Magic Theatre

About the Theatre

Now celebrating its 55th year of continuous operation, Magic is dedicated to creative risk: we cultivate bold new plays and playwrights to produce explosive, entertaining, and ideologically robust stories that ask substantive questions about our place in humanity. Magic provides a nurturing yet rigorous artistic home where innovative writers can create a body of work. We believe that developing an evolved artistic vocabulary with the playwright at our side, over a long period of time, greatly improves a playwright’s chances to thrive. We believe that, by adding vanguard voices to the canon and expanding access to new theatre-goers, we ensure the future vibrancy of the American theatre.

• TITUS ANDRONICUS
• TITUS ANDRONICUS

Review: AFRICAN STEW at Lorraine Hansberry Theatre

by Steve Murray · September 13, 2026

What did our critic think of AFRICAN STEW at Lorraine Hansberry Theatre?…

Review: CRUSHING at A.C.T. Strand

by Steve Murray · September 11, 2026

Stories of romantic love are delivered by a variety of interdisciplinary artists in the second Bay Area incarnation of Crushing, and it’s a winner for the art of spoken word. The featured writers span genders, ages and viewpoints and you never know what’s coming next.…

Review: THE COOK at Berkeley Rep

by Steve Murray · September 10, 2026

A love of food sustains houseworker Gladys over a forty-year arc that coincides with the social, economic and political changes wrought by the Cuban revolution of 1959 in Eduardo Machado’s The Cook, opening Berkeley Rep’s 59th season.  In Tanya Orellana’s superbly appointed and functional kit…

Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Gets a Spectacular New Life at Broadway San Jose

by Linda Hodges · September 9, 2026

Review of Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at Broadway San Jose, where dazzling stagecraft, spectacular choreography and standout performances make the new touring production a theatrical feast.…

Review: VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE at Masquers Playhouse

by Kelly Rogers Flynt · September 5, 2026

VANYA and SONIA and MASHA and SPIKE is a delightful romp with equal measures of nostalgia and hope for the future. With rapid-fire dialogue and pitch-perfect timing, the cast bring the script by Christopher Durang to life. …

Review: THE WHITE CHIP at Marin Theatre

by Steve Murray · September 3, 2026

 Marin Theatre opens its 60th season with a bang – a sobering dark comedy from director, writer and former California Shakespeare Theatre Associate Artistic Director Sean Daniels. Chronicling the dark ride of self-delusion into alcoholism, Daniels’ semiautobiographical story is beautifully exec…

Review: THE WHITE CHIP at Marin Theatre

by Steve Murray · September 2, 2026

Marin Theatre opens its 60th season with a bang – a sobering dark comedy from director, writer and former California Shakespeare Theatre Associate Artistic Director Sean Daniels. Chronicling the dark ride of self-delusion into alcoholism, Daniels’ semiautobiographical story is beautifully execut…

Review: RUMORS at Woodminster Summer Musicals

by Kelly Rogers Flynt · August 31, 2026

RUMORS at Woodminster Summer Musicals is full of laughs and gaffs, and is a jolly good time. Set in a posh New York townhouse, RUMORS is Neil Simon’s only full length farce. From half truths to utter nonsense and mistaken identities to outright charades, this production will ensnare you in a strea…

Review: PICKLEBALL at Hillbarn Theatre

by AJ Jaffari · August 24, 2026

Pickleball at Hillbarn Theatre, written by Jeff Daniels, takes one of the country’s fastest-growing sports and serves it up as an unabashedly silly comedy filled with eccentric players, romantic entanglements, and plenty of physical humor. …

Review: FALLEN ANGELS at Altarena Playhouse

by Kelly Rogers Flynt · August 22, 2026

Altarena Playhouse brings Noël Coward’s FALLEN ANGELS to life with wit and charm. When the sardonic writing of a genius playwright meets the witty interpretation of a theater, it produces a night full of laughs and insights. …

Oedipus El Rey Legacy Revival

May 29 – Jun 23, 2019

Set in South Central LA, Oedipus el Rey is a gritty and electrifying take on the Greek tragedy, written by the acclaimed Magic playwright Luis Alfaro. Oedipus is reimagined as a young man whose dreams of controlling his own destiny soar beyond the prison walls where hes spent...

In Old Age

Mar 27 – Apr 21, 2019

When Azell Abernathy, a seasoned repairman, arrives at the home of Abasiama Ufot to redo the floors of her dilapidated New England home, he is surprised to be met with stubborn resistance. The two clash, challenge each other, and eventually form an unlikely spiritual connection...

THE RESTING PLACE by Ashlin Halfnight

Oct 10 – Nov 4, 2018

World Premiere OCT 10-NOV 4, 2018 The Resting Place is a provocative and intense look at an American Family in a cloudburst of crisis—filled with raw humor, piercing darkness and fierce love. Ashlin Halfnight (Magic Virgin Play Festival 2017) addresses familial obligation...

World Premiere THE GANGSTER OF LOVE

Apr 11 – May 6, 2018

Magic Theatre presents World Premiere THE GANGSTER OF LOVE By Jessica Hagedorn Directed by Loretta Greco April 11 - May 6, 2018 TICKETS: http://magictheatre.org/season/the-gangster-of-love FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/events/156487255053739/ Jessica Hagedorn’s THE GANGSTER...

REEL TO REEL

Jan 31 – Feb 25, 2018

Magic Theatre presents World Premiere REEL TO REEL Written and Directed by John Kolvenbach January 31 – February 25, 2018 TICKETS: http://magictheatre.org/season/reel-to-reel FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/events/1754894931484322/ John Kolvenbach (Sister Play, Mrs. Whitney...

Grandeur

May 31 – Jun 25, 2017

May 31 – June 25, 2017 World Premiere GRANDEUR By Han Ong Directed by Loretta Greco Featuring Carl Lumbly Tickets: goo.gl/0GYhCk GRANDEUR imagines a meeting between an ambitious young journalist and the shape-shifting music legend, Gil Scott-Heron. Questions of legacy, art...

The Baltimore Waltz

Mar 29 – Apr 16, 2017

Paula Vogel's fantastical satire takes us on a whirlwind odyssey through Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, and Vienna in search of romance and a cure. Part heartfelt tribute and part political indictment, this groundbreaking work from the beloved Pulitzer Prize winner was given its West...

Fool For Love

Feb 1 – Feb 26, 2017

In a run-down motel at the edge of the Mojave desert, two former lovers unearth the dark secrets of their tangled relationship. Reality and fantasy, past and present collide in this explosive and timeless masterwork which first premiered at Magic in 1983.

This Golden State -- Part One: Delano

May 20 – Jun 14, 2015

Magic Theatre & Oregon Shakespeare Festival proudly co-present this historic trilogy by MacArthur genius Luis Alfaro. A new Luis Alfaro play is always something to get excited about. In the past five years, Magic Theatre audiences have been treated to his electrifying barrio...

Sister Play

Mar 25 – Apr 19, 2015

John Kolvenbach.