Spooky season is coming into full swing and Sacramento’s theater companies are taking note with shows featuring supernatural terrors, real-world killers, epistemological concerns and stress taken to the breaking point.
Between stories rooted in real-world concerns and tales taking a turn toward the fantastical, playgoers of all tastes will find something to love on one of Sacramento’s stages this October.
“Between Riverside and Crazy”
Celebration Arts’ newest show, co-produced with Teatro Nagual, brings Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play to Sacramento. Walter “Pops” Washington is a retired New York City policeman and widower living in a rent-controlled apartment on Riverside Drive. The stress on Pops piles high; his son Junior has just been released from jail on parole, he’s pursuing a discrimination suit against the police department, his landlord wants him out and the church won’t leave him alone. Between old wounds, sketchy houseguests and a final ultimatum, the good old days might just be gone for good.
Venue: Celebration Arts, 2727 B St., Sacramento
Dates: Oct. 3-19
Cost: $27
Tickets: Celebration Arts – BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY
“Sanctuary City”
Celebrating their 50th anniversary season, Teatro Espejo is bringing a work by Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok to Fat Elephant Theatre. Two teens in post-9/11 New Jersey become sanctuaries from hard times and harsh circumstances for one another. When G becomes naturalized, she and B concoct a plan to get married and keep B in the country legally so he can pursue his dreams. But as time and complications continue on, this plan might destroy the relationship they valued.
Venue: Fat Elephant Theatre, 9845 Horn Rd #100, Sacramento
Dates: Oct. 10-26
Cost: $25
Tickets: www.fatelephanttheatre.com/box-office
“Dorothea Puente Tells All!”
On Nov. 11, 1988, police uncovered seven bodies buried in Dorothea Puente’s Sacramento yard. Now, the charismatic and often funny con artist has come back from the dead to Big Idea Theatre to tell the audience her version of events. Recounting the rise and fall of a crafty villain who believes the audience is on her side, “Dorothea Puente Tells All!” unravels the truth and shows the audience how vulnerable we can be to people who would exploit us if given the chance.
Venue: Big Idea Theatre, 1616 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento
Dates: Oct. 10 through Nov. 1
Cost: $20-25
Tickets: bigideatheatre.ludus.com/index.php?sections=events
“Eureka Day”
Capital Stage’s upcoming production is the Sacramento premiere of a 2025 Tony Award Winner. When a mumps outbreak hits the Eureka Day School in Berkeley, California, school leadership and the community at large are forced to wrangle with not just policy decisions but the idea of an objective reality. Eureka Day School is a bastion for progressive ideals like representation, acceptance and social justice. The school board, working to craft policy to preserve inclusivity, only reaches decisions by consensus. But when no one agrees on what the truth is, how can anyone build consensus?
Venue: Capital Stage, 2215 J St., Sacramento
Dates: Oct. 15 through Nov. 16
Cost: $20-25
Tickets: capstage.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/events/a0STV0000029JTh2AM
“Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula”
A duel between one of fiction’s greatest minds and one of its greatest monsters will be making its world premiere at the Chautauqua Playhouse this October. Penned by local author John E. Lee, “Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula” picks up Holmes’ story in 1894, three years after his perilous plunge at Reichenbach Falls. Now, Holmes and the loyal Dr. Watson must join with Van Helsing and others to put an end to the malicious machinations of the bloodthirsty count.
Venue: Chautauqua Playhouse, 5325 Engle Road #110, Carmichael
Dates: Oct. 17 through Nov. 9
Cost: $21-23
Tickets: secure.boxofficeavenue.com/Chautauqua/Home/ListShowings?aid=351
“Night of the Living Dead Live”
As the dead begin to roam, hungry for the flesh of those still bearing a pulse, six strangers hole up in a lonely farmhouse and try to hold out and survive — all in all, not the ideal way to spend a day. Rise Up Theatre is bringing the living dead to The Ooley Theatre this October in a fun — and funny — reimagining of George A. Romero’s iconic zombie film. Set in 1968, the show is presented in black and white, making it feel as though the film has sprung out of the screen and onto the stage. The play examines the film itself, the time it came from, and the indelible marks it has left on horror as a genre.
Venue: The Ooley Theatre, 2007 28th St., Sacramento
Dates: Oct. 17-31
Cost: $26
Tickets: www.onthestage.tickets/show/the-ooley-theatre/68b5cd7ab1c905103372148a/tickets#/productions-view
This story is part of the Solving Sacramento journalism collaborative. This story was funded by the City of Sacramento’s Arts and Creative Economy Journalism Grant to Solving Sacramento. Following our journalism code of ethics, the city had no editorial influence over this story. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, Capital Public Radio, Hmong Daily News, Outword, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review and Sacramento Observer. Sign up for our “Sac Art Pulse” newsletter here.
By Odin Rasco
