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theatres Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
and live performance venues in
San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. For more information on theater in San Francisco, see Culture of San Francisco - Theater.


Theatres in San Francisco

* Alcazar Theatre - 511-seat theater at 650 Geary Street *Balancoire - restaurant/bar/club with live performances, 22nd and Mission Streets in the Mission *
Bayview Opera House The Bayview Opera House, formerly known as South San Francisco Opera House, is a theatre at 4705 3rd Street in Bayview-Hunters Point district, San Francisco. Founded in 1888, it is reputed to be the oldest existing theatre in the city. From 2014 ...
- includes a 300-seat theater; at 4705 Third Street *
Beverly Hills Playhouse The Beverly Hills Playhouse is an acting school with theaters and training facilities in Beverly Hills, California, and also in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. It is one of the oldest acting schools and theatres in Los Angeles Cou ...
of San Francisco - theater and acting school at 414 Mason Street, Suite 502 in Union Square *
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (formerly San Francisco Civic Auditorium) is a multi-purpose arena in San Francisco, California, named after promoter Bill Graham. The arena holds 8,500 people. About the venue The auditorium was designed by ...
- seats 7000, at 99 Grove Street in the San Francisco Civic Center *
Bimbo's 365 Club Bimbo's 365 Club, also known as Bimbo's 365, is an entertainment club located at 1025 Columbus Avenue in San Francisco. It specializes in live rock and jazz shows. The location is one of San Francisco's oldest nightclub sites, and has operated un ...
- music venue at 1025 Columbus Avenue *Bindlestiff Studio - 80-seat Filipino American performing arts center at 185 6th Street *
Bottom of the Hill Bottom of the Hill is a concert venue located at the corner of 17th and Missouri streets in the Potrero Hill district of San Francisco, California According to ''Rolling Stone'', the Bottom of the Hill is the best place to hear live music in San F ...
- music venue at 1233 17th Street * Brava Theatre Center - 360-seat Main Stage and 60-seat Second Stage dedicated to "the artistic expression of women, people of color, youth, LGBTQ and other unheard voices," at 2781 24th Street in the Mission *
Brick and Mortar Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases ...
- music venue at 1710 Mission Street @ Duboce * Cartwright Hotel on Union Square - hosts Magian Productions in the 80-seat Pacific Heights Room, 524 Sutter Street *
Castro Theatre The Castro Theatre is a historic movie palace in San Francisco that became San Francisco Historic Landmark #100 in September 1976. Located at 429 Castro Street in the Castro District, it was built in 1922 with a California Churrigueresque faç ...
- 1400 seats, primarily a movie house, but also used for live special events, at 429 Castro Street * Center for Sex & Culture - hosts live theater and other events, 1349 Mission Street South of Market * Chancellor Hotel Theatre - hosts the San Francisco Magic Parlor at 433 Powell Street * The Chapel - music venue at 777 Valencia Street in the Mission *
Children's Creativity Museum The Children's Creativity Museum is an interactive museum for children aged 2-12 years, located in Yerba Buena Gardens, in San Francisco, California. It offers workshops and exhibits that allow children to produce their own media through various i ...
Theater (formerly Zeum Theater) - a 200-seat theater located in Yerba Buena Gardens, across from the Moscone Convention Center * Club Fugazi - 400-seat theater and nightclub at 678 Green Street that hosted
Beach Blanket Babylon ''Steve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon'' was the world's longest-running musical revue. The show began its run in 1974, at the Savoy Tivoli and later moved to the larger Club Fugazi in the North Beach district of San Francisco. The show was cr ...
*
Cobb's Comedy Club Cobb's Comedy Club is a stand-up comedy venue in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. It was founded in 1982 and has had many top comedians on its stage. History Chestnut Street Originally known at Cobb’s Pub, Cobb’s Comedy Club was op ...
- 915 Columbus Avenue * CounterPULSE - 80 Turk Street, previously at 1310 Mission Street * Custom Made Theatre - Intimate modern plays and musicals. 533 Sutter St - 99-seat theatre

