The Pear has gone through a lot of change past few years, needless to say COVID was a tough time…read more They have a new artistic Director, the new season looks promising. The 2025 Annual production of Pear Slices (short original plays written by local playwrights) was fantastic. The upcoming season looks really interesting. The theater is just off of 101 / Shoreline, plenty of free parking. Thepear.org

It's incredible how much things can change. I used to love this theater -- in fact, I gave it a…read more5-star review six years ago. Unfortunately, my recent experience was a real disappointment. While the actors were talented and delivered strong performances, they didn't seem well-matched to the roles they were cast in, which made it harder to connect with the story. More importantly, I came to see a Shakespeare play, but was disheartened by the insertion of modern political messaging that felt out of place and unnecessarily polarizing. Sadly, this no longer feels like the theater I once enjoyed. I won't be returning.

I honestly had no idea this theater even existed, but apparently it's attached to Wilcox high…read moreschool. It comes up really fast on your GPS so be careful when you go through the light but you basically turn right into the parking lot. There was not much parking, considering the show was sold out to see the descendants, so I heard some people had to park farther away in the neighborhood and walk in. Once you walk in, there's an open auditorium theater or open area where you could buy snacks and get candid pictures with the cast. As I walked further down the hallway to my seat, I noticed how lit everything was and organized and clean. Everything was set up. The rose were pretty so I'm glad I'm only 5'2" tall, but a 6 foot tall person would probably have some issues sitting in these chairs. This particular production had an issue with their in the second half of the show, but I was sitting close enough. I could still actually hear them sing without their mics on. I'm not too sure how many people this theater seats, but there were a lot and somebody's told me they were sitting in the back yesterday and that's why they got tickets for today's show. They wanted to sit up close! Lol. Production can't wait to see my niece perform next year as they do Alice in Wonderland!

I attended a musical performance here and the acoustics here are wonderful. The 300+ seats are…read morecomfy and slightly elevated so that everyone can get a look at the stage. There is also room for overflow on each side as well as in the back. They have ample parking as well as street parking available.

Outstanding Mariachi!!! They provide great value and lots of fun!!…read more They know many of the traditional Mariachi songs by Vicente Fernandez, Linda Rondstad, to name a few! Great job!!

We booked Mariachi Sol y Luna for our wedding in Salinas on October 26th, 2019. I was so excited to…read morehave a mariachi and they did not disappoint! We enjoyed having dinner with the mariachi playing and our guests loved it too. Perfect music to have before the DJ! Muchas gracias Mariachi sol Y luna!

We saw "Come From Away" on 5/9/2026 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Not only…read morewas the performance fantastic, parking was easy to find and free. The staff was extremely helpful in finding options for a comfortable, accessible set for me. Thank you! We are looking forward to seeing upcoming shows.

I recently looked online for tickets to a show at the Mountain View Center. I didn't purchase the…read moretickets at the time since I had questions that I needed answered from the box office. In the 2 days that I delayed purchasing, the price of tickets changed from $69 to $79. For me this represented paying an extra $40 since I was buying 4 tickets! There was no advance warning that this was going to happen and when I spoke to the box office they were not interested in honoring the original price I'd seen. Very disappointing.

My daughter has been with SingOut Theater throughout this entire year. She auditioned in to the…read morekids competition and performed 'Junglebook' with her team in Sacramento. An intense, exciting time! They won an award for choreography at JTF West! She also did Triple Threat and High school Musical this summer. So to say the least, We Are FANs! We feel so lucky to have Chelsea teaching our daughter! A lovely personality and mentor, a highly skilled dancer and choreographer, a patient and kind Director. The Music Director Kevin warmly and patiently builds the student's musical understanding and performances. His contribution keeps musical standards high and performances enjoyable. The Business Director/Producer Rachel adds the no nonsense behind the scenes taking care of business ballast for all this creativity. We are grateful for her expertise to keep SingOut thriving. My daughter is attending a performing arts school in the fall. We will still be attending Tue/Thurs Musical Theater at SingOut. It is top notch and she loves it!

There is something confusing about the discussions regarding the Diablo Light Opera Co & Diablo…read moreTheater Company. They were one and the same. Originally named DLOC in 1959 when they formed a company performing Gilbert & Sullivan Light Operas. Eventually they changed the name to Diablo Theater Co. They had a youth program called STARS 2000, which continues to this day to operate. Diablo Theater Co. that use to produce large scale Musicals & Light Opera productions at the Lesher Center For The Arts in Walnut Creek, is no longer in business. STARS 2000 continues as their own company. There is no other youth program that is under the auspices of the Diablo Theater Co. and in fact their studios were sold and are under the ownership of Performing Arts Academy.

