The Bay Area theater calendar is always stacked with exciting performances in and around San Francisco. We’ve taken a look ahead at the best plays, musicals, and performances coming up through 2024.
Read on for a thorough list of the most exciting upcoming San Francisco theater performances, as well as some Bay Area performances worth driving to.
Bay Area Broadway
1. BroadwaySF
BroadwaySF brings some of the biggest and most highly-anticipated Broadway shows to San Francisco every single year. They work out of the Orpheum Theatre and Golden Gate Theatre under The Ambassador Theatre Group.
Orpheum Theatre
- MJ: The Musical (Jan 30-Feb 25, 2024)
- Hairspray (Apr 16-21, 2024)
- Funny Girl (Apr 30-May 26, 2024)
- Company (June 5-29, 2024)
- Mrs. Doubtfire (July 2-28, 2024)
- Wicked (Aug 2024)
Golden Gate Theatre
- The Wiz (Jan 17-Feb 11, 2024)
- Girl from the North Country (July 30-Aug 18, 2024)
2. Broadway San Jose
For 15 years, Broadway San Jose has brought dozens of highly-anticipated Broadway shows to the 2,677-seat San Jose Center for the Performing Arts.
- Chicago (Feb 23-25, 2024)
- Mean Girls (March 19-24, 2024)
- Peter Pan (June 25-30, 2024)
- Disney’s Frozen (Aug 21-Sept 1, 2024)
More SF Bay Area theater companies
3. San Francisco Playhouse
SF Playhouse is a mid-size nonprofit theater company presenting shows mainly out of its 199-seat theater on Post Street. They present an Off-Broadway lineup of professional theater performances in a more intimate alternative to the Bay’s mainstream theater scene.
- Guys and Dolls (through Jan 13, 2024)
- My Home on the Moon (Jan 25-Feb 24, 2024)
- The 39 Steps (Mar 7-Apr 20, 2024)
- The Glass Menagerie (May 2-June 15, 2024)
- Evita (June 27 – Sept 7, 2024)
4. New Conservatory Theatre Center
SF’s nonprofit New Conservatory Theatre Center works to create high-quality productions and educational experiences for youth, artists, and queer and allied communities. They operate out of a theater at 25 Van Ness Ave in San Francisco.
- Unpacking in P’Town (Mar 1-31, 2024)
- The Tutor (Apr 5-May 11, 2024)
- Tick, tick… BOOM! (May 10-June 9, 2024)
5. American Conservatory Theater
American Conservatory Theater (ACT) is a Tony-winning nonprofit theater company drawing nearly 200,000 people annually to their high-quality productions. They generally operate out of Toni Rembe Theatre and the Strand Theatre near Union Square.
Toni Rembe Theatre
- Big Data (Feb 15-Mar 10, 2024)
- A Strange Loop (Apr 18-May 12, 2024)
- The Lehman Trilogy (May 25-June 23, 2024)
Strand Theatre
- Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord (Mar 30-May 5, 2024)
6. Magic Theatre
Fort Mason Center’s Magic Theatre is dedicated solely to the development and production of new plays, for which it has gained nationwide attention. The company’s reputation has a long legacy dating back to 1967, and they’ve operated out of SF’s Fort Mason Center since the ’70s.
- Dirty White Teslas Make Me Sad (Feb 28-Mar 17, 2024)
- Garuda’s Wing (June 5-23, 2024)
- Jerry Garcia in the Lower Mission (July 11-21, 2024)
- Richard II (Aug 21-Sept 8, 2024)
7. Berkeley Playhouse
Since 2007, Berkeley Playhouse has presented a lineup of mainstage and youth performances out of the 328-seat Julia Morgan Theater.
- Rent (Feb 23-Mar 31, 2024)
- Head Over Heels (May 24-June 30, 2024)
- Mean Girls (High School Edition) (July 13-21, 2024)
8. Brava Theater Center
Brava! for Women in the Arts is a professional arts organization that was created in 1987 to support and showcase the work of underrepresented artists, particularly women, LGBTQIA, people of color and youth. It counts with a thriving theater that organizes diverse and thought-provoking productions.
- We Call It Ballet (three dates in November and December)