Bay Area Theater Calendar: San Francisco, North Bay, San Jose & More

The Bay Area theater calendar includes performances in San Francisco, the North Bay, San Jose, Oakland, and more. You will find a variety of options from large Broadway productions to wonderful shows at smaller local theaters. 

Below you will find a schedule of top performances for each region within the greater Bay Area, as well as details on where to find more productions and how to get the best tickets.

Disclaimer: I receive a small commission from some of the links on this page.

San Francisco

You will find dozens of shows in San Francisco every week. This is where you will find most of the big Broadway productions such as Wicked, Hamilton, and The Book of Mormon.

If you want to see a full list of shows, click here for a detailed theater calendar for San Francisco.

Tickets to upcoming productions in San Francisco.

San Jose

Another city with a popular Bay Area theater calendar is San Jose, just over an hour south of SF. Here you'll find several musicals, Broadway hits, and smaller shows throughout the year.

All shows are at the Center for the Performing Arts at 255 Almaden Boulevard in San Jose.

Below are some of the top shows on the San Jose theater calendar for this season.

Disney's Frozen

Dates: 8/21 – 9/1

Tickets: TicketNetwork

Disney's Frozen captured the hearts of families all over the globe with its famously un-romantic princess plot and Oscar-winning original songs like "Let It Go"... but this Broadway version is a treat unto itself.

The score has been expanded with a dozen new numbers written by the film's songwriters. The Tony-winning production team has created an experience that critics rave about as moving and magical.

Come enjoy your favorite characters—Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Sven—on stage in a spectacular musical theater experience. 

Clue

Dates: 10/29 - 11/3

Tickets: TicketNetwork

Enjoy an entertaining night at Boddy Manor, where six guests have to figure out who committed the murder. 

This play is based on the classic board game and popular 1985 film Clue, with the characters and props you know and love. It will keep you laughing and guessing the whole way through.

Shrek

Dates: 12/17 - 12/22

Everyone's beloved ogre from the Oscar-winning DreamWorks film hits the stage in style, with music by a Tony Award-winning Broadway pair. 

Hop aboard this colorful  journey with Shrek, the unlikely hero, his silly sidekick donkey, and a feisty princess who doesn't want to be rescued. Through their uncanny adventures, learn to love the uniqueness in yourself and everyone else.

The Cher Show

Dates: 3/18/25 - 3/23/25

Whether you're a longtime fan of the pop icon or just want to experience a feel-good musical, The Cher Show will captivate you with the story and music of this successful artist. 

This is much more than sequins and glamour, awards and spotlit romances. With 35 hits spanning six decades, you'll be dancing along as Cher grows up on stage into the powerful female pioneer that she is in today's music industry. 

Six

Dates: 4/22/25 - 4/27/25

This hilarious and clever British musical comedy has won awards for Best Original Score and Best Musical. It's taken the world by storm by combining 500 years of history into a pop concert.

You'll be entertained by the girl group's performance in which the six wives of Henry XIII take turns telling their story to see which one suffered the most for being married to their common ex-husband.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Dates: 7/8/25 - 7/20/25

Moulin Rouge is set at the turn of the 20th century, where Bohemians and aristocrats converge in the glitzy nightlife of Paris, France.

Based on Baz Luhrmann's popular 2001 film, this Tony Award-winning musical mash-up is certain to dazzle you. In jukebox style, the play weaves together original songs with pop music, including songs that came out years after the movie.

MJ: The Musical

Dates: 7/29/25 - 8/3/25

This Tony Award-winning musical shows that there was so much more to the King of Pop than just his music. It takes you into his creative mind and collaborative spirit that launched his tremendous success. 

Full of more than 25 Michael Jackson hits, this musical delves into the defining moments of the artist's career in which he was preparing for the 1992 Dangerous World Tour.

East Bay, Berkeley & Oakland

The Bay Area theater calendar for the East Bay includes performances in Berkeley, Oakland, El Cerrito, and other cities. Many of these shows are an easy to get to on BART public transportation.

Here are the top upcoming shows. 

Berkeley Playhouse

• 9/6 - 10/13: The Prom
  
• 11/8 - 12/22: Seussical The Musical
• 2/21 - 3/30: Jesus Christ Superstar
• 5/23 - 6/29: The Sound of Music
• 7/12 - 7/20: Something Rotten

Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley

• 6/21 - 7/21: The Lifespan of a Fact
  
• 10/19 - 11/17: Fallen Angels
• 12/6, 12/7, 12/13, & 12/14: Cabaret: Felonious
• 2/8 - 3/9: The Heart Sellers
• 4/26 - 5/25: Crumbs from the Table of Joy
• 7/12 - 8/10: The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe

Berkeley Rep

• 6/14 - 7/21: Mother Road
  
• 9/13 - 10/20: Mexodus
• 10/18 - 12/8: The Matchbox Magic Flute
• 11/8 - 12/15: Jaja's African Hair Braiding
• 1/31 - 3/9: The Thing About Jellyfish
• 2/14 - 3/23: Uncle Vanya 
• 4/5 - 5/11: Here There Are Blueberries
• 5/2 - 6/8: The Aves

Contra Costa Civic Theatre

• 9/11 - 9/22: Shakespeare's Hamlet and Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead - These two shows will alternate during this time, so you can get the story from both sides, you can see just one production or see both during this run
• 11/23 - 12/8: Doctor Dolittle: A New Musical
• 2/1 - 2/16: Fairview
• 6/7 - 6/22: Fiddler on the Roof

Peninsula & South Bay 

In addition to San Jose, the Peninsula and other South Bay cities also offer great theater performances. 

