List of theatres in San Francisco

This is a list of theatres and live performance venues in San Francisco, California.[1][2] For more information on theater in San Francisco, see Culture of San Francisco - Theater.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Theatres in San Francisco

Name Address Neighborhood Seats Notes
Alcazar Theatre 650 Geary Street Tenderloin 511
Bayfront Theatre Fort Mason Center home of BATS Improv
Bayview Opera House 4705 Third Street Bayview 300 [3]
Beverly Hills Playhouse of San Francisco 414 Mason Street Union Square theater and acting school
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 99 Grove Street Civic Center 7000
Bimbo's 365 Club 1025 Columbus Ave. North Beach music venue
Bindlestiff Studio 185 6th Street South of Market 80 Filipino American performing arts center[4]
Bottom of the Hill 1233 17th Street Potrero Hill music venue[5]
Brava Theatre Center 2781 24th Street Mission District 360 dedicated to the expression of women, people of color, youth, LGBTQ and others[6]
Brick and Mortar Music Hall 1710 Mission Street Mission District music venue[7]
Cartwright Hotel on Union Square Pacific Heights Room, 524 Sutter Street Union Square 80
Castro Theatre 429 Castro Street Castro District 1400 primarily a movie house, but also used for live special events[8][9]
Chancellor Hotel Theatre 433 Powell Street Union Square hosts the San Francisco Magic Parlor
The Chapel 777 Valencia Street Mission District music venue[10]
Club Fugazi 678 Green Street North Beach 400 formerly hosted Beach Blanket Babylon[11][12]
Cobb's Comedy Club 915 Columbus Ave. North Beach [13]
CounterPulse 80 Turk Street Tenderloin previously at 1310 Mission Street[14][15]
Cowell Theatre Fort Mason Center 437 venue for the New Pickle Circus[16]
Creativity Theater Children's Creativity Museum, 221 4th Street South of Market 200 formerly Zeum Theater, located in Yerba Buena Gardens
Custom Made Theatre 414 Mason Street Union Square 99 intimate setting for modern plays and musicals, previously at 533 Sutter Street
Curran Theatre 445 Geary Street Tenderloin
Dance Mission Theater 3316-24th Street Mission District
Diego Rivera Theatre City College of San Francisco, 50 Frida Kahlo Way Sunnyside home of the mural Pan American Unity by Diego Rivera[17]
Feinstein's at the Nikko 222 Mason Street Union Square music venue and nighclub
Fillmore Auditorium 1805 Geary Blvd. Fillmore District 1,315 music venue with standing room
Gateway Theatre 215 Jackson Street Embarcadero venue for the 42nd Street Moon, and frequent venue for Theatre Rhinoceros;[18] formerly the Eureka Theatre
Geary Theater 415 Geary Street Tenderloin venue for the American Conservatory Theater
Golden Gate Theatre 1 Taylor Street Tenderloin built in 1922, and once housed vaudeville acts; owned by SHN
Gough Street Playhouse 1620 Gough Street Cathedral Hill 50 venue for the Custom Made Theatre Co.[19]
Grace Cathedral 1100 California Street Nob Hill hosts concerts and events
Grand Theatre Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, 2665 Mission Street Mission District former movie theater, now used for live performances
Great American Music Hall 859 O'Farrell Street Little Saigon
Great Star Theater 636 Jackson Street Chinatown music and event venue; previously 55 Taylor Street, and 923 Market Street
Herbst Theatre San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center, 401 Van Ness Civic Center 928
The Independent 628 Divisadero Street music venue in the Harding Theater building
Intersection for the Arts 1446 Market Street Civic Center established in 1965, the oldest alternative non-profit art space in the city
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre 762 Fulton Street Western Addition African-American theatre
Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center, 201 Van Ness Street Civic Center venue of the San Francisco Symphony
Joe Goode Annex Project Artaud, 401 Alabama Street Mission District [20]
Marines Memorial Theater 609 Sutter Street Lower Nob Hill
Marrakech Magic Theatre 419 O'Farrell Street Tenderloin featuring the magic of Peter Morrison
The Marsh 1062 Valencia Street Mission District specializes in developing new performances
Theatre at MCCLA Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Mission District 150 [21]
New Conservatory Theatre Center 25 Van Ness Ave. Civic Center
NOHSpace Project Artaud, 2840 Mariposa Street Mission District venue of Theatre of Yugen[22][23]
SF Masonic Auditorium 1111 California Street Nob Hill 3,481 formerly known as Grand Masonic Auditorium and Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium
Nourse Theater 275 Hayes Street Civic Center 1,693 venue of City Arts and Lectures[24]
Oasis 298 11th Street South of Market drag theater and cabaret[25]
ODC Theater 351 Shotwell Street Mission District dance performances
Orpheum Theatre 1192 Market Street Tenderloin 2,197 built in 1926 and owned by SHN
Palace of Fine Arts Theatre Palace of Fine Arts, 3301 Lyon Street Marina District originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, has since been rebuilt, renovated and seismically retrofitted[26]
Peña Pachamama 1630 Powell Street North Beach Bolivian restaurant and Latin dance shows
Phoenix Theatre 414 Mason Street Union Square two stages: the 6th Floor Theatre, and The Annex[27]
Presidio Theatre 99 Moraga Avenue Presidio [28]
Punch Line 444 Battery Street Financial District comedy club
Regency Center 1290 Sutter Street Lower Nob Hill 1,423 music venue with four stages; the main stage is the Regency Ballroom
Safehouse Arts 145 Eddy Street Tenderloin formerly known as SAFEhouseARTS[29]
San Francisco Conservatory of Music 50 Oak Street Civic Center includes three performance halls (Concert Hall, Recital Hall, and Osher Salon)
San Francisco Jazz Center 201 Franklin Street Hayes Valley
San Francisco Playhouse 450 Post Street Union Square 199 traveling theater company that performs political musicals[30]
South of Market Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street South of Market managed by SOMArts[31]
Strand Theater American Conservatory Theater, 1127 Market Street Civic Center [32]
Theatre du Lycée Français de San Francisco (TLF) Lycee Francais de San Francisco, 1201 Ortega Street Sunset District 325 [33]
Venetian Room Fairmont San Francisco Nob Hill venue for cabaret performances,[34] and where Tony Bennett first sang, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"[35]
Victoria Theatre 2961-16th Street Mission District plays, live concerts, film festivals, musicals, and other kinds of events
Walt Disney Family Museum Theater Presidio Main Post Presidio
The Warfield 982 Market Street Civic Center large music venue
War Memorial Opera House San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center, 301 Van Ness Street Civic Center venue of the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Ballet
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 701 Mission Street includes the Novelius/YBCA Theatre or Blue Shield of California Theater
Z Space Project Artaud, 450 Florida Stree Mission District home of the theatre company of the same name, with a main stage, and the smaller Z Below theater[36]

