There really is something special and captivating about an advice column. The anonymous format grants readers a view into things that are relatable, shocking, tragic or probably made up about their fellow human beings. Tiny Beautiful Things, adapted from a collection of writer Cheryl Strayed’s most memorable entries in her “Dear Sugar” column for early 2010s literary powerhouse The Rumpus, captures some of the magic of the most bizarre, tragic, hilarious and human moments that can only be relayed through an anonymous letter. Tiny Beautiful Things will be shown in a hybrid format, both in-person and livestream tickets are available.

Tiny Beautiful Things
Opens Thu, Various Times, $20+
Bus Barn Theatre, Los Altos

Driven from their homes by forces beyond their control, the working class are cloistered in tent cities—plagued by hunger, alcoholism and regularly harassed by local police. In many ways, the best banned book of 1939 resembles the Bay Area of 2019. Los Altos Stage Company presents Frank Galati’s adaptation of arguably the greatest of the Great American Novels—The Grapes of Wrath by Salinas author John Steinbeck. Follow the Joads as they flee their native Oklahoma and the devastation of the Dust Bowl in search of greener pastures out in California. Runs through May 5.

The Grapes of Wrath
Thu, 8pm, $20+
Bus Barn Theatre, Los Altos