El Capitan in Yosemite? No the one in Sunnyvale at Fremont High School's Shannon Theatre…read more The Lyric Theatre through its Discovery Series, was presenting John Philip Sousa's "El Capitan" , first performed in 1896, and hasn't been performed in Northern California in maybe a century. The play was performed at Fremont High School's Shannon Theatre in Sunnyvale, about a mile from my house -the main reason for going there! It's a Saturday night, and we arrive at 7:15pm, 45 minutes before show time, to the staff parking lot, almost full with cars from the 35 member Orchestra, and the numerous people involved in the production of the play. Those who arrive too late, will have to go around the block, and park in the student's parking lot, some 200 yards away. Sign on the door says seating capacity 324, so you know this is going to be a small theatre. Most of the seats on the two aisles are taken, and it doesn't take long to see why. The seats are designed for high school students. Now when I attended Berkeley High School in 1966-1969, I was 40 pounds lighter, and had a waistline 8 inches smaller. Let's just say these seats were a bit too cozy. You had to stand up, to let people pass by in the same row. Carpeted aisles, with a gentle slope. Non staggered seating -the head of the person in front of you will block your view of the stage. Seat next to my wife is empty, until someone moves from a seat with a view obstructed by a tall person directly in front. Balcony area taken up with lighting fixtures. The first few rows are below stage level, so you are looking upwards. There is no room for the orchestra except on the stage, and there are 35 people playing in the orchestra, taking up 80% of the stage area. Decent orchestra music. The costumes for the actors are pretty plain, considering this takes place in 18th century Peru, with Spanish knights in shining armor, and very exuberant costumes of the day. Many of the main actors read their lines from electronic tablets or small paper notebooks. At $26 per adult, I expected better. Persons under 18 paid $10, but few of them in the audience, despite the give away price. Two intermissions, and every one runs out the door to get relief from the suffocating heat -no air conditioning, and no air movement, in late July. Long line at the single drinking fountain. 324 people and two bathrooms, one for each gender, each with 2 toilets, or 1 toilet and 1 urinal, or 1 toilet per 81 persons -not up to airline standards, let alone army standards! Overhead lighting with words in clear English, translated from the heavy opera type songs. At the end of the play, we make a quick getaway to our car, parked facing outwards, and out of the parking lot in record time. Others in the student parking lot, have a 4 minute+ walk to their cars. Remind me never to attend a show at a high school again, and now we know why "El Capitan" hasn't been performed in Northern California in a century. Good music, but it won't be missed! .

Wife got two free tickets to this performance by Rhiannon Giddens. Who? Checked on the internet…read moreand thought she sounded decent on YouTube videos. Only problem was that it was Friday at 730pm at the Louis B Mayer theater, as in Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Wife bought the tickets expecting me to drive all that way in rush hour traffic, and find the theater at night in unfamiliar surroundings? Yes. Why do you think she married me? Left our house in Sunnyvale at 6:15pm, and 7 miles, 40 minutes and 30+ traffic signals on El Camino Real reached Santa Clara University. LBM theater address is 500 El Camino Real, but that's the address for the whole Santa Clara University. The theater is on the opposite end of the campus, at least a half mile from El Camino Real. All nearby street parking taken, with on campus street parking restricted to vehicles with SCU parking permits. The central parking garage is located near the stadium, but that was completely across campus. Closer parking garage at the corner of Alviso and Franklin St. Take El Camino Real, right on Lafayette, left on Franklin. Took 10 minutes of DWA to find it, at night. Only spaces near the garage entrance are compact spots. Backed into a compact spot, so named as next to a concrete wall. So you are pulling out blind. $5 to park, with you having to enter your license plate number on the receipt. Guess this is to prevent cheapskates from loaning the ticket to a friend for reuse. Parking free after 8pm, but wouldn't you know it, but the show starts at 7:30pm. 5 minute walk from the 4 story parking garage to the theater, the entrance of which is not visible from the street. The usual bag check at the entrance, with hand searches, just like at Disneyland. Sign says no food nor drinks permitted in theater. Ticket electronically scanned. Wife wisely goes to the bathroom before the play starts. Inside a very modern theater, full house, with seating 395-525 depending on configuration, with movable seats up front. 20 rows of seats, two aisles, with stairs going down, and hand railings on the side. Stadium seating at the bleacher area, with your knees at head height of the people in front of you. Great panoramic viewing. Got to stand up to let people get by. One poor dude gets stuck behind a lady wearing a fedora hat the entire show. Francesco Turrisi plays the piano, drums and accordian, while Rhiannon Giddens plays the violin and the banjo. Bluegrass music, Irish ballad music, folk music, instrumentals, and Rhiannon singing. Rhiannon featured on Ken Burns country music, and performed for the Obamas at the White House. Her songs tell stories of historic black womanhood and survival. If it's good enough for Obama, it's good enough for me. Intermission the wife races to the bathrooms, while I take my time. Men's bathroom has 5 urinals and 2 toilets, with line backed up a dozen deep in no time. Women's restrooms have even longer lines. Assume 7 stalls for the women, or at 3 minutes per use, 49 women can be accommodated in the 20 minute intermission. The other 150 women are just going to have to hold it for the 2 hour performance, as the theater was designed for university students age 18-21 with strong bladders. Get back to my seat, just as the college age ladies behind me, remove their bare feet off the top of my seatback. Some people are still learning proper manners. End of the show, get back to the parking garage. Drive out just as the person next to me is backing out, hidden behind a concrete wall between us. Just did avoid meeting by accident, and no it was not an Asian woman driver!

Great small auditorium venue for comedy shows, drama and public speaking engagements. You can hear…read morethe stage and see well from pretty much any seating location in the place and it's a good venue as well for family events. Really nice!

We very much enjoyed the play "ELF" at a 2:00 pm Saturday matinee. The show was great, the cast was…read moreexcellent and the stage and props well-done. Everyone was engaging. The refreshments and cocktails were very good and reasonably priced. Well done Coastal Rep!

Consider seeing "Pajama Game" at the Coastal Repertory through August 17. The cast is pretty…read moretalented, especially Katie Francis (as Babe), whose rendition of "There Once was a Man" was outstanding..what a set of pipes that girl has!, and Alfredo Mendoza (as Vernon Hines) who provides great comic relief.