Former theatres

  • Amado's (c. 2015–2023), formerly known as Viracocha (2010–2015), 998 Valencia Street in the Mission District; Viracocha was an underground music venue, and Amado's was later a licensed venue[37][38]
  • Balancoire, 2565 Mission Street; restaurant, bar, club with live performances in the Mission District[39]
  • Center for Sex & Culture, 1349 Mission Street; hosted live theater and other events in South of Market[40]
  • The Dark Room Theatre (2008–2015), 2263 Mission Street[41]
  • El Capitan Theatre and Hotel, 2353 Mission Street; Mission District[42]
  • EXIT Theatre, 156 Eddy Street[43]
  • Grand Opera House (San Francisco)
  • The Hypnodrome (?–2017), 575 10th Street; once home of The Thrillpeddlers company[44]
  • Imperial Palace restaurant, 818 Washington Street; formerly hosted Tony n' Tina's Wedding in Chinatown[45]
  • Inner Mission theater and event space at 2050 Bryant Street in the Mission, home of Theater MadCap[46]
  • Kelly Cullen Community Auditorium, 220 Golden Gate Avenue; hosts productions by Theater of Others[47]
  • Market Street Cinema (1912–2013), 1077 Market Street[48][49]
  • Metro Theatre (1924–2006), 2055 Union Street[50]
  • Mojo Theatre, in the Redstone Building at 2940 16th Street, in the Mission District[51]
  • Northpoint Theatre (1967–1997), 2290 Powell Street in North Beach[52][53][54][55]
  • New Musical Theater of San Francisco, Inc., a non-profit that produced original musicals[56]
  • PianoFight, 144 Taylor Street[57]
  • Royce Gallery, 2901 Mariposa Street; historic warehouse performance venue in the Mission District[58]
  • Ruby Skye, 420 Mason Street; nightclub and special events venue, formerly the Stage Door Theatre[59]
  • Stage Werx Theatre, 446 Valencia Street, Mission District theatre hosts live performances, comedy, solo performance, music, and movies[60][61]
  • Supperclub, 657 Harrison Street, South of Market[62]
  • Teatro ZinZanni, cirque, comedy, and cabaret theater; without a venue, but seeking to return to the San Francisco waterfront[63]
  • Theatre 39 at Pier 39, Beach Street at Embarcadero[64]
  • Tides Theatre, 533 Sutter Street, 2nd floor; 99-seat theater in Union Square[65]
  • Un-Scripted Theater Company, 533 Sutter Street, 2nd floor; 49-seat improv theater in Union Square[66]
  • Variety Preview Room (or The Preview Room), Hobart Building at 582 Market Street
  • Yoshi's San Francisco, jazz club at 1330 Fillmore Street[67]

