10-2.16: “Babette’s Feast”
After an earlier postponement, Lamb’s puts up the stage adaptation of Isak Dinesen’s short story (which also inspired an Oscar-winning 1987 movie); the piece focuses on a French refugee who transforms a Norwegian village with help from a bountiful feast.
Lamb’s Players Theatre, Coronado, lambsplayers.org
1.10-3.22: “A Chorus Line”
The 1970s-vintage “singular sensation” of a musical gets its kicks again with this revival of the piece about big Broadway dreams.
@ Welk Resorts Theatre, Escondido. sandiegotickets.welkresorts.com
1.17-21 and 1.24-26: “Shen Yun”
You’ve seen the leaflets; now check out the ubiquitous (and much-memed) show, which brings its large-scale tableaux of Chinese dance to greater San Diego twice this month, first to Escondido and then to downtown.
@ California Center for the Arts, Escondido and San Diego Civic Theatre, downtown. shenyun.com
1.18-2.23: “August Wilson’s Jitney”
This 1979 play by the late, great chronicler of African-American life returns to the Globe — a place with significant ties to Wilson — after finally hitting Broadway in 2017.
@ Old Globe Theatre, Balboa Park. theoldglobe.org
1.18-2.16: “Red Bike”
The acclaimed playwright and UC San Diego grad Caridad Svich penned this meditation on economic divides. Moxie calls it “wildly imaginative, physical and poetic.”
@ Moxie Theatre, Rolando District. moxietheatre.com
1.22: “Martha Graham Dance Company”
La Jolla Music Society celebrates the legacy of a modern dance great with a program that includes Graham’s works Diversion of Angels (1948) and Chronicle (1936).
@ San Diego Civic Theatre, downtown. ljms.org
1.22-2.16: “The Great Leap”
Cygnet stages the local premiere of the high-profile play by another nationally renowned UCSD playwriting grad, Lauren Yee. This one is partly inspired by her own dad’s adventures in the world of basketball.
Cygnet Theatre, Old Town. cygnettheatre.com
1.29-2.1: “Plays By Young Writers Festival”
The 35th edition of Playwright Project’s annual celebration of young dramatists — an event whose distinguished alumni include none other than Lauren Yee — will spotlight four new works chosen through a statewide competition.
Salvation Army’s Joan B. Kroc Theatre, Rolando District, playwrightsproject.org
1.30: “A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham”
The rising and wide-ranging young choreographer Abraham draws on his background in music and visual arts as well as dance for this set of works performed by his New York-based troupe.
ArtPower at the Balboa Theatre, Gaslamp Quarter. artpower.ucsd.edu
