San Francisco Theater Reviews

Review: A STRANGE LOOP at American Conservatory Theatre
by Steve Murray - April 25, 2024

There was a considerable buzz of excitement at the West Coast premiere of Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop. Could the musical live up to the hype generated by its eleven Tony nominations and wins for Best Musical and Best Book? That would be a hell yes! Right from the opening number “Intermission...

Review: TIGER STYLE! at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
by Jim Munson - April 16, 2024

What did our critic think of TIGER STYLE! at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley? BroadwayWorld reviews Mike Lew's riotous and biting comedy 'Tiger Style!' running through April 28th in Mountain View....

Review: DOS MUJERES at San Francisco Ballet
by Jim Munson - April 07, 2024

What did our critic think of DOS MUJERES at San Francisco Ballet? BroadwayWorld reviews this pairing of two very different ballets by Latina choreographers running through April 14th at the War Memorial Opera House....

Review: SWEATSHOP OVERLORD at A.C.T. Strand
by Steve Murray - April 05, 2024

It’s March 2020 and the country is shutdown by a new, mysterious virus called COVID-19. Broke, newly unemployed performance artist Kristina Wong is in full crisis mode. She’s got no audience, no kids, and no prospects, but she’s got a plan. ...

Review: NEXT@90 CURTAIN CALL at San Francisco Ballet
by Jim Munson - April 04, 2024

What did our critic think of NEXT@90 CURTAIN CALL at San Francisco Ballet? BroadwayWorld reviews this program of 3 marvelously varied dances being reprised from last year's festival of world premieres....

Review: THE PRIDE OF LIONS at Theatre Rhino
by Steve Murray - April 01, 2024

What did our critic think of THE PRIDE OF LIONS at Theatre Rhino? The trans community is saying “enough is enough.” They will not be the sacrificial lambs to hatred, bigotry, and discrimination. Roger Q. Mason’s The Pride of Lions is a story of taking action against oppression and standing up to ign...

Review: PAL JOEY at Altarena Playhouse
by Kelly Rogers Flynt - March 30, 2024

Pulled from a forgotten corner of Golden Age theater, PAL JOEY gets a new life at Altarena Playhouse. The glam and sparkle of nightclub life are on full display with daring dancers and swooning singers. With a dream ballet and dreamy costumes, the show evokes the best from the past while also exposi...

Review: San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus Presents DRAG ME TO THE MOVIES! at Davies Symphony Hall
by Steve Murray - March 29, 2024

What did our critic think of SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN’S CHORUS PRESENTS DRAG ME TO THE MOVIES! at Davies Symphony Hall?...

Review: VENETIAN EVENINGS - A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO THE FAIRMONT'S VENETIAN ROOM At Venetian Room
by Steve Murray - March 25, 2024

What did our critic think of VENETIAN EVENINGS - A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO THE FAIRMONT'S VENETIAN ROOM at Venetian Room?...

Review: THE GREAT LEAP at Center Repertory Company
by Steve Murray - March 21, 2024

What did our critic think of THE GREAT LEAP at Center Repertory Company? Center Rep tackles Playwright Lauren Yee’s basketball/cultural drama and with a well-crafted staging of her 2017 powerhouse The Great Leap. Renowned for deftly combining her San Francisco roots, Chinese culture and global polit...

Broadway Bares San Francisco To Return To 1015 Folsom
by Steve Murray - March 18, 2024

Broadway Bares SF is coming back to the city with the highly anticipated return to stage on Sunday, June 16, 2024, at 1015 Folsom. The theme for this year’s Broadway Bares/SF Strips show is FilmStrips. Featuring 60 San Francisco dancers, this year's production, promises an unforgettable evening of e...

Review: THE 39 STEPS at SF Playhouse
by Steve Murray - March 18, 2024

What did our critic think of THE 39 STEPS at SF Playhouse? Director Susi Damilano and a superb cast spin comic gold out of Patrick Barlow’s parody of Hitchcock’s spy caper filled with chase scenes, female bombshells, and Nazi villains...