See also

References

  1. ^ "SF Gate Events". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  2. ^ "Theatre Bay Area Event Listings". Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  3. ^ Brooks, Jack (October 1981). Front row center: a guide to northern California theatres. 101 Productions. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-89286-193-4.
  4. ^ Ramos, Alex (June 15, 2022). "S.F.'s Bindlestiff Studio explores Filipino American identity through food". Datebook, The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  5. ^ Jessie Schiewe (March 15, 2017). "Bottom of the Hill. Gigging alone at the Bottom of the Hill". San Francisco Weekly.
  6. ^ Parks, Shoshi (2017-06-29). "Brava! For Women in the Arts". Time Out San Francisco. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  7. ^ Williams, Kale (August 19, 2013). "Brick & Mortar Music Hall sounds off". SFGATE. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  8. ^ Vaziri, Aidin. "Castro Theatre to go dark for at least a year. Here's the last day to watch a show". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  9. ^ "A look inside SF's historic Castro Theatre before $15M 'face-lift' slated to take 1.5 years". ABC7 San Francisco. 2024-02-03. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  10. ^ Pehling, Dave (2022-09-03). "Beloved San Francisco venue the Chapel marks 10 anniversary with special shows". CBS San Francisco. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  11. ^ Janiak, Lily (2019-12-23). "SF treasure 'Beach Blanket Babylon' to close after 45 years". The San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco, CA.
  12. ^ Earle, Anitra (June 19, 1974) [First published June 19, 1974]. "First 'Beach Blanket Babylon' review". The San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco.
  13. ^ Nina, G.; Patterson, O. J. (14 February 2022). Bay Area Stand-Up Comedy: A Humorous History. Arcadia. ISBN 978-1-4396-7446-8.
  14. ^ McCarthy, Allison (2013-11-22). "CounterPULSE Gets a New Home". 7x7 Bay Area. Archived from the original on 2021-06-06. Next December, CounterPULSE's lease at 1310 Mission Street will expire, leaving the 22-year-old experimental performing arts venue without a home. The worst case, and most likely scenario, subjects them to eviction or a dramatic (and unaffordable) rent increase—CP is located around the corner from the new Twitterplex, so one can only imagine how landlords would jack the cost. Fortunately, thanks to a progressive, charitable act, they will move into the landmark historical building at 80 Turk (that full-of-TL-flavor block between Taylor and Mason). The building dates back to 1922 and has gone through many incarnations over the decades, first as a gambling hall, then as the Buccaneer Tavern in the 1930s, the Gayety Theater (shown in B&W here) in the 1960s, and then the Dollhouse Theater porn palace until the early 90s when it fell into disrepair (and was likely used for illegal raves, as evidenced by international DJ tags on the basement walls).
  15. ^ Counterpulse Archived 2015-01-03 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ "San Francisco Gets A Peck Of Pickles". Playbill. December 10, 1996.
  17. ^ "New theatre building will house famous Diego Rivera mural in San Francisco". The Art Newspaper. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  18. ^ "The Gateway Theatre".
  19. ^ Gough Street Playhouse
  20. ^ Joe Goode Annex
  21. ^ Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
  22. ^ Eisenhart, Mary (December 12, 2012). "'A Minor Cycle' at NOHspace". SFGATE. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  23. ^ Janiak, Lily (December 11, 2022). "New company brings ancient aesthetics, modern twist in Kunoichi Productions' 'Never Mind'". Datebook, The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  24. ^ Sam Whiting (2013). "Nourse Auditorium Reborn As Theater". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  25. ^ "San Francisco names Oasis owner D'Arcy Drollinger as 1st Drag Laureate". ABC7 San Francisco. 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  26. ^ Palace of Fine Arts Archived 2014-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ Phoenix Theatre
  28. ^ "Home". presidiotheatre.org.
  29. ^ SAFEhouseARTS
  30. ^ San Francisco Playhouse
  31. ^ South of Market Cultural Center
  32. ^ Strand Theatre
