New seasons: TheatreFIRST, Broadway by the Bay

TheaterFIRST, under the new artistic direction of Dylan Russell, has announced its 15th anniversary season, which will run from January to June 2009 and will include a staged reading series and a Harold Pinter revival.The season opens with a staged reading series from mid-January to mid-February. Plays and location still to be announced, but the readings will be at 2 p.m. Sundays.The centerpiece of the season is Pinter's Old Times featuring L. Peter Callender, a veteran Bay Area actor who last performed with TheatreFIRST in World Music. Old Times runs April 2 through May 3 at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley.Call 510-436-5085 or visit www.theatrefirst.com for information.San Mateo's Broadway by the Bay, under the leadership of artistic director Brooke Knight and executive director Jim Gardia, has also announced its new season -- its 44th -- which begins in April of 2009 and concludes the following November. Here's how the season shakes down:- Crazy for You, a revamped Gershwin musical, runs April 2-19.- The King and I, the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, dances July 16-Aug. 2- The Full Monty, a Broadway musical based on a spunky British film, disrobes Sept. 17-Oct. 4- Broadway Up Close and Personal: A Tribute to Cy Coleman, starring Jason Graae (right), runs Nov. 5-8Performances are in the San Mateo Performing Arts Center, 600 N. Delaware, San Mateo. Season subscriptions are $90-$152 until Nov. 16, when prices change to $100-$164. Single tickets also go on sale Nov. 16. Call 650-579-5565 or visit www.broadwaybythebay.org.