Venue Type: Theater

New-American-plays theater at Fort Mason since 1967. Premiered Sam Shepard’s True West and Buried Child. 162-seat main stage.

1922 BroadwaySF house at 1 Taylor Street, capacity 2,297. The touring Broadway productions land here.

The Exit Theatre in the Tenderloin is raw and unpolished by design. Exposed pipes, mismatched chairs, and the kind of intimate 60-seat setup where you can hear an actor’s breath means experimental theater lives here. This is where artists who want to push boundaries come to work, knowing the neighborhood has always had space for … Read more

99-seat black-box theater on Sutter Street producing new work, contemporary plays, and revivals. Pay-what-you-can pricing.

The Curran is that rare theater with real architectural bones and a 1922 glamour that hasn’t been scrubbed away. Walk past the ornate facade on Geary and the grand lobby with its multiple levels and gilded details signals you’re about to see something produced with serious money and serious talent. The 1,600-seat house is designed … Read more

Cowell Theater at Fort Mason offers a 450-seat space with a singular advantage: the bay is literally outside the windows. Light pours in during day performances and disappears during evening shows, but the connection to the water and Golden Gate views during intermission centers you right in San Francisco geography. The theater books adventurous work … Read more

Club Fugazi is where the walls practically vibrate with the energy of small-scale live performance. Squeeze into this 430-seat North Beach basement club and you’re breathing the same air as whatever weird, experimental, or committed show is happening six feet away from you. The sawdust under your feet and the smell of beer mixed with … Read more

The oldest theater in San Francisco, built 1888. Community arts center for Bayview-Hunters Point. Around 220 capacity.

Perched right on the bay at Fort Mason, the Bayfront Theatre gives you that rare San Francisco moment where you can smell salt water during intermission. The 450-seat space has clean lines and modern bones, drawing a crowd that actually wants to be there rather than feels obligated. Arrive early and you can catch the … Read more

ACT’s main stage on Geary Street since 1967, in a 1909 Beaux-Arts building rebuilt after the Loma Prieta earthquake. About 1,000 seats.