The Altarena Playhouse recently opened a holiday tale featuring one of the most twisted family dynamics imaginable. James Goldman’s “The Lion in Winter” features the warring Plantagenet family gathering for the Christmas holidays as the king attempts to secure the succession to the throne.

Set during Christmas 1183, King Henry II (Daron Jennings) and his surviving sons John (Dominic Antonich), Geoffrey (Julian Dion) and Richard (Colin Epstein) meet with Henry’s estranged wife Queen Eleanor (Katina Psihos). Imprisoned by Henry for the past 10 years, Eleanor only joins the family during holidays. It seems Henry was not amused when she raised an army against him.

Joining the group are King Philip of France (Ryan Chu) and his half-sister Alais (Sydney Harmon), who has been at Henry’s court since her betrothal to Richard when she was only 6 years old. During her time at court, she has become Henry’s mistress, which makes for some interesting dinner conversations.

“The Lion in Winter” continues through Nov. 22 at 1409 High St. in Alameda. For tickets, call 510-523-1553 or go to altarena.org.

Castro Valley: A birthday celebration quickly turns into a test of survival in Richard Fouts’ “First Day in December,” running Nov. 6-22 at Chanticleers Theatre on 3683 Quail Ave.

It’s Dec. 1, 1969, and young men in an Ivy League fraternity watch the live Vietnam draft lottery on national TV. Lifelong friendships threaten to dissolve under the stress as birthdates are drawn and lottery draft numbers assigned.

Ten percent of ticket sales will be donated to VFW Post 9601 and The American Legion Post 649.

For tickets, call 510-733-5483 or go to onthestage.tickets/chanticleers-theatre.

Walnut Creek: Concord native John Landini returns to his roots with a cornucopia of dance artists to premiere his new work inspired by bluegrass music and Americana.

“We Build Cathedrals,” by Landini and Beatrice Thomas, premieres Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts on 1601 Civic Drive.

Landini had been working with dance artists for several decades in San Francisco – first establishing The Garage for freelance contemporary dance and then in 2007 the SAFEhouse for the Performing Arts. Following the recent closure of SAFEhouse, Landini decided it was time to work outside the city.

“San Francisco has become a really challenging place to produce work, so it also feels like a good time to look at other places and find new audiences. I’m really happy this opportunity in Walnut Creek came along,” said Landini.

Landini grew up in Concord, earned his bachelor in choreography from UC Irvine and his masters degree in choreography from the Laban Centre in London. His work has been presented in California, Mexico City and London and he has been honored for Sustained Achievement by the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards.

The November program includes the exciting return of Moving Arts Dance after a 15-year absence. The prominent company toured internationally and participated in Dance Without Borders cultural exchange tours supported by the U.S. Embassy and UNESCO before retiring in 2011.

Moving Arts Artistic Director Anandha Ray is thrilled to be working with Landini again. She reunited Moving Arts in Paris this past Sunday for a special concert honoring longtime international presenter Susana B. Williams. It was to be a one-time thing until Landini called her.

“Joe is a dear friend of mine and he presented Moving Arts years ago,” said Ray. “So, when he offered us the opportunity to perform in Walnut Creek right after we came home from Paris, I jumped at it.”

For tickets to “We Build Cathedrals,” call 925-943-7469 or go to lesherartscenter.org.

S.F.: The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) has partnered with Seattle Rep and Center Theatre Group to bring Kimberly Bellflower’s “John Proctor is the Villain,” an electrifying coming-of-age play, to A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater on 415 Geary St. in San Francisco from Nov. 12 through Dec. 6.

A 2025 Tony nominee for Best Play, “John Proctor is the Villain” takes place in a high school AP English class in a small town in Georgia. Here, five young women question the stories and heroes they’ve been told to believe in. As their class discusses Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” they reexamine the traditional view of John Proctor as a heroic figure and why the perspective of the young female characters is pushed aside. With real-world misconduct allegations circulating in their own world, the students confront the power dynamics around them and write their own coming-of-age stories.

“Kimberly Bellflower has created a fiercely funny and deeply moving story about young people finding their voices, questioning the narratives they’ve inherited and discovering the power they have to challenge them,” said A.C.T. Acting Artistic Director Andy Chan Donald.

Director Jess McLeod said: “Kimberly’s language is so visceral; her characters are instantly recognizable; and their world is brilliantly rendered, giving us young people – especially young women – in all their messy glory.”

Call 415-749-2228 or go to act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/john-proctor-is-the-villain.

Reach Sally Hogarty at sallyhogarty@gmail.com, and read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.