Preview: Upcoming Sacramento theater

Labor Day may be the unofficial beginning of fall film and TV season, but theater is a year-round thing in Sacramento. Here are five upcoming plays—both amateur and professional—to look forward to as the summer heat fades.

Between Riverside and Crazy (Aug. 30-Sept. 29)

The 2015 Pulitzer Prize winner by Stephen Adly Guirgis opened Saturday at Capital Stage. An ex-cop and recent widower (played by James Wheatley) whose newly paroled son Junior arrives at precisely the wrong time is only part of “Pops” Washington’s problems. The landlord wants him out of his rent-stabilized apartment, the liquor store has closed and the church is on him, too. The play kicks off the theater’s 15th anniversary season, titled “Going Home.” $25-$49. Capital Stage, 2215 J St.; (916) 995-5464; capstage.org.

A Stand-Up Guy (Sept. 9-Oct. 20)

Comedian, actor and playwright Jack Gallagher has shared much of his life through his one-man shows at B Street Theatre: His (bad) experience as star of a network TV series, his relationship with his father (and his own experience as a father), plus the dark days recuperating from a horrendous bicycle accident. In this life installment, his son Declan, who was sometimes reluctant to be a part of Gallagher’s stories, collaborates as Gallagher discusses what lead him to all that other stuff: his career as a stand-up comic. $28-$47. B Street Theatre at the Sofia, 2700 Capitol Ave.; (916) 443-5300; bstreettheatre.org.

Skeleton Crew (Sept. 27-Oct. 26)

Written by Dominique Morisseau, a 2018 MacArthur “genius award” winner, Skeleton Crew is the concluding chapter in her three-play Detroit Project. Set in the Motor City at one of its last, struggling auto-stamping plants, the play deals with emotional and financial crises as workers face ruin. The play also considers the plight of the plant manager, torn between loyalty to his workers and obligations to plant owners. Big Idea Theatre, 1616 Del Paso Blvd.; (916) 960-3036; bigideatheatre.org.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Oct. 4-Oct. 20)

City Theatre’s first production this season is based on the novel by Mark Haddon. Christopher, a 15-year-old who is autistic and a math whiz, is falsely accused of killing a neighbor’s dog. When he turns detective to find the “real killer,” he learns much more than he wants to know about life, love, family and deceit. $10-$18. City Theatre at Sacramento City College Performing Arts Center, 3835 Freeport Boulevard; (916) 558-2228; citytheatre.net.

Northanger Abbey (Oct. 2-Oct. 27)

In this world premiere adaptation of Jane Austen’s first written (and last published) novel, Austen herself appears as a character. You can expect all the usual girlish infatuation, romance and humor of Austen’s other works, with a whiff of satire. Sacramento actor and playwright Carissa Meagher (you may have seen her in Anna Karenina at Capital Stage or in By the Bog of Cats at Ray Tatar's California Stage) did the adaptation. Sacramento Theatre Company, 1419 H Street; (916) 443-6722; sactheatre.org.