Upcoming Shows
Monday Night PlayGround
Mar 2
“Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere.”– Margaret Wise Brown, Goodnight Moon (illustrations by Clement Hurd)Artie and the Three Bears by Laura DomingoAnd Then I Would Dream by KT Frances HartlineNot...
Free-Play Festival
Jul 31 – Aug 23, 2026
The Free-Play Festival at Potrero Stage is a four-week showcase of innovative new works, running from July 31 to August 23, 2026. This event will...
Review: THE NOTEBOOK at Orpheum Theatre
by Steve Murray - February 14, 2026
What did our critic think of THE NOTEBOOK at Orpheum Theatre?...
Review: M. BUTTERFLY at SF Playhouse
by Steve Murray - February 12, 2026
What did our critic think of M. BUTTERFLY at SF Playhouse?...
Review: IMPROBABLE FICTION at Masquers Playhouse
by Kelly Rogers Flynt - February 11, 2026
IMPROBABLE FICTION at Masquers Playhouse is a tale of two parts. Don’t let the easy-going first half lull you into complacency. When the action hits, it comes in quick succession with quippy lines, funny costumes, over the top dramatics, and plenty of belly laughs....
Review: THE CHERRY ORCHARD at Marin Theatre
by Steve Murray - February 04, 2026
Change is hard, we all know that. We get stuck in patterns and the comfortable, even if that inertia is destructive. Watching Chekhov’s Cherry Orchard, brilliantly directed by American Conservatory Theatre Artistic Director emerita Carey Perloff and starring an all-star cast of local legends, will...
Review: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME at Hillbarn Theatre
by Steve Murray - February 02, 2026
Heidi Schreck’s award-winning 2019 homage to the US Constitution couldn’t be timelier than at this moment of political crisis in America. Written as a remembrance of her 15-year-old self as a debater in love with the constitution, the present-day Heidi narrates the play which links her family’...
Review: THE WIZ Lights Up Broadway San Jose
by Linda Hodges - January 28, 2026
Opening Night of The Wiz at Broadway San Jose was dazzling, the kind of evening that reminds you why musical theater, at its best, feels communal, electric, and alive. From the moment the curtain rose, the production burst onto the stage with color, rhythm, and unmistakable joy, offering a vibrant a...
Review: EUGENE ONEGIN at San Francisco Ballet
by Jim Munson - January 26, 2026
San Francisco Ballet is kicking off its 2026 repertory season with the massively ambitious world premiere of Yuri Possokhov’s Eugene Onegin. It’s a tall order to create a full-length contemporary classical ballet to compete with the warhorses we’ve seen a zillion times, but SFB has given it th...
Review: THE BOOK OF MORMON at Orpheum Theatre
by Steve Murray - January 16, 2026
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are on a high recently, with their long- running animated series South Park skewering the present administration in their inimitable profane and darkly surreal style. 2011’s The Book of Mormon brought their irreverent humor to Broadway in what at the time seemed shocking...
Review: DOG MAN: THE MUSICAL at The Henry J. Kaiser Center For The Arts
by Linda Hodges - January 05, 2026
Dog Man: The Musical fetches laughs, heart, and legit Broadway-level craft in a show that never talks down to its audience. Read our review here!...
Review: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL A BEAUTIFUL NOISE at Broadway San Jose
by Linda Hodges - December 31, 2025
What did our critic think of THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL A BEAUTIFUL NOISE at Broadway San Jose?...
Past Shows
A VERY HITCHC*CK CHRISTMAS
Dec 6 – Dec 7, 2025
A Very Hitchcock Christmas returns for its fourth year, featuring five short plays that blend holiday cheer with suspense, inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's iconic films....
Innovators Showcase
Nov 4 – Nov 24, 2024
The PlayGround Innovator Incubator is a multi-year intensive incubation program to support theatrical innovation and the launch of new innovative theatrical production companies. In November/December each year,...
Monday Night PlayGround: The American Experiment
Oct 21
Join us in kicking off our 30th Anniversary Season with a Monday Night full of the stories you thought you knew and the stories you...
Interrogations: Pre-Election Coverage
Oct 3 – Oct 20, 2024
Interrogations: Pre-Election Coverage features three thought-provoking plays: Harold Pinter's The New World Order and One for the Road, alongside Nirmala Nataraj's People of the Shifting...
Where I Come From
Aug 17 – Aug 25, 2024
Where I Come From is a solo play written and performed by Jerry Metzker, exploring the harrowing journey of 19-year-old Fergus Maloney as he escapes...
Festival: Best of PlayGround (SF)'24
May 25 – May 26, 2024
PlayGround is thrilled to announce the selected plays and playwrights for our annual ten-minute play fest, BEST OF PLAYGROUND(SF) ’24, including first-time festival writers Robyn...
Festival Reading: Crazy Jezebels
May 20
The biblical "crazy women" Eve, Jezebel, Lot's Wife, and Lillith have been committed to mental health treatment program, but they might find a way out.
Festival Premiere: A Thousand Natural Shocks
May 18 – May 19, 2024
A Thousand Natural Shocks follows Kennedy who navigates the chaos of IVF, the inevitability of pain, and the Tik-Tok teen crashing on their couch.
Festival Reading: The Passing Storm
May 17
A man trapped in a deadly storm during his ascent of Mount Everest must wrestle with ghosts of the past—both figurative and literal.
Festival Reading: Work/Shoot
May 13
Work/Shoot by Matthew Y. Morishige: Maya Money, Aurora, and Farrah Fenix fight to find what's real in the "heightened" world of professional wrestling.
Festival Premiere: Apertures of Love in Times of War
May 11 – May 12, 2024
PlayGround Festival of New Works PresentsAPERTURES OF LOVE IN TIMES OF WAR by Anne Yumi Kobori (a Festival Premiere Presentation)Directed by Katja RiveraMay 11 &...
Festival Reading: Rivals of Mars
May 10
After the crewed mission to Mars ends in tragedy, the daughter and husband of a deceased astronaut plan a risky mission to recover the bodies.
PlayGround Festival of New Works Kick-Off
May 7
The award-winning playwrights featured in this year’s Festival of New Works will discuss their plays and the role of new works in American theatre.
PlayGround Solo Performance Festival
Jan 26 – Feb 11, 2024
PlayGround’s annual celebration of the best in California solo performance.Now going on its seventh year, this year’s Solo Fest runs January 26-February 11, 2024.
Monday Night PlayGround - "The Shakespeare Multiverse"
Jan 15
What if King Hamlet had discovered his brother’s plans before the treacherous poisoning? Or if Romeo had arrived just a few minutes later to discover...
A Very HitchC*CK Christmas
Dec 10 – Dec 17, 2023
PlayGround presents its second annual "twisted" holiday show: A VERY HITCHCOCK CHRISTMAS! Featuring six cinnamon-spiced, deliciously dark short plays inspired by Rear Window, Rebecca, Rope
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