Download Season 23 Press Release

Fellow Traveler,

The Pear is once again preparing to redefine South Bay theatre for what is perhaps our most important and adventurous season yet. Stories you know and people you’ve heard of - presented in ways you’ve never seen before. The daring. The defiant. The dazzling. And YOU - an integral part of it all.

Will you BE TRANSPORTED with us in Season 23?

This season will be everything that you know and love about The Pear taken to the next level. And we need your help now more than ever.

• MAKE IT CLEAR that you love the unique theatrical experiences that you have – time after time – at The Pear.

• PROVE that The Pear is a vital part of the artistic community of the South Bay.

• HELP US transport you to seven new mainstage adventures and countless community events.

Be part of a journey that will ignite your passions, challenge your perspectives, and leave you breathless with the sheer force of the human spirit, in all its glorious, messy, undeniable power.

It’s time to be transported.

AUG. 9 - 25, 2024
The Black Experience Festival
Co-produced by The Breath Project and The Pear Theatre

LEARN MORE HERE!

Join us for a three-week immersive journey into the multifaceted realities of Black life in America. Through impactful theatre productions, insightful talks, and interactive workshops, this festival seeks to ignite important conversations, challenge perspectives, and foster a deeper understanding of the Black experience, both its enduring struggles and its vibrant resilience.

Crawfish by Gamal Abdel Chasten | AUG. 9 - 24
On September 11th, 2020 Cristofer Cruz (Crawfish) tells his story. It chronicles his journey from being a New Orleans homeowner pre-hurricane Katrina to eventually becoming a homeless resident of the Bay Area. An account synonymous with the issues of homelessness, gentrification and global warming. GET TICKETS!

NEW FESTIVAL ADDITION!
Pass Over by Antoinette Nwandu | AUG. 10 - 25
Moses and Kitch stand around on the corner – talking shit, passing the time, and hoping that maybe today will be different. As they dream of their promised land, a stranger wanders into their space with his own agenda and derails their plans. Emotional and lyrical, Pass Over crafts everyday profanities into poetic and humorous riffs, exposing the unquestionable human spirit of young men stuck in a cycle just looking for a way out. A provocative riff on Waiting for Godot, Pass Over is a rare piece of politically charged theater by a bold new American voice. GET TICKETS!

SEPT. 13 - OCT. 13, 2024

Be transported to an isle pulsating with passion, young love and fantastically fusing folkloric and Broadway beats.

Once on This Island
by Lynn Ahrens | Music by Stephen Flaherty

Ti Moune, a peasant girl, rescues Daniel, a wealthy boy from the other side of the island, with whom she falls in love. Unbeknownst to Ti Moune, the pompous gods who preside over the island make a bet with one another over which is stronger - love or death. The stakes? Ti Moune's life.

Directed by Sinjin Jones.

Tony Award® Nominee
Best Musical | 1991
Best Book of a Musical | 1991

Tony Award® Winner
Best Revival of a Musical | 2017

“… a joyous marriage of the slick and the folkloric, of the hard-nosed sophistication of Broadway musical theater and the indigenous culture of a tropical isle… [you are] likely to emerge from the theater ready to dance down the street.” – The New York Times

NOV. 22 - DEC. 15, 2024

Be transported to an historical era testing the riveting bond between two powerhouse political revolutionaries.

The Agitators
by Mat Smart

The Agitators tells of the enduring but tempestuous friendship of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. Great allies? Yes. And at times, great adversaries. Young abolitionists when they met in Rochester in the 1840s, they were full of hopes, dreams, and a common purpose. As they grew to become the cultural icons we know today, their movements collided and their friendship was severely tested.

This is the story of that forty-five year friendship: from its beginning in Rochester, through a civil war, and to the highest halls of government. They agitated the nation, they agitated each other, and, in doing so, they helped shape the Constitution and the course of American history.

Directed by Kerry Gudjohnsen.

“…a compelling portrait of two flawed but inspiring agents of change.” – Pioneer Press

IN REPERTORY | FEB. 21 - MAR. 16, 2025

Be transported to worlds where deities and Death descend and dish out laughs.

The Gods of Comedy
by Ken Ludwig

Daphne and Ralph are young classics professors who have just made a discovery that is sure to turn them into academic superstars. But something goes disastrously wrong, and Daphne cries out in a panic, "Save me, gods of ancient Greece!" And the gods actually appear! The Ivy League will never be the same as a pair of screwball deities encounters the carnal complexity of college coeds, campus capers, and conspicuous consumption.

Directed by John R. Lewis.

“A charming, clever comedy!” – Phindie.com
"A very funny, Mel-Brooksian romp through academia, Greek mythology, and personal empowerment." – Broadway Street Review

IN REPERTORY | APR. 18 - MAY 11, 2025

Be transported to eras where worlds collide, the cunning thrive and only the ambitious survive.

Henry V
by William Shakespeare

After an insult from the French Dauphin, King Henry V of England invades France to claim the throne he believes should be his. Henry stops an assassination plot, gives powerful speeches, and wins battles against the odds. In the end, he woos and marries the Princess of France, linking the two nations.

Directed by Kevin Hammond.

JUN. 27 - JUL. 20, 2025

Be transported to a multiverse where love, science and tragedy align in unpredictable ways.

Constellations
by Nick Payne

Roland, a bee keeper, and Marianne, a theoretical physicist, meet at a party. In that single moment, an unfathomable multitude of possibilities unfold. Their chance meeting might blossom into a meaningful relationship or a brief affair - it might lead to nothing at all. What happens next defies the boundaries of the world we think we know—delving into the infinite possibilities of their relationship and raising questions about the difference between choice and destiny.

Directed by Reed Flores.

“Who knew that higher physics could be so sexy, so accessible—and so emotionally devastating? This story of parallel universes is universal in every sense of the word.”– The New York Times

In collaboration with BootStrap Theater Foundation!

Penelope, a music-theater piece, begins with a woman’s husband appearing at her door after an absence of 20 years, suffering from brain damage. A veteran of a modern war, he doesn’t know who he is and she doesn’t know who he’s become. While they wait together for his return to himself, she reads him The Odyssey, and in the journey of that book, she finds a way into her former husband’s memory and the terror and trauma of war.

Written & Performed by Ellen McLaughlin
Directed by Lisa Rothe
Accompanied by Ives Collective String Quartet
Composed by Sarah Kirkland Snider

“Ellen McLaughlin is one of America’s most brilliant actresses... she unfolds a story in absolute grace and brilliance until you feel your own soul very raw yet luminous.” - Red Hen Review

“Penelope is a gorgeous piece of music, but it is more -- it is also a hauntingly vivid psychological portrait, one that explores a dark scenario with a light, almost quizzical touch, finding poetic resonances everywhere.” - Pitchfork Review

“Penelope may be the best thing to happen to Homer since Joyce.” - A Fool in the Forest