The Bay Area’s June lineup of accessible and inclusive performances
Summer starts with stories that welcome us all.
As the Bay Area settles into summer, the region’s arts scene is alive with movement, music, and meaning. From San Francisco to San Jose, organizations are welcoming audiences with performances that reflect the diversity and dynamism of the communities they serve.
But it’s not just about what’s on stage—it’s about who’s in the audience. More and more venues are expanding access through ASL interpretation, audio description, and open captioning. These thoughtful offerings ensure that everyone has the chance to be moved, challenged, and inspired.
Whether it’s the intimacy of a play, the energy of a musical, or the grandeur of opera, these performances create space for connection and celebration. This month, let the arts meet you wherever you are, and however you arrive.
Co-Founders
- Open Captioned: June 21 at 2 p.m.
Witness the launch of the next great hip-hop musical, born in the heart of the Bay! Co-Founders is the story of an underrated young Oakland coder, Esata, who hacks her way into the most competitive startup accelerator in San Francisco.
American Conservatory Theater
act-sf.org
The Aves
- Closed Captioned: available at all matinees on your phone (June 1–5)
- Audio Described: June 7 at 2 p.m.
In the summer, an old man and an old woman sit on a park bench, talk about the birds, and bet on the rain…but things aren’t as simple as they may seem. With humor and tenderness, the singular imagination and innovative style of acclaimed playwright Jiehae Park turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
berkeleyrep.org
Parade
- ASL Interpreted: June 7 at 1:00 p.m.
- Closed Captioned: Provided for all performances by GalaPro (June 1–8)
Leo and Lucille Frank are a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in the old red hills of Georgia. When Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice, and devotion. Riveting and gloriously hopeful, Parade reminds us that to love, we must truly see one another.
BroadwaySF
broadwaysf.com
A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical
- Audio Described: June 14 at 1 p.m.
- ASL Interpreted: June 15 at 1 p.m.
- Closed Captioned: Provided for all performances by GalaPro (June 3–22)
Created in collaboration with Neil Diamond himself, A Beautiful Noise is the uplifting true story of how a kid from Brooklyn became a chart-busting, show-stopping American rock icon.
BroadwaySF
broadwaysf.com
Do You Feel Anger?
- Captioned: June 26 at 1 p.m.
An outrageous comedy that highlights the absurdity and danger of a world where some people’s feelings are prioritized over others, Sofia is hired as an empathy coach at a debt collection agency, where she finds her work cut out for her.
Marin Theatre
marintheatre.org
Sweat
- Audio Described: June 21 at 2 p.m.
- ASL Interpreted: June 22 at 2 p.m.
Filled with warm humor and tremendous heart, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat tells the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the factory floor in industrial Pennsylvania.
Palo Alto Players
paplayers.org
La Bohème
Open Captioned: Available at all performances (June 7–21)
Rent is overdue, and the poet Rodolfo’s manuscript is reduced to kindling. But as the fire in the hearth dwindles, passion burns brightly amongst a group of young friends. La Bohème takes us into the heady bohemian world of nineteenth century Paris, as we follow a circle of starving artists falling in and out of love, living for the moment.
San Francisco Opera
sfopera.com
Idomeneo
- For Visually Impaired: OperaVision, HD video projection screens featured in the Balcony level (June 14–20)
Amidst a terrible storm, Idomeneo promises the god Neptune that he will sacrifice the first person he sees if he and his crew survive the tempestuous waters. Arriving to shore, his relief at safe passage quickly transforms into horror as the first person he lays eyes upon is his own son, Idamante.
San Francisco Opera
sfopera.com
Bohème Out of the Box
- Closed Captioned: Available at all performances on your phone (June 1–29)
These free, live performances of an abridged version of Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème, featuring powerful emotions and soaring arias, will travel to outdoor locations throughout the Bay Area this spring. The very first opera to be presented by San Francisco Opera 102 years ago, Puccini’s popular work of love and loss among a group of bohemian artists will be performed in an intimate one-hour version on a converted shipping-container-turned-mobile opera stage.
San Francisco Opera
sfopera.com
