Last Year me and Dimple caught a play by the Arts Dept at Santa Clara University. It was a collection of short stories actually. Tickets were relatively cheap (10$ I think). Seating was assigned. The Arts at SCU does various programs throughout the year. Some are free and some have a small fee. Its a good different kind of outing. Other universities in our area may have similar programs.
Here are the upcoming events from the Arts at Santa Clara University : http://scupresents.org/