Your Guide toSan Francisco's Performing Arts Events This Fall
Here's a helpful round-up of the must-see performances in San Francisco this season.
From comedy and theater to opera and dance, San Francisco attracts the best of the best, giving visitors plenty of performances to choose from during their stay. Explore what’s playing this season and start planning your trip.
Comedy
Dane Cook
The MasonicAfter decades of stand-up comedy, Dane Cook comes to San Francisco promising Fresh New Flavor. See the veteran comic at The Masonic on November 21, 2024.
Iliza Shlesinger
The MasonicWith six Netflix comedy specials to her name, Iliza Shlesinger has quickly become one of the most popular women in comedy today. She'll be appearing at The Masonic on November, 23, 2024.
Matteo Lane
The MasonicAn artist, podcaster, opera singer, and stand-up comic, Matteo Lane will bring his many talents to San Francisco for two shows at The Masonic on December 12 and 13, 2024.
Sarah Silverman
The MasonicTrailblazing comic, host, and actress Sarah Silverman will close out the year at The Masonic with her trademark brand of up-front, honest, and gut-busting comedy on December 28, 2024.
Dance
2024 San Francisco Dance Film Festival
Various venuesFrom in-depth feature documentaries to engaging shorts programs, the San Francisco Dance Film Festival (SFDFF) offers something for diehard dance fans and newcomers alike. The fall festival will be held October 16-20, with a full slate of programming to be announced in August.
Opera
Un Ball in Maschera (A Masked Ball)
San Francisco OperaFighting against fate, can King Gustav III forge a path to his beloved Amelia before his court falls apart? Verdi’s sumptuous, emotionally charged music weaves a tale of fate, betrayal, and forbidden desire amidst an opulent masquerade. Playing through September 27, 2024.
The Handmaid's Tale
San Francisco OperaThe West Coast premiere of the operatic adaptation of Margaret Atwood's incendiary novel, The Handmaid's Tale paints a forbidding picture of the future, where women are forced into childbearing servitude and resistance comes at a heavy cost. September 14 - October 1, 2024.
Tristan and Isolde
San Francisco OperaOne of Wagner's most influential operas, Tristan and Isolde is a story of passion and fury. This production marks the first time that San Francisco Opera has mounted this classic piece in almost two decades. October 19 - November 5, 2024.
Everest: Opera in the Planetarium
California Academy of SciencesExperience Everest: Opera in the Planetarium in the wildly immersive 360-degree environment of the California Academy of Sciences’s Morrison Planetarium. Produced by Opera Parallèle, this breathtaking fusion of graphic novel imagery and operatic story telling brings the ill-fated 1996 Everest expedition to life in a truly unconventional way. November 6-17, 2024.
Carmen
San Francisco OperaOne of the most well-known operas of all time, Carmen is the classic tale of a woman who refuses to surrender her agency and sensuality, and the man who is driven to extremes by his desire. November 13 - December 1, 2024.
Theater
Dear San Francisco
Club FugaziDear San Francisco is the critically-acclaimed intimate and immersive circus experience created by Bay Area natives and The 7 Fingers co-founders Shana Carroll and Gypsy Snider. The production invites locals and visitors alike on a heart-stopping romp through the essence and the myth that has San Francisco has etched on our collective imagination. From the 1906 earthquake and Summer of Love to beat poetry and the mysterious fog, San Francisco comes vividly to life through a series of tableaus (acts), including hoop diving, Chinese pole, Korean plank, juggling, and “hand-to-trap” (a form first created by Shana Carroll), performed by an international cast of world-class acrobats. Tickets are on sale through Jan. 5, 2025.
Wicked
Orpheum TheaterThe Broadway blockbuster that began in San Francisco (yes, it's true!) returns this fall to thrill audiences. Find out about all the drama that seized the magical land of Oz before Dorothy dropped in. Playing through October 13, 2024.
Private Lives
A.C.T. Toni Rembe TheaterThis bold reimagining of Noël Coward's comedy classic moves the action to 1930s Argentina, where the tango adds to the tension in this tale of fiery former spouses who find themselves book into adjacent hotel rooms while entertaining their new significant others. Playing through October 6, 2024.
Ride the Cyclone
New Conservatory Theatre CenterIn this award-winning musical, six members of a Canadian chamber choir take a fateful rollercoaster ride to the great beyond. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller challenges each one to tell a story in order to win the chance to return to life. Playing September 20 - October 20, 2024.
The Gulf
New Conservatory Theatre CenterOn a small fishing boat in the Alabama Delta, a tranquil evening of playful banter takes a volatile turn as two lovers shoulder the weight of their unspoken words. Will Kendra and Betty move past affectations and pretense, or will pooled resentment cause their love to drift? The Gulf, winner of the 2018 Lammy for LGBTQ Drama, is an intimate and tender piece making its West Coast premier at NCTC. Playing October 18 - November 24, 2024.
Waitress
SF PlayhouseJenna, a waitress and talented pie maker, feels trapped in a small town and an unhappy marriage. An unexpected pregnancy threatens her dream of opening a pie shop, but a nearby baking contest and a charming new doctor offer her hope. With the support of her quirky coworkers and customers, Jenna discovers the missing ingredient to her happiness — courage. Playing November 21 - January 18, 2024.
Joe Coleman has been writing professionally since 2019. Though always up for an international trek, there’s nothing he loves more than a road trip exploring the large cities and small towns of the United States. You can find more of his work at colemancreates.com.
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