What a great idea! If local critics sing the praises of San Diego theater, well, that's just what they (we) do.

D. Candis Paule, president of the San Diego Performing Arts League, and Gary Kramer, executive director, have a better plan: come see for yourself.

From February 22 through February 28, the SDPAL will host “San Diego Theatre Week, 2016.” Thirty-seven participating organizations will offer discounts on tickets (20 percent or more) and concessions, special events, talkbacks with the cast, after-parties, and more.

And not just theater: “We include performances from the world of dance, music, and comedy as part of the week,” says Kramer.

The San Diego Performing Arts League acts as a liaison and advocate for arts organizations and runs the ArtsTix Center at downtown’s Westfield Plaza.

“I don’t know who thought of it first,” says Paule, “but Gary [Kramer] and I talked about it over a year ago and thought if anyone did it in SD it should be the Performing Arts League.”

“We started developing the idea last summer,” says Kramer.

They kicked ideas around and explored what other cities were offering — Chicago and Washington DC have a theater week, and New York has Broadway Week. They called a meeting of the theater companies in San Diego and, says Kramer, “they jumped at the idea.”

“SDPAL doesn’t charge a participation fee,” says Paule. “The organizations involved are getting a tremendous amount of media attention without having to spend anything.

“It is all about exposure to the incredible variety of arts San Diego has to offer. We know how much we have. But the average San Diegan might not. Here’s a chance for them to try something they might not have before, whether it be a venue or a discipline, and discover for themselves.”

Participating organizations

Different Stages, Duck Variations

Balboa Theatre, California Dreamin’

Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Choir, All ‘Bout the Blues

Broadway San Diego, The Book of Mormon

POWpac Poway’s Community Theatre, Private Eyes

SDSU School of Theatre, Television, and Film, The Drowsy Chaperone

North Coast Repertory Theatre, Now You See It

J*Company Youth Theatre, Annie Warbucks

La Jolla Playhouse, Guards at the Taj

STAR Repertory Theatre, Seussical, The Musical

Lamb’s Players Theatre, The Miracle Worker

Mesa College Theatre Company, Barefoot in the Park

Mojalet Dance Collective, Somebody Somewhere

National Comedy Theatre, improvisational comedy

New Village Arts, Emilie: La Marquise Du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight

Diversionary Theatre, Now or Later

Old Globe Theatre, The Metromaniacs; The Last Match

Lyceum Space, Waist/Watchers the Musical

OnStage Playhouse, Blithe Spirit

Young Actors’ Theatre, Snoopy!

Moxie Theatre, Brownsville sSong (b-side for tray)

PGK Dance Project, Mashed up Songs & Dances

Visionary Dance Theatre, The Taylor Smith Project

Intrepid Theatre Company, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Three Days of Rain

Point Loma Playhouse, Circle Mirror Transformation

SDSD School of Music and Dance, Mozart Requium

San Diego Junior Theatre, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Ion Theatre, The Jacksonian

San Diego Repertory Theatre, R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe

Fruitless Moon Theatreworks, Waiting for Godot

San Diego Symphony, Symphonie Fantyastique

Scripps Ranch Theatre, Skin Deep

UC San Diego Department of Theatre and Dance, The Venetian Twins

Vantage Theatre, Rasheeda Speaking

Welk Resort Theatre, Fiddler on the Roof

For information: SanDiegoTheatreWeek.com