Bay Area Performing Arts Fall Preview
Your personal guide to the best and brightest shows across the Bay Area this fall.
Welcome to our brand-new Performing Arts Fall Preview. We’ve selected the best in theatre, dance, music, and other performance art across the Bay Area, giving you a sneak peek into a wide variety of what the city has to offer.
Instead of grouping the shows by arts organization or performance type, we’ve looked further into the stories, grouping them by the type of tale you’ll see on stage. In Politically Charged you’ll join those facing tyranny and revolution (from the safety of your seat of course). One Night Only is exactly as it sounds: performances that are in town for a single night. Reinterpreting the Silver Screen offers a new take on the art of filmmaking. A Piece of Herstory focuses on women’s history and stories from their perspective. Take a break from the States with art from around the world with Global Ambassadors. A range of artists originating from the Bay Area are highlighted in Hometown Heroes. Take in a new version of a favorite story with Retelling a Classic. Pick a romantic show for you and your sweetheart with Date Night. Celebrate Halloween with Spooky Season. Or try something brand-new with help from A Bay Area Debut.
Politically Charged
I know, I know. You’re thinking, “As if we need politics to invade our theatres.” And it’s true, there is so much noise in this country already. However, art is fundamentally an expression of ideologies and world views. And trust me, it’s going to be more entertaining than watching the nightly news.
The Cook
An aristocratic Cuban family flees from Havana to Miami on the eve of Castro’s revolution, entrusting their mansion to their devoted cook Gladys who vows to protect it until their return. For forty years, she keeps her promise, enduring loss, upheaval, and the slow unraveling of a country’s dreams.
SEPTEMBER 4 – OCTOBER 11
Simon Boccanegra
Simon Boccanegra is both an intimate story of love, loss, and reconciliation, and a larger political allegory for a divided Italy aching for unity.
SEPTEMBER 12–27
Choligarchy
Equal parts hilarious and essential, Choligarchy is a rallying cry to stand up, speak out, and laugh in the face of tyranny before it’s too late.
SEPTEMBER 15–19
One Night Only
These performances can be seen for one night only. Don’t miss out on something special because you won’t have the chance to catch it again for a while.
Samara Joy
Joy makes her first appearance with the San Francisco Symphony in an evening spotlighting her singular voice.
SEPTEMBER 8
Gregory Alan Isakov
Gregory Alan Isakov has cast an impressive presence on the indie-rock and folk worlds with his six full-length studio albums. He joins the San Francisco Symphony for an evening featuring symphonic arrangements of his acclaimed songs.
SEPTEMBER 15
Opening Gala with Hilary Hahn
Superstar violinist Hilary Hahn takes the stage with Giancarlo Guerrero and the San Francisco Symphony in a celebratory program to open the new season.
SEPTEMBER 24
Reinterpreting the Silver Screen
While we’re all familiar with plays becoming films and films becoming plays, there are other ways to reimagine movies and their makers. These exploratory performances give the art of filmmaking new life.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Watch Star Wars: Return of the Jedi on the big screen at Davies Symphony Hall as John Williams’s score is performed live by the SF Symphony.
SEPTEMBER 10–12
North by Northwest
“I am thrilled, excited and perhaps a little apprehensive to bring the iconic North by Northwest home to the US! I just hope that American audiences will love it as much as our British audiences did. What I am not apprehensive about is bringing its message; one of nations coming together in peace and friendship to make the world a better place.” — Emma Rice, director
SEPTEMBER 22 – OCTOBER 18
A Piece of Herstory
The future may be female, but with these stories, you’ll see that the past was as well. These shows range in style from historically accurate accounts of real women to hilarious satire to legendary stories of nearly mythical characters.
Mary, Queen of Scots
Composer Thea Musgrave brings one of history’s most captivating figures to the stage with a score as bold and compelling as its heroine.
SEPTEMBER 20 – OCTOBER 4
Oh, Mary!
“One of the best comedies in years.” — The New York Times
OCTOBER 13 – NOVEMBER 1
Judy Collins
“Touring has been the great thread of my life. City to city, song to song, face to face. The audiences have carried me for decades, and I’ve never stopped being moved by what can happen in a room when we truly listen to one another. This tour is my way of saying thank you—out loud, together.” — Judy Collins
OCTOBER 18
Liberation
What does it mean for a woman to be free?
OCTOBER 23 – NOVEMBER 29
Global Ambassadors
Explore the world without leaving the city.
Nduduzo Makhathini Trio
Over the last decade in jazz’s evolution, no pianist has had the impact of South African keyboard great Nduduzo Makhathini.
SEPTEMBER 12–13
The Australian Ballet
Oscar explores themes of romance, sacrifice, and forbidden love, weaving elements of Wilde’s biography together with references to his timeless stories and characters.
SEPTEMBER 25–27
Mariachi Herencia de México
Celebrate Día de los Muertos with Chicago’s rousing next-generation mariachi ensemble.
