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

For more than 20 years, the small but mighty Los Altos Stage Company has produced more than 100 plays and musicals centered on bringing quintessential American theater to the small suburb of Los Altos. Their family-friendly rendition of the Tony Award-winning musical Into the Woods is a holiday classic, playing off of the plotlines of fairy tales like Jack and the Beanstalk and Cinderella. An amalgamation of Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault classics, the musical begs the question: What happens after happily ever after? The show runs through Dec. 23.Into the Woods
Thu, 8pm, $20+
Bus Barn Theater, Los Altos

Anyone who has passed high school English knows the story. Facts are manipulated or fabricated outright, an unnervingly docile populace is endlessly tracked and surveilled through the use of personal electronic devices. This is the world George Orwell predicted back in 1949 with his seminal, then-science fiction work, 1984. Disillusioned with the Cold War and the human atrocities of the early 20th century, Orwell penned the novel as an illustration of a dystopia that could be. Los Altos Stage Company are looking to revisit Orwell’s classic story with a doubleplusgood stage adaption by Michael Gene Sullivan. The show runs through Feb. 18.

1984
Thu, Jan 25, 8pm, $20+
Bus Barn Theatre, Los Altos