Theater doesn't really pick up again until the middle of January, but this week you have a chance to catch some pretty hot shows.

Lestat at the Curran Theatre
Goths everywhere, rejoice! They finally made a musical based on Anne Rice's vampire novels. Now, our gut feeling is that this will either totally rock or totally suck, so to speak. Here's why it could totally rock: Vampires are melodramatic, and musical theater is melodramatic, so it's a perfect marriage; pop musicians Elton John and Bernie Taupin penned the music--they're not the Sisters of Mercy, but then, they're not Rodgers and Hammerstein, either; and Dave McKean is the visual concept designer. Who better than the artist responsible for those kick-ass Sandman comic book covers, not to mention all his other great projects with Neil Gaiman, plus the recent film Mirrormask? Having McKean on the project lends that extra bit of goth legitimacy. After all, isn't Sandman's sister Death as cool if not cooler than Lestat? OK, enough of the goth geeking out. Here's why it could totally suck: Look at what happened with the film version of Interview with the Vampire. Tom Cruise? Tom Cruise? Let's hope the musical sticks to Anne Rice's vision. Like the Tony Award-winning Wicked, this is a pre-Broadway world premiere, right here in San Francisco.
Playing through January 29

Photo by Paul Kolnik: Hugh Panaro as Lestat.

Sexual Perversity in Chicago at the Geary Theater
You know how artists become parodies of themselves, like Woody Allen? Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet might not be that bad yet, but his name is synonymous with staccato foul language. In such cases, it's always enlightening to return to the artist's earlier work. Sexual Perversity in Chicago was written in the early 1970s, and is credited as the play that launched David Mamet as we know him today. Director Peter Riegert provides us a stronger link to the past: he starred in the off-Broadway world premiere nearly 30 years ago. With what is Mamet's now-signature sharp language and predatorial terrain, this play explores love sex and relationships as Bernard tries to ruin officemate Danny's new relationship with Deborah. Says Riegert, "Though this piece is a snapshot of a specific period and place (Chicago in the 1970s), the play is as biting and incisive today as it was when I first read and rehearsed it."
Playing January 5 through February 5

For more stage options, check out the listings at the Guardian, the Express, the SF Weekly, and the calendar on Theatre Bay Area's website.