OCTOBER 23
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
A program featuring Shostakovich’s intensely passionate Tenth Symphony.
OCTOBER 25
Jean Rondeau
Returning to Cal Performances following his memorable 2023 recital, French harpsichordist Jean Rondeau visits with a characteristically ambitious and insightful program exploring the marvelous keyboard works of the French Baroque.
NOVEMBER 8
Hometown Heroes
The Bay Area has produced countless artists, from world-renowned actors to local buskers. And sometimes, when we are lucky, these artists come back home to share their talents with us again.
Camille Kerani
A rising force on the scene, saxophonist Camille Kerani and her band take on Coltrane’s 1965 masterpiece to honor his centennial, bringing an exuberant sense of exploration that pays tribute to his enduring spirit.
SEPTEMBER 18
Fantastic Negrito
Oakland native and multi-Grammy Award-winning artist Fantastic Negrito joins the San Francisco Symphony for a striking collaboration that brings his bold, genre-defying sound into a symphonic setting. Drawing from blues, soul, rock, and deeply personal storytelling, his music balances grit and grace, joy and resilience.
SEPTEMBER 26
The Rocky Horror Picture Show Spooktacular Tour featuring Barry Bostwick
Join the original “Brad Majors” — Barry Bostwick — for a screening of the movie in a new 4k restoration with a live shadow cast and audience participation.
OCTOBER 11
Retelling a Classic
These shows flip the script and give us new interpretations of well-known stories. You may be familiar with the original, but that doesn’t mean you know what to expect here.
Once Upon a Mattress
Watch fiery swamp princess Winnifred the Woebegone take on the impossibly picky Queen Aggravain in a battle for the hand of Prince Dauntless the Drab with wit, charm, and uproarious song.
SEPTEMBER 25 – OCTOBER 17
Peter Pan Goes Wrong
“Expertly executed Broadway mayhem!” — Variety
SEPTEMBER 26 – NOVEMBER 28
Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet
Prokofiev’s ballet music for Romeo and Juliet is every bit as singular as the Shakespeare tragedy that inspired it: Savage and sensual, tragic and comic, it conveys all the passion of the play and loses none of its ambiguity.
NOVEMBER 13–15
Date Night
You bring a date. These performances will bring the romance.
The Fall Show
In The Fall Show, an older couple’s unexpected romance unfolds against a maelstrom of memory and movement. Lovers collide, chaos erupts, and tenderness persists in an intimate examination of love ‘til the very end.
SEPTEMBER 25 – OCTOBER 25
Lester Lynch & Kevin Korth
A regal presence on stages the world over, dramatic baritone Lester Lynch has tackled many of the most iconic opera roles to great acclaim: Crown in Porgy and Bess, Wotan in Das Rheingold, the Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore, and the title roles in Macbeth and Rigoletto.
SEPTEMBER 27
Manon
Manon composer Jules Massenet’s soaring score captures the intensity of young love as Manon and Des Grieux’s relationship endures twist after turn.
OCTOBER 15 – NOVEMBER 1
The Marriage of Figaro
Conductor Sebastian Weigle makes an exciting house debut on the podium.
OCTOBER 31 – NOVEMBER 29
Spooky Season
If you agree with me that Halloween should be a month-long holiday, these shows are for you. Catch something a little spooky, or truly terrifying, whenever you choose to celebrate All Hallow’s Eve.
Dracula
Bold, chilling, and wickedly smart, the story draws you into a world where reason clashes with superstition and love becomes dangerously intoxicating.
OCTOBER 7 – NOVEMBER 1
The Ring
Watch Gore Verbinski’s The Ring on the big screen at Davies Symphony Hall as Hans Zimmer’s score is performed live by the SF Symphony.
OCTOBER 20
Covenant
York Walker’s Covenant unravels truth from myth in a haunting and gripping reckoning with what we choose to believe and what we cannot escape.
NOVEMBER 6 – DECEMBER 13
A Bay Area Debut
This fall is the time for Bay Area debuts. Some are regional premieres, others have never been staged at these organizations. But all will give you something brand new to enjoy even if you are a frequent patron of the performing arts.
Pickleball
“Pickleball is a hard‑hitting, laugh‑out‑loud comedy that brings wit, rivalry, and heart to the stage.” — BroadwayWorld Sacramento
NOW – SEPTEMBER 13
The White Chip
Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, this “recovery comedy” unfolds from Steven’s own disarmingly candid and charmingly funny perspective.
NOW – SEPTEMBER 20
John Proctor is the Villian
2025 Tony nominee for Best Play
NOVEMBER 12 – DECEMBER 6
William Kentridge’s The Head & the Load
The Head & the Load takes its name from a Ghanaian proverb, “The head and the load are the troubles of the neck,” and continues Kentridge’s exploration of history, language, and artistic and political movements through richly layered and inventive performance works.
NOVEMBER 12–15
