A multitude of words could describe the gay male experience at age 50, but playwright and actor Joe Gulla thinks it can be distilled down to just one: faggy. Gulla makes his Bay Area debut with his one-man monologue show, which describes in vivid, often cringeworthy, detail the trials and tribulations of growing up Italian, Catholic and gay in the Bronx—and in the ’80s, no less. From the lifetime subscription to Playboy his father bought him at 14, to an almost-encounter with a prostitute that was offered to him as a birthday gift at 16, Gulla chronicles both the hilarity and emotion of his teenage years through poignant vignettes and passionate dialogue. Runs through Friday. (AS)

Faggy at 50
Thu, 8 pm, $15-42
Theatre on San Pedro Square, San Jose

Born deaf and blind in the 19th century, a young girl is pitied by a family with no idea how to care for her. Believed to be a lost cause, she grows feral with no way to communicate her emotions. That all changes when a determined young teacher finds a way to give the girl the power of language—bringing her out of the darkness and into the real world. It’s an inspirational American story of persistence, patience and human connection—based on the life of Helen Keller and her teacher, Annie Sullivan. The play runs through March 11. (SP)

The Miracle Worker
Fri, 8pm, $44
Theatre on San Pedro Square, San Jose

Students get detention for misbehaving. Anyone who’s seen The Breakfast Club knows that. But what happens to troublesome teachers? They too might wind up in a detention of their own. In the Tabard Theatre Company’s Evelyn in Purgatory, teacher Evelyn Reid is accused of misconduct by a failing student and finds herself holed up in a reassignment center where she waits for her case to be reviewed. The dramatic comedy is based on reportedly true tales of teacher “rubber rooms” formed by the NYC Department of Education. Runs through Jan. 28.

Evelyn in Purgatory
Fri, 8pm, $30+
Theatre on San Pedro Square, San Jose

Before Peter could fly and James Hook lost his hand to a clock-gobbling croc, there was a nameless 13-year-old orphan and a pirate with a propensity for malaprops. In Peter and the Starcatcher, we learn how Peter became an ageless wonder, how Black Stache became Captain Hook and about the age-old war between the forces of good and evil. Take a seat and prepare for high jinks on the high seas in this Tony Award-winning musical by Rick Elice. This Tabard Theatre Company production runs through Oct. 8.

Peter and the Starcatcher
Fri, 8pm, $35+
Theatre on San Pedro Square, San Jose

Keyboardist Robert Glasper was in San Jose with his band the Robert Glasper Experiment for two shows at Theatre on San Pedro Square for San Jose Jazz Winter Fest.

Metro photographer Aron Cooperman was there to catch the action.