  33. ^ "Home". theatrelfsf.com.
  34. ^ Bay Area Cabaret
  35. ^ "The Fairmont Hotel Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Tony Bennett's First Performance of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"". 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  36. ^ Parks, Shoshi (2017-07-05). "Z Space". Time Out San Francisco. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  37. ^ Gebel, Meira (2015-08-03). "Quirky Viracocha Appears to Have Closed Its Doors". Mission Local. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  38. ^ Hom, Annika (2023-11-30). "Amado's, Valencia bar and music venue, closes after 8 years". Mission Local. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  39. ^ "Neighborhood Notes: Goodbye Mission Street Sports Bar, hello Arena SF". Mission Local. 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  40. ^ Vainshtein, Annie (29 January 2019). "SF kink community grieves loss of Center for Sex and Culture". SFGate.
  41. ^ "Dark Room Theater in San Francisco". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  42. ^ Tillmany, Jack (2005). Theatres of San Francisco. Arcadia Publishing. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-7385-3020-8.
  43. ^ Janiak, Lily (October 20, 2022). "Say farewell to Exit Theatre's Eddy Street venue with 'Adventures in Place'". Datebook, The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  44. ^ Clement, Olivia (January 10, 2017). "San Francisco Thrillpeddlers Say Farewell to Longtime Home". Playbill.
  45. ^ Imperial Palace Archived 2015-01-07 at the Wayback Machine
  46. ^ Inner Mission Archived 2015-01-03 at the Wayback Machine
  47. ^ Kelly Cullen Community Auditorium
  48. ^ "Let's Break Down the History of the Market Street Cinema". Curbed SF.
  49. ^ Barmann, Jay (June 6, 2013). "What Will Become of the Historic, Quite Possibly Haunted, Market Street Cinema?". SFist. Archived from the original on 2015-11-01.
  50. ^ Tillmany, Jack (2005). Theatres of San Francisco. Arcadia Publishing. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-7385-3020-8.
  51. ^ Hurwitt, Sam (2019-06-27). "'Above Ground' spotlights the kind of new theater under threat in SF". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  52. ^ "Northpoint Theatre in San Francisco, CA". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  53. ^ Stein, Ruthe (11 July 1997). "Northpoint Theater To Close on July 31". SFGATE. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  54. ^ "San Francisco fell in love with 'Star Wars' weeks early 45 years ago". KCBS (AM). Audacy. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  55. ^ "Like a Dream: EMPIRE at the Northpoint". Star Wars at the Movies. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  56. ^ "About Our Company". Not Quite Opera. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  57. ^ Janiak, Lily (January 24, 2023). "PianoFight to shutter S.F. and Oakland venues in latest blow to Bay Area theater". Datebook, The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  58. ^ Eisenhart, Mary (November 25, 2010). "'Match' at Royce Gallery". SFGATE. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  59. ^ Rubenstein, Steve (March 16, 2017). "SF's Ruby Skye club to close and reopen anew — with bowling". SFGATE. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  60. ^ "Stage Werx Theatre". Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  61. ^ Lu, Xueer (2023-09-22). "Stage Werx closing, but space will remain a theater". Mission Local. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  62. ^ Fort, Ellen (2015-01-14). "After 10 Years, SOMA's Supperclub Gets Kicked Out of Bed". Eater SF. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  63. ^ Harmanci, Reyhan (2011-07-01). "Forced Move May Mean the End of Teatro ZinZanni". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  64. ^ "Theatre 39 at Pier 39". TheaterMania.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015.
  65. ^ "'Waiting for Godot' at Tides Theatre". The San Francisco Chronicle. January 22, 2012. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  66. ^ Hurwitt, Sam. "Improv making up for lost time". SFGATE. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  67. ^ Meline, Gabe (2015-01-13). "The Addition, Formerly Yoshi's in San Francisco, to Abruptly Close". KQED. Retrieved 2024-03-08.