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Balboa Theatre

4533 VAN NUYS BLVD
San Diego, CA 92101

Upcoming Shows

Silent Movie Mondays: The Headless Horseman (1922)

Sep 21

Silent Movie Mondays Season Three opens with The Headless Horseman (1922), a haunting silent classic screening at the historic Balboa Theatre in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. The evening features acclaimed theatre organist Ken Double providing live musical accompaniment. Each...

Silent Movie Mondays: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

Oct 26

Silent Movie Mondays Season Three continues with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), a spine-tingling silent classic setting the tone for an autumn filled with suspense. Organist David Marsh provides live musical accompaniment for the screening. A post-screening talkback with the...

Bluey's Big Play

Bluey's Big Play

Nov 13 – Nov 15, 2026

This is Bluey’s Big Play, For Real Life. When Dad feels like a little bit of time out, Bluey and Bingo have other plans! Join them as they pull out all of the games and cleverness at their disposal to get Dad off that bean bag. Bluey’s Big Play is a theatrical adaptation of the...

The Carpenters Songbook At Christmas

The Carpenters Songbook At Christmas

Nov 29

Nothing says the holiday season has arrived like hearing the voice of Karen Carpenter singing “Merry Christmas, Darling.” Few voices in pop history are as instantly recognizable, or as deeply loved, as hers. THE CARPENTERS SONGBOOK: AT CHRISTMAS brings the icon’s extraordinary...

Silent Movie Mondays: Laurel & Hardy Holiday Triple-Feature

Dec 7

Silent Movie Mondays Season Three presents a Laurel & Hardy holiday triple-feature, offering laugh-out-loud comedy from cinema's silent era. Organist Russ Peck provides live musical accompaniment throughout the evening. Each screening begins with a live pre-show performance on...

Love Actually Live In Concert

Love Actually Live In Concert

Dec 20

Fall in love with the holidays all over again at LOVE ACTUALLY IN CONCERT ! As the beloved film plays in its entirety on a full-size screen, a live orchestra performs the soundtrack live, featuring music by Craig Armstrong alongside favorites including Mariah Carey’s “All I Want...

Silent Movie Mondays: The Sheik (1921)

Jan 1, 2027

Silent Movie Mondays Season Three features The Sheik (1921), a sweeping romance from the silent era screening at the historic Balboa Theatre. Organist David Marsh provides live musical accompaniment for the evening. A post-screening talkback with the evening organist and a film...

Silent Movie Mondays: Buster Keaton's The General (1926)

Feb 8, 2027

Silent Movie Mondays Season Three presents Buster Keaton's The General (1926), a thrilling spectacle of grand adventure from the silent era. Organist Brett Valliant provides live musical accompaniment for the screening. A post-screening talkback with the evening organist and a...

Silent Movie Mondays: Grandma's Boy (1922)

May 3, 2027

Silent Movie Mondays Season Three features Harold Lloyd's heartfelt comedy Grandma's Boy (1922), screening at the historic Balboa Theatre in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. Organist Russ Peck provides live musical accompaniment for the evening. A post-screening talkback with the...

Silent Movie Mondays: The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

Jun 1, 2027

Silent Movie Mondays Season Three closes with The Thief of Bagdad (1924), a dazzling fantasy epic from the silent era. Organist Ken Double returns to provide live musical accompaniment for the final screening of the season. A post-screening talkback with the evening organist and...

Review: World Premiere Musical WILD CHILD Debuts at Laguna Playhouse

Review: World Premiere Musical WILD CHILD Debuts at Laguna Playhouse

by Michael Quintos · September 15, 2026

Featuring book and lyrics by Dan Marshall and music by composer Julianne Wick Davis, WILD CHILD is an ambitious, sincerely earnest, and, at times, cleverly innovative new musical about a group of teenagers who are forced to join an outdoor wilderness therapy program where they must grapple with iden…

Review: DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Cygnet Theatre

Review: DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Cygnet Theatre

by ErinMarie Reiter · September 13, 2026

Cygnet Theatre’s 'Dear Evan Hansen' cast is terrific; the technical elements are beautifully integrated, and the emotions land exactly where they are meant to. You may or may not have some issues with the story, but Cygnet has made a production that gives audiences plenty to feel and discuss on th…

Review: OUR LADY OF THE SAN DIEGO CONVENTION CENTER at TuYo Theatre

Review: OUR LADY OF THE SAN DIEGO CONVENTION CENTER at TuYo Theatre

by ErinMarie Reiter · September 12, 2026

Our Lady of the San Diego Convention Center centers these experiences with care and humor, giving audiences a chance to know these migrant girls and what they experienced as children by capturing their fears, friendships, faith, and small moments of joy instead of as statistics or political talking …

Review: MENSA at OnStage Playhouse

Review: MENSA at OnStage Playhouse

by ErinMarie Reiter · September 10, 2026

There is no magic equation for solving political division, or for fixing a culture that increasingly seems to prefer arguing at one another rather than actually talking. Mensa doesn’t pretend to have that answer, but it does offer a nice opening to start the conversation.…

Review: NI MI MADRE Unpacks Motherhood with Humor and Grace at Diversionary Theatre