/ref> *
Curran Theatre The Curran Theatre, located at 445 Geary Street between Taylor and Mason Streets in the Theatre District of San Francisco, California opened in February 1922, and was named after its first owner, Homer Curran. As of 2014, the theater is owned by ...
- off
Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...
; built in 1922 *
Dance Mission Theater Dance Mission Theater is a nonprofit performance venue and dance school located in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. The theatre is operated by Dance Brigade, a female dance troupe with a focus on social change. The theatre, kn ...
- 3316 24th Street in the Mission *The Dark Room Theatre - small theatre and event space in the Mission; 2263 Mission Street *
Diego Rivera Theatre Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. E ...
at
City College of San Francisco City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a public community college in San Francisco, California. Founded as a junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local role, annually enrolling as many as one in nine San Franci ...
- home of the mural ''
Pan American Unity ''Pan American Unity'' is a mural painted by Mexican artist and muralist Diego Rivera for the Art in Action exhibition at Treasure Island's Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) in San Francisco, California in 1940. This work was the cente ...
'' by
Diego Rivera Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...
; 50 Phelan Avenue *
EXIT Theatre EXIT Theatre is an alternative theater located at 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco, California, in the downtown Tenderloin neighborhood. The theater operates four storefront theaters and annually produces the San Francisco Fringe Festival, the seco ...
- an alternative theater in the downtown Tenderloin neighborhood; 156 Eddy Street * Feinstein's at the Nikko - 222 Mason Street * Fillmore Auditorium - historic music venue at Fillmore and Geary in the Western Addition *
Fort Mason Center Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California originated as a coastal defense site during the American Civil War. The nucleus of the property was owned by John C. Frémont and disputes over compensation by the United States continued into 1968. In ...
- former military base now housing the following theatres: **Bayfront Theatre - home of BATS Improv **Cowell Theatre - 437 seats **
Magic Theatre The Magic Theatre is a theatre company founded in 1967, presently based at the historic Fort Mason Center on San Francisco's northern waterfront. The Magic Theatre is well known and respected for its singular focus on the development and produc ...
- 159 seats **Southside Theatre - 160 seats * Gateway Theatre (formerly the Eureka Theatre) - home venue for
42nd Street Moon 42nd Street Moon is a professional theatre company in San Francisco, California. The company specializes in the preservation and presentation of early and lesser-known works by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, K ...
, and frequent venue for the LGBT company
Theatre Rhinoceros Theatre Rhinoceros or Theatre Rhino is a gay and lesbian theatre based in San Francisco. It was founded in the spring of 1977 by Lanny Baugniet (who became the theater's General Manager) and his partner Allan B. Estes, Jr. (who became the theater' ...
; 215 Jackson Street * Geary Theatre - home of
American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The Amer ...
company; 415 Geary Street *
Golden Gate Theatre The Golden Gate Theatre is a performance venue located at 1 Taylor Street at the corner of Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco, California. It opened in 1922 as a vaudeville house and later was a major movie theater. In the 1960s it boasted a Ci ...
- in the Tenderloin; built in 1922; once housed vaudeville acts; owned by SHN * Gough Street Playhouse - 50-seat home of the Custom Made Theatre Co.; 1620 Gough Street * Grace Cathedral - hosts concerts *
Great American Music Hall The Great American Music Hall is a concert hall in San Francisco, California. It is located on O'Farrell Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood on the same block as the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre. It is known for its decorative balconies ...
- historic concert hall at 859 O'Farrell Street * Great Star Theater - former movie theater, now used for live performances; 636 Jackson Street in Chinatown * Gray Area Foundation for the Arts / Grand Theater - former movie theater, now used for live performances; ::2665 Mission Street, previously 55 Taylor Street, and 923 Market Street *The Hypnodrome - 575 10th Street *Imperial Palace - restaurant featuring weekend production ''
Tony n' Tina's Wedding ''Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding'' is an "environmental/ immersive theatre" event based on a traditional Italian-American wedding and reception, with warm and intrusive stereotypes exaggerated for comic effect. Audience members are treated as guests at ...
''; 818 Washington Street in Chinatown *Independent - music venue at 628 Divisadero @ Grove *Inner Mission - theater and event space at 2050 Bryant Street in the Mission, home of Theater MadCap * Intersection for the Arts - established in 1965; the oldest alternative non-profit art space in San Francisco; new facility at 925 Mission Street *Kelly Cullen Community Auditorium - historic theater at 220 Golden Gate Avenue; hosts productions by Theater of Others *
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre is an African-American arts institution located in downtown San Francisco. It is named after Lorraine Hansberry, who wrote ''A Raisin in the Sun'' while living in Bay Area. Since being founded in 1981, The Lorraine ...
- African-American theatre in downtown San Francisco * Marines Memorial Theater - 609 Sutter Street *
