FUNNY GIRL & More Lead San Francisco / Bay Area's Spring 2024 Top Theatre Shows

The San Francisco / Bay Area is never lacking outstanding theatre, whether epic Broadway shows, engrossing dramas or bold fringe offerings. BroadwayWorld is rounding up our top recommended theatre every month.

We understand the importance of choosing the perfect show, especially for new theatregoers. That's why our experienced editorial team meticulously reviews a wide range of productions each month. We consider various factors including a producer's track record, audience reviews, and overall production value, to bring you the very best recommendations for the following month.

See what the experts recommend! Check out our editorial team's top picks for the best shows to see in the San Francisco / Bay Area for Spring 2024.

Funny Girl

Orpheum Theatre - April 30, 2024 through May 26, 2024

This bittersweet comedy is the story of the indomitable Fanny Brice, a girl from the Lower East Side who dreamed of a life on the stage. Everyone told her she'd never be a star, but then something funny happened-she became one of the most beloved performers in history, shining brighter than the brightest lights of Broadway. Featuring some of the most iconic songs in theatre history including "Don't Rain On My Parade," "I'm the Greatest Star," and "People," Michael Mayer's bold new production marks the first time Funny Girl has returned to Broadway since its debut 58 years ago.

For tickets: click here.

Cirque du Soleil: KOOZA

Under the Big Top, Oracle Park - January 19, 2024 through March 17, 2024

A return to our origins, KOOZA combines acrobatic performance and the art of clowning, while exploring fear, identity, recognition and power. The Innocent's journey brings him into contact with comic characters from an electrifying world full of surprises, thrills, audacity and total involvement.

For tickets: click here.

Live At the Orinda - Liz Callaway

Orinda Theatre - March 03, 2024 through March 03, 2024

Emmy Award winner, Tony nominee and 2024 Grammy nominee Liz Callaway returns to the Orinda Theatre for An Evening With Liz Callaway - celebrating music from her Grammy nominated album, "To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim", as well as music from her 40 year career on Broadway, film and the concert stage. Liz Callaway made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. She went on to star in Baby (receiving a Tony nomination), Miss Saigon, The Look of Love, The Three Musketeers, and for 5 years appeared as Grizabella in Cats. Off-Broadway appearances include The Spitfire Grill (Drama Desk nomination), Marry Me a Little and Brownstone. Liz sang the Academy Award-nominated song “Journey to the Past” in the animated feature Anastasia. Other film work includes Jasmine in the two Aladdin sequels, The Swan Princess, and The Rewrite with Hugh Grant.

Her extensive concert and symphony career has included appearances in London, Paris, Vietnam, Australia, China, and nearly every major city in the U.S. Liz performs regularly with her sister Ann Hampton Callaway, as well as composer Stephen Schwartz, and has had the pleasure of singing with Jimmy Webb, Paul Williams, and the legendary Johnny Mathis. Her Grammy-nominated "To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates
Sondheim" marks Liz Callaway's eighth solo recording.

“Liz Callaway is an amazing singer. She makes each song sound as if it has been written for her.” - Stereophile Magazine

"A Broadway belter who is blessed with one of the purest, most radiant voices in the theatrical firmament." - The Stage UK

"In number after mesmerizing number...this Tony nominee would transform herself as she dove into the heart of the song." - Austin Chronicle

For tickets: click here.

San Francisco Playhouse presents “The 39 Steps”

San Francisco Playhouse - March 07, 2024 through April 20, 2024

San Francisco Playhouse continues its season with “The 39 Steps,” a fast-paced farce that riffs on the Alfred Hitchcock thriller of the same name. Following a mysterious murder, all-action hero Richard Hannay launches on a high-speed chase from a London music hall to Scotland’s highlands, where he must dodge devious spies, woo beautiful bombshells, and attempt to reveal secrets of The 39 Steps, an international spy ring. With inventive stagecraft and masterful performances, four nimble actors play more than 100 characters in this riotous spoof that is equal parts slapstick comedy and film noir thriller. San Francisco Playhouse Producing Director and Co-Founder Susi Damilano, who recently directed the Playhouse’s hit production of the whodunit “Clue,” returns to the scene of the crime(s) with this rollicking comedy. 