Review: NI MI MADRE Unpacks Motherhood with Humor and Grace at Diversionary Theatre

by Lucía Serrano · August 25, 2026

Mothers: the never-ending source of trauma, character development, personality... and love. Or, at least, the version they say they give and the other version of what you actually felt as their kid. These themes, and more, are explored in Ni Mi Madre, the Obie Award-winning one-man show written and…

Review: ROCK OF AGES at San Diego Musical Theatre

Review: ROCK OF AGES at San Diego Musical Theatre

by ErinMarie Reiter · August 23, 2026

San Diego Musical Theatre’s 'Rock of Ages' is a delightfully ridiculous blast of ’80s hair-band camp filled with talented performers, big vocals, energetic choreography, a live band, and enough rock ’n’ roll to make the audience feel like they have accidentally wandered onto the Sunset Strip…

Review: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS at Broadway San Diego

Review: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS at Broadway San Diego

by ErinMarie Reiter · August 21, 2026

When 'Water for Elephants' embraces the magic of the circus—the impossible made possible through acrobatics, illusion, movement, and extraordinary puppetry—it is absolutely captivating.…

Past Shows

22 total · showing 1–10

Fellow Travelers

Jul 10 – Jul 12, 2026

Fellow Travelers is the Southern California premiere of the opera by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce, based on the 2007 novel by Thomas Mallon. The opera follows Hawkins Fuller and Timothy Laughlin as they navigate a secret romance during the 1950s Lavender...

Silent Movie Mondays: Safety Last

Jun 8

Safety Last, the 1923 silent film starring Harold Lloyd, screens at the Balboa Theatre on June 8 as part of the Silent Movie Mondays series. The screening will feature live organ accompaniment by Russ Peck on the theatre's historic Wonder Morton Theatre Organ. This presentation...

Silent Movie Mondays: Kino Lorber's Complete Metropolis

Apr 20

San Diego Theatres presents Kino Lorber's Complete Metropolis, part of the Silent Movie Mondays series at the historic Balboa Theatre. This landmark 2010 restoration includes nearly 25 minutes of previously lost footage, discovered in a 16mm reduction print in an Argentine...

All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Mar 21 – Mar 22, 2026

Written by Tony Award Winning playwright RUPERT HOLMES Starring Michelle Azar as Ruth Bader Ginsburg Directed by Laley Lippard Supreme Court Justice “RBG” welcomes a friend of the family to her cozy chambers to convey, over the course of ninety fascinating and often funny...

Mark Twain Tonight!

Feb 12

Emmy-Award® winning Actor and 2025 Theater Hall of Fame Inductee Richard Thomas brings to life “the nation’s one true comic genius” (The New York Times) in Mark Twain Tonight!, written and originally performed by Hal Holbrook. Join the millions who have cheered for the legendary...

An Evening with David Sedaris

An Evening with David Sedaris

May 8

Master of satire and one of today’s most observant writers addressing the human condition, best-selling author David Sedaris returns once again with his acerbic humor, social commentary, and outlandish stories. Slashing through cultural euphemisms and political correctness, he...

Animaniacs in Concert

Animaniacs in Concert

Jul 18

KMI Presents/RNR Productions present: ANIMANIACS IN CONCERT! Feat. ROB PAULSON, RANDY ROGEL & CAST Thursday, July 18 7:30p PM Buy tickets to this performance online. Its time for ANIMANIACS LIVE IN CONCERT! The most zany, animany and totally insany Animaniacs are back! Fans of...

Tommy Emmanuel

Tommy Emmanuel

Jan 25

Two-time Grammy nominee Tommy Emmanuel is one of Australia’s most respected musicians. The legendary guitarist has a professional career that spans five decades and continues to intersect with some of the finest musicians throughout the world. A household name in his native...

ACADEMY of ST. MARTIN in the FIELDS

Mar 2

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields has an enthusiasm for fresh, brilliant interpretation of the world's most loved classical music and travel internationally to bring their vivid sound to theatres and audiences in all parts of the world. Known for their polished and refined...

LILY TOMLIN

Feb 23

The legendary and beloved star of stage, screen and television returns to the historic Balboa Theatre! One of America's foremost comediennes, her exceptional talents have been recognized with six Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critic's Circle Award, a...

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BEGIN AGAIN in San Diego BEGIN AGAIN
The Old Globe (9/06-10/11) PHOTOS
Good Night, Oscar in San Diego Good Night, Oscar
North Coast Repertory (9/16-10/11)
International Guitar Night in San Diego International Guitar Night
Poway Center for The Performing Arts (2/13-2/13)
Mamma Mia! in San Diego Mamma Mia!
Civic Theatre- San Diego (6/15-6/20)
Staged Reading Festival in San Diego Staged Reading Festival
The Borenemann Theater (10/05-10/10)
Piaf! The Show in San Diego Piaf! The Show
Balboa Theatre (2/06-2/06)
Cirque Kalabante Afrique En Cirque in San Diego Cirque Kalabante Afrique En Cirque
Poway Center for The Performing Arts (2/28-2/28)
& Juliet in San Diego & Juliet
McCallum Theatre for the Performing Arts (10/27-11/01)
Tick, Tick... BOOM! in San Diego Tick, Tick... BOOM!
Diversionary Theatre (9/10-9/27)
National Comedy Theatre in San Diego National Comedy Theatre
National Comedy Theatre (5/02-12/28)