Images out of focus when taking pictures in dark with my digital camera.?

I have a 7X optical zoom 7 MP digital camera that works very well for my usual use. Recently I wanted to take pictures of a small theatre in Seattle for my personal web page design work. The overhead stage lights were on, but I later realized the stage photos taken from the back seat location did not have sharp images. It simply didn't have the focus I wanted. I am using AUTO mode from my camera.

Could you tell me what I can do to get sharp images of the theatre stage in a relatively dark condition? Thanks a lot.

most point and shoot digi cams use a very low aperture around 4.5-5.6. low apertures allow for images to be taken in rather low light but they also have a very low depth of field. DOF is the range in which things are in focus at a particular focal length.
this is getting very technical but basically your camera can probably only focus to about 12 feet from where you're standing. auto focus only adds to the problem.
if you're light quality is ok (not too dark) then the only solution is to get closer.

Some digital cameras only focus to a certain field depth, depending on how far you are away from the stage you may need more ambient light to get the auto focus to work properly without getting "confused". The best thing to do if you can't adjust the lighting is to use manual focus so you can bypass the auto settings.

You are getting what is called "noise" from the lights.
This happens quite often.
Try taking your picture on the manual/raw setting.

you need to get a tripod and put the camera on manual and set the shutter speed a little lower, perhaps 60 or below. Also increase your aperature a little and that may make things clearer. Also, try to find the central lighting point of the shot. Don't focus on the brightest point or the darkest point. good luck!!