Review: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at San Francisco Ballet
by Jim Munson - March 14, 2024

What did our critic think of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at San Francisco Ballet? BroadwayWorld reviews the delightful production running through March 23rd at the War Memorial Opera House....

Review: COST OF LIVING at Oakland Theater Project
by Kelly Rogers Flynt - March 10, 2024

The Bar Area premier of Martyna Majok’s COST OF LIVING has landed at Oakland Theater Project. With few frills and the focus on dialogue, COST OF LIVING pulls you in and never loosens its grip. In the midst of telling a story of a marginalized community, Oakland Theater Project reminds us of the univ...

Review: QUEEN at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
by Steve Murray - March 10, 2024

What did our critic think of QUEEN at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley?...

Review: SWAN LAKE at San Francisco Ballet
by Jim Munson - February 29, 2024

What did our critic think of SWAN LAKE at San Francisco Ballet? BroadwayWorld reviews the smashing production of the all-time classic running through March 3rd at San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House....

Review: BEES & HONEY at Marin Theatre Company
by Steve Murray - February 26, 2024

For two Dominican millennials in Washington Heights, the love of their cultural Bachata music draws them together and into a whirlwind romance and marriage. Inspired by the Juan Luis Guerra song “Como Abeja Al Panal,' (“Like a Bee to the Honeycomb”), Bees & Honey is a slice of ethnic life following ...

Review: BIG DATA at American Conservatory Theatre
by Steve Murray - February 22, 2024

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is THE hot topic of the day, touted as the panacea for societies’ ills and capable of providing more leisure time and making life easier. The flip side is getting equal play time – we’re being overrun with technology, ostensibly losing our identity to algorithms, and red...

Review: MYSTIC PIZZA at Lesher Center For The Arts
by Steve Murray - February 18, 2024

What did our critic think of MYSTIC PIZZA at Lesher Center For The Arts?...

Review: MANAHATTA at Aurora Theatre Company
by Kelly Rogers Flynt - February 17, 2024

MANAHATTA is like a storm that washes away all pretense and excuses leaving only the truth. Using a narrative of two parallel stories, Mary Kathryn Nagle weaves a story that reveals how little we have learned from our past. Using eloquence, humor, and bravado with equal skill, the show guides the au...

Review: BRITISH ICONS at San Francisco Ballet
by Jim Munson - February 11, 2024

What did our critic think of BRITISH ICONS at San Francisco Ballet? BroadwayWorld reviews San Francisco Ballet's 'British Icons,' an immensely rewarding program running through February 15th...

Review: ADVENTURE SERIAL at Synergy Theater
by Kelly Rogers Flynt - February 05, 2024

ADVENTURE SERIAL combines elements of adventure stories with audience suggestions to create a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience. With a quest, a hero, a sidekick, a lovely lady, and a villain, the foundation is laid for an adventure that can take many twists and turns. The quick-thinking team at S...

Review: MAX VON ESSEN: CALL ME OLD FASHIONED: THE BROADWAY STANDARDS at Venetian Room
by Steve Murray - February 05, 2024

Almost four years after his COVID delayed Bay Area Cabaret appearance, Broadway star Max von Essen made it to the historic Venetian Room with selections from his 2019 CD of Broadway interpretations on which he was joined by Grammy winning composer and famed musical director, Billy Stritch who backs ...

Review: MY HOME ON THE MOON at SF Playhouse
by Steve Murray - February 05, 2024

The World Premiere of Mina Lee’s At Home on the Moon is much more than a touching perspective on the love of one’s ethnic food which is handled lovingly. Lee taps the more disturbing issue of gentrification and neighborhood decimation to introduce an AI fantasy posing far more important concerns and...

Review: KIMBERLY AKIMBO at Altarena Playhouse
by Kelly Rogers Flynt - February 04, 2024

KIMBERLY AKIMBO at Altarena Playhouse is a show with depth and humor and heart. The production generates easy laughs, stimulates thought and reflection, but most importantly, it makes you care about the characters. With the teens and adults alike navigating complex situations, making mistakes, hidin...