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley

• 10/9 - 11/3: King James
  
• 12/4 - 12/29: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley
• 1/10 - 2/9: Hershey Felder: Rachmaninoff and the Tsar
• 3/5 - 3/30: Happy Pleasant Valley: A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical
• 4/2 - 4/27: The Heart Sellers
• 6/18 - 7/13: 5 & Dime

Coastal Rep in Half Moon Bay

• 7/26 - 8/18: 9 to 5
  
• 9/13 - 9/26: Dial M for Murder
• 10/25 - 11/3: Mean Girls, Kids
• 12/6 - 12/22: Annie

Pacifica Spindrift Players

• 8/9 - 8/25: Fiddler on the Roof
  
• 10/11 - 10/27: A Murder is Announced
• 2/7 - 2/23: TBA Mystery Musical
• 3/28 - 4/6: Doubt
• 5/9 - 5/18: Perfect Arrangement

Hillbarn Theatre in Foster City

• 8/22 - 9/15: Always Patsy Cline
• 10/17 - 11/3: Wait Until Dark
• 12/5 - 12/29: Anastasia
• 1/23 - 2/9: Daisy
• 3/6 - 3/23: Fly by Night
• 4/17 - 5/4: Writing Fragments Home 

>> Visit their official site for more details and ticketing information

Palo Alto Players

• 9/6 - 9/22: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  
• 11/8 - 11/24: Fiddler on the Roof
• 1/17 - 2/2: Noises Off
• 4/18 - 5/4: Jersey Boys
• 6/13 - 6/29: Sweat

>> Find more details and tickets for each show on their official site

North Bay

You will also find a full Bay Area theater calendar at stages all around the North Bay. This region hosts many smaller and first-time productions.

The theaters are often more intimate, giving you the chance to get up close to the stage. In addition, you will find some larger outdoor productions each summer.

6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa

The 6th Street Playhouse is a renovated 107-year-old Del Monte cannery located in historic Railroad Square in Santa Rosa.

The square now operates as a quaint little shopping area where you can grab coffee, dinner, or a glass of wine before or after the play.

This playhouse is home to two North Bay theater companies, which present everything from dramas to popular musicals to children's shows. 

• 6/6 - 6/30: Kinky Boots
  
• Opens 8/30: Four Guys Named Jose and Una Mujer Named Maria
  
• Open 10/4: Lizzie: The Musical
• Opens 10/11: What the Constitution Means to Me
  
• Opens 11/22: Irving Berlin’s White Christmas: The Musical
  
• Opens 1/4: Holly Day and the Rainbow Road
  
• Opens 1/31: Groundhog Day: The Musical
  

Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma

Cinnabar Theater was created by San Francisco Opera singer Marvin Klebe in 1970, when he and his family decided to transform a two-room schoolhouse in Petaluma into a lovely community space for performance and creative collaboration. 

You can catch North Bay theater performances—from Tony Award-winning musicals to contemporary plays—from September through June, as well as concerts and performances by Cinnabar's Young Rep group. Most shows are only performed on weekends.

• 6/21 - 7/5: La Boheme
  
• 9/13 - 9/29: Oklahoma!
• 1/17 - 1/26: Gutenberg, The Musical
• 2/14 - 2/23: Steel Magnolias
• 6/13 - 6/29: Bright Star

>> Visit their official site for more details and tickets

Ross Valley Players

Ross is a very small town just west of San Rafael. There, in the 1930s, Beth Lloyd and a group of women founded the Ross Valley Players theater company as a way to cope with the Depression, later transforming an old rundown barn into theater it is today.

Throughout the year, the Ross Valley Players offer six plays, plus one full-length production of an original, provocative piece by a Bay Area playwright.

Their work is diverse and aims to not only entertain, but to enliven the human spirit. Each new season starts in September and you can catch performances through August. Most shows are only performed on weekends.

• 9/13 - 10/13: Crossing Delancey
• 11/17 - 12/17: Blithe Spirit
• 1/23 - 2/23: The Spitfire Grill
• 3/20 - 4/6: Pet Lingerie
• 5/9 - 6/8: The Book of Will

>> Visit their official site for details

Monthly Event Calendars

Are you looking for additional events in San Francisco and the Bay Area? Click the links below for a full calendar of events for each month.

More Performing Arts in the Bay Area

Opera: The SF Opera is another popular performing arts option. They have two seasons each year, one during the fall months and the other during the summer from June to July. They produce many classic operas, including Madame Butterfly, La Boheme, and Carmen. Click here for this season's SF Opera shows.

Ballet: The SF Ballet was the first company to perform the Nutcracker in the US, and they continue to delight audiences during their annual performances of this Christmas classic. They also offer a full season of shows from January to May. Click here for details on seeing this year's Nutcracker performances or one of their regular season shows.

Symphony: The SF Symphony performs throughout the year. Each month, they offer around a dozen shows. You will find classical performances, as well as nights when they play scores from a specific movie. Some of their other shows feature well known singers and conductors. Click here for a full schedule of SF Symphony shows this year. 

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