Market Street Cinema Market Street Cinema was a historical theater located on Market Street in the Mid-Market district, San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1912 by David and Sid Grauman as the Imperial Theater''.'' It was converted into a movie theatre as th ...
- 1077 Market Street (closed) * Marrakech Magic Theatre - featuring the magic of Peter Morrison; 419 O'Farrell Street *
The Marsh The Marsh Theater is an American theater company that specializes in developing new performance, founded in 1989. It has two venue locations, at 1062 Valencia Street in the Mission District of San Francisco, California; and 2120 Allston Way in ...
San Francisco MainStage Theatre - specializes in developing new performance; 1062 Valencia Street in the Mission District * Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts - includes a 150-seat theater; 2868 Mission Street in the Mission *Mojo Theatre - theater in the
Redstone Building The Redstone Building, also known as the Redstone Labor Temple (and formerly called "The San Francisco Labor Temple"), was constructed and operated by the San Francisco Labor Council Hall Associates. Initial planning started in 1910, with most c ...
, 2940 16th Street in the Mission * New Conservatory Theatre Center - nonprofit theater company located at 25 Van Ness Avenue * New Mission Theater - movie theater at 2550 Mission Street *New People Theater - 1746 Post Street * Nob Hill Masonic Center - also known as the Masonic Temple or Masonic Auditorium, located at 1111 California Street *
Nourse Theater The Sydney Goldstein Theater, formerly the Nourse Theater and Nourse Auditorium, is a 1,687-seat venue located at 275 Hayes Street, San Francisco, California. It is host to the City Arts & Lectures series as well as podcast tapings and conversa ...
- temporary home of City Arts and Lectures; 1693-seat venue at 275 Hayes Street, Civic Center; reopened for lectures and performances in 2013 after a 61-year hiatus *OASIS - drag theater and cabaret; 298 11th Street, south of Market * ODC Theater - 351 Shotwell Street in the Mission District * Orpheum Theatre - in the Tenderloin; built in 1926; Spanish imperial architecture; SF historical landmark; owned by SHN *
Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to ...
Theatre - 3301 Lyon Street; originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, has since been rebuilt, renovated and seismically retrofitted * Pena Pachamama - 1630 Powell Street * Phoenix Theatre - two stages: 6th floor theatre and the Annex, at 414 Mason Street * PianoFight - 144 Taylor Street * Presidio Theatre - 99 Moraga Avenue *Project Artaud - arts complex and community in the Mission District; includes the following theatres: **Joe Goode Annex - performance space for the Joe Goode Performance Group; 401 Alabama Street **NOHSpace - host of Theatre of Yugen, 2840 Mariposa Street ** Z Space - home of the theatre company of the same name, with a main stage and the smaller Z Below theater; 450 Florida Street *
Punch Line A punch line (a. k. a. punch-line or punchline) concludes a joke; it is intended to make people laugh. It is the third and final part of the typical joke structure. It follows the introductory framing of the joke and the narrative which sets up ...
- comedy club at 444 Battery Street *
Regency Center The Scottish Rites Bodies Regency Center (commonly known as the Regency Center) is a multi-use events venue located in San Francisco. at the intersection of Van Ness Avenue and Sutter Street. It opened in 1909 as a masonic lodge. In later years, ...
- major concert venue at 1290 Sutter Street *Royce Gallery - historic warehouse performance venue at 2901 Mariposa Street in the Mission *
Ruby Skye Ruby Skye was a former popular nightclub located at 420 Mason Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, California, in operation from 1990 to 2017. Building history The nightclub was housed in the Native Sons of the Golden West b ...
- nightclub and special events venue, formerly the Stage Door Theatre; 420 Mason Street in the Tenderloin *SAFEhouseARTS - dance and theater venue at 1 Grove *
San Francisco Conservatory of Music The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California. As of 2021, it had 480 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgh ...
- includes three performance halls (Concert Hall, Recital Hall, and Osher Salon), at 50 Oak Street (Civic Center) * San Francisco Jazz Center - new jazz center at 201 Franklin Street *
San Francisco Mime Troupe The San Francisco Mime Troupe is a theatre of political satire which performs free shows in various parks in the San Francisco Bay Area and around California. The Troupe does not, however, perform silent mime, but each year creates an original ...
- traveling theater company that performs political musicals *
San Francisco Playhouse San Francisco Playhouse (formerly SF Playhouse) is a non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, founded in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano. The theater stages nine plays yearly, including Broadway plays, musicals, and world ...
- 199-seat non-profit theater at 450 Post Street in
Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...
*
San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center The San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center (SFWMPAC) is located in San Francisco, California. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. It covers 7.5 acres (3 hectares) in the Civic Center Historic Dist ...
- complex of large performance spaces in the Civic Center area on Van Ness Avenue which includes the following venues: **
Herbst Theatre The Herbst Theatre is an auditorium in the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in the Civic Center, San Francisco. The 928-seat hall hosts programs as diverse as ''City Arts & Lectures'', SF Jazz, and San Francisco Performances. Architectu ...
- 401 Van Ness in the San Francisco Civic Center **
Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall is the concert hall component of the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in San Francisco, California. The 2,743-seat hall was completed in 1980 at a cost of US$28 million to give the San Francisc ...
- 201 Van Ness - home of the
San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fra ...
**
War Memorial Opera House The War Memorial Opera House is an opera house in San Francisco, California, located on the western side of Van Ness Avenue across from the west side/rear facade of the San Francisco City Hall. It is part of the San Francisco War Memorial and ...
- 301 Van Ness, across from City Hall - home of the
San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when h ...
and
San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...
* South of Market Cultural Center - includes performance space, managed by SOMArts; 934 Brannan Street *Stage Werx Theatre - 446 Valencia Street Mission District theatre hosts love performances, comedy, solo performance, music, and movies * Strand Theatre - new venue opened in 2015 owned by
American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The Amer ...
; originally opened in 1917 and shuttered in 2003; across from UN Plaza * Supperclub - 657 Harrison Street *
Teatro ZinZanni Teatro ZinZanni is a circus dinner theater that began in the neighborhood of Lower Queen Anne in Seattle, Washington. It has since expanded to a site on the waterfront at Pier 29 on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. History Teatr ...
- cirque, comedy, and cabaret theater, currently without a venue, but seeking to return to the San Francisco waterfront * Theatre 39 at
Pier 39 Pier 39 is a shopping center and popular tourist attraction built on a pier in San Francisco, California. At Pier 39, there are shops, restaurants, a video arcade, street performances, the Aquarium of the Bay, virtual 3D rides, and views of Cal ...
- Beach Street at Embarcadero * Theatre Makers - traveling theater company that performs plays and musicals with social, political, economic, and environmental change (SPEEC) themes * Tides Theatre - 99-seat theater at 533 Sutter Street, 2nd Floor, Union Square * TLF-theatre of Lycée Français of San Francisco - 325-seat theater at 1201 ortega street, Sunset *Un-Scripted Theater Company - 49-seat improv theater at 533 Sutter Street, 2nd floor, Union Square *Variety Preview Room Theatre - located in the Hobart building, 582 Market Street * Venetian Room at the
Fairmont San Francisco The Fairmont San Francisco is a luxury hotel at 950 Mason Street, atop Nob Hill in San Francisco, California. The hotel was named after mining magnate and U.S. Senator James Graham Fair (1831–94), by his daughters, Theresa Fair Oelrichs and V ...
- home of Bay Area Cabaret performances, and the venue where
Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his bir ...
first sang his signature song, "
I Left My Heart in San Francisco "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" is a popular song, written in the fall of 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, with music by George Cory (1920–1978) and lyrics by Douglass Cross and best known as the signature song of Tony Bennett. In 1962, the s ...
" * Victoria Theatre- Mission District theater that presents locally produced original plays, live concerts, film festivals, musicals, performances by international performing companies and other kinds of events *Viracocha - formerly underground performance venue, now a licensed venue, at 998 Valencia Street in the Mission * Walt Disney Family Museum Theater - Presidio Main Post *
The Warfield The Warfield Theatre, colloquially referred to as The Warfield, is a 2,300-seat music venue located in San Francisco, California. It was built as a vaudeville theater and opened as the '' Loews Warfield'' on May 13, 1922. History In the 1920s, ...
- large historic music venue at 982 Market Street *
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) is a multi-disciplinary contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California, United States. Located in Yerba Buena Gardens, YBCA features visual art, performance, and film/video that celebrates local, nation ...
- includes the Novelius/YBCA Theatre; 701 Mission Street * Yoshi's San Francisco - jazz club at 1330 Fillmore Street


Former theatres

* Grand Opera House (San Francisco) * Northpoint Theatre


Theatre gallery

File:SFOperaHouse.jpg,
War Memorial Opera House The War Memorial Opera House is an opera house in San Francisco, California, located on the western side of Van Ness Avenue across from the west side/rear facade of the San Francisco City Hall. It is part of the San Francisco War Memorial and ...
, home of
San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when h ...
and
San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...
File:Geary Theatre (San Francisco).JPG, Historic Geary Theatre, home of
American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The Amer ...
File:The_Fillmore.jpg, The Fillmore Auditorium, made famous by Bill Graham File:YBCA_Novellus_Theater_main_entrance.JPG, The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Novellus Theatre


See also

*
Theatre Bay Area {{advert, date=March 2012 Theatre Bay Area (TBA) is a non-profit organization, founded in 1976, whose mission is to unite, strengthen and promote the theatre community in the San Francisco Bay Area, working on behalf of their conviction that the per ...
* Theater District (San Francisco, California)
Bay Area performing arts spaces


References


External links

* * * * * {{cite web , title=San Francisco Movie Theaters , url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/united-states/california/san-francisco?status=all , website=Cinema Treasures 01
Theatres Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
Theatres San Francisco
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
Culture of San Francisco