For tickets: click here.

King Liz

City Lights Theater Company - March 21, 2024 through April 21, 2024

Veteran sports agents know they have to fight to stay on top. If you’re a woman, it’s doubly hard. With an elite client roster and a nearly unbeatable drive, Liz Rico is poised to take over the agency that she’s helped build. Then she takes on high school basketball superstar Freddie Luna. With his troubled past and a temper as hot as his talent, he could make his career and hers if she can keep things under control. But at what price?

For tickets: click here.

Falsettos

The Gateway Theatre - February 29, 2024 through March 17, 2024

Hold onto your seats, folks! Falsettos is a rollercoaster of emotions that takes you through the ups and downs of family, love, and the complexities of growing up. When Marvin decides to follow his heart, everyone around him learns a lesson in maturity. With a story that's as hilarious as it is heartbreaking, Falsettos is a modern musical masterpiece you won't forget. Click here to join Marvin and his quirky family on this unforgettable journey.

For tickets: click here.

A Strange Loop

American Conservatory Theater - April 18, 2024 through May 12, 2024

The Tony Award–winning musical comes direct from Broadway to San Francisco! Meet Usher: a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize–winning, blisteringly funny work of art exposes the heart and soul of a young artist grappling with desires, identity, and instincts he both loves and loathes. Hell-bent on breaking free of his own self-perception, Usher wrestles with the thoughts in his head, brought to life on stage by a hilarious, straight-shooting ensemble. Bold and heartfelt in its truth-telling, A Strange Loop is the big, Black, and queer-ass Great American Musical for all! A Strange Loop is a co-production with Center Theatre Group.

Lead Production support generously provided by Gilead. (Disclosure: Please note, Gilead has had no input into the content of this production.)

For tickets: click here.

Smuin Ballet presents “Dance Series 2”

Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts - May 16, 2024 through May 19, 2024

Smuin’s season finale will be headlined by the World Premiere of Tupelo Tornado from international superstar Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. This extraordinary new ballet inspired by the life and music of Elvis is her first creation for Smuin. Ochoa’s profile has continued to skyrocket since Smuin introduced Bay Area audiences to the Colombian- Belgian dancemaker in 2017 with the West Coast Premiere of her critically acclaimed Requiem for a Rose. Also on the bill is Smuin Associate Artistic Director Amy Seiwert’s Broken Open, set to a lush score from renowned cellist and composer Julia Kent. Kent, who creates music using looped cello, found sounds, and electronics, will perform live at opening weekend performances of “Dance Series 2” in San Francisco. Closing the bill is Smuin dancer Brennan Wall’s vivid and complex Untwine for four couples, set to Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” reinterpreted by Max Richter; and Michael Smuin’s dreamy Starshadows, an evocative adagio for three couples exploring the mystery and beauty of intimate relationships.

For tickets: click here.

Clyde's

City Lights Theater Company - May 16, 2024 through June 09, 2024

Past the long line of truckers waiting outside, Clyde’s Sandwich Shop is more than just a greasy spoon. It serves up a chance at redemption for its formerly incarcerated kitchen staff. Owner Clyde may be a devil of a boss, but the workers discover purpose in their lives as they find themselves banding together – and sharing a quest to create the perfect sandwich. “Fast-paced and uproariously funny, Clyde’s is a spicy feast for the senses.” –Chicago Sun-Times

For tickets: click here.

Hairspray

Orpheum Theatre - April 16, 2024 through April 21, 2024

It's 1962, and pleasantly plump Baltimore teen Tracy Turnblad has only one desire - to dance on the popular Corny Collins Show. When her dream comes true, Tracy is transformed from social outcast to sudden star, but she must use her newfound power to vanquish the reigning Teen Queen, win the affections of heartthrob Link Larkin and integrate a TV network - all without denting her 'do! Don't miss Hairspray, Broadway's musical-comedy phenomenon that inspired a major motion picture and won eight 2003 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

For tickets: click here.

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