We have come here twice in November 2025: Vienna Boys Choir and Moana Live-to-film. Both…read moreperformances were spectacular, ushers showed us to the seating, and drinks and snacks for sale. For the Moana performance, there was a parking lot specifically designated for families going to see it, and you had to show a ticket to get in. The problem is not the venue itself; the problem lies within the fact that it's Berkeley driving and parking. As long as you plan to arrive at least half an hour before showtime, you should be fine.

My little one and I made our way to Zellerbach Hall to attend an Alvin Ailey Dance performance…read more This was her first time attending a live musical dance production (I am disregarding her attendance to Disney on Ice for this one). Zellerbach Hall is located within the campus of UC Berkeley. It is a spacious, beautiful building with ample seating to provide various viewpoints. For my daughter's first performance, I purchased the front row directly in front of the stage to ensure she had zero interference with her view. Her view... my five year old slept in my arms during majority of the performance only seeing the first and final dance performance. If you have never attended an Alvin Alley performance, you are truly missing beauty and precision and story telling and movement and so many other wondrous things at its finest. This was my third time attending and I leave so fulfilled by the emotion evoked from the performances, dancers and storytelling. Parking can be a hassle as it's primarily street parking and possible garage parking if you arrive early. We were fortunate to find street parking across from the old church. Public transportation via BART or bus are options. From BART, expect to walk 20-30 minutes (depending on your speed). My daughter and I made a day of it, stopping for a slice of pizza then making our way to frozen yogurt prior to the show.

I attended last night's 8pm- 10pm concert featuring Sibelius's Symphony No. 2 and Beethoven's No. 3…read moreEroica. The performance was delightful, and it was a pleasure to see a robust and diverse audience along with me supporting the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. I was surprised to learn that the orchestra was comprised of both full- time students and community members, and that these musicians, as I understood, were performing sophisticated pieces on two days of practice-per-week together and a pre- performance rehearsal on top of their normal schedules. I wonder how audiences, particularly those commuting or those generally averse to late evening engagements for whatever reason, would respond to more frequent performances earlier in the day over a longer time frame. After last night's performance, I thought I heard yells in the back for an encore after the rousing conclusion to the Beethoven piece. I certainly wouldn't have minded.

I unfortunately had a horrible encounter with Nadia Endara for one of the amazing UC Berkeley…read moreorchestra concerts. This review is solely representative of her extremely mean and condescending attitude, and not at all for the amazing quality of the performers and the event venue. :) I was late to the concert and told her I was very sorry and could wait until intermission to enter. Nadia's first words to me were "Well if you were a true friend, you would've come earlier". She then spent 5 minutes berating me for trying to scam her with a fake ticket (it was not fake) and still refused to let me into the venue despite showing her my confirmation and stealing my payment for the ticket. I was extremely patient with Nadia despite her disgusting demeanor. The most I told her off was something along the lines of "ok I understand, but I would appreciate if you would approach it in a nicer way". (she did not take that well at all) At the end of the day, Nadia's attitude was rude, off-putting, and downright mean. I was dumbfounded by how quickly she resorted to name-calling and berating a total stranger (and paying customer!). She could've just politely told me that it was too late to enter the venue, which I would've accepted, but she made snarky back-handed comments that were completely unnecessary. Nadia is a horrible representation of the UCBSO and Hertz Hall professional community!

SF had this Opera in the Park event, and it was such a lovely experience. We went to the one in…read moreConcord, and it was so much fun, relaxing, well organized, and just a great time overall. Can't wait to see an opera at the Opera House next!

Recently attended the SF Opera World Premiere The Monkey King by Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang…read more Love everything about it--from staging and set designs, lighting, costumes, choreography to all the talented casts. Hurry, you can still see it as it runs until November 30. Having grew up reading The Monkey King, this Opera spoke to me. So excited to have this timeless story come alive in operatic form, such an amazing experience in that the monkey king is a smart, rebellious, powerful being and he learns through his adventures to harness power and balance it with wisdom, humility and responsibility. Very aspirational and yet familiar. Some Chinese Opera (Northern and Southern) nuances incorporated into this Western-style opera. Beautiful and provoking. Looking forward to the next event.

The 2023 Chuseok Festival was at the main lawn of the Presidio. There was live Korean music and…read moretons of food stalls. You can hear the music a few blocks away and provided a fun atmosphere. We were riding our bicycles through the Presidio today and wanted to check out what the party was about. We had a great time!

My family and I attended the festival for the first time in 2023 and it was very crowded and…read morefestive! Exactly what a festival should be. The korean culture could be experienced at every booth. Parking is limited, requires parking ticket purchase so I recommend arriving early! My little ones ran so much and made several new friends. We didnt get to watch all the performances and wished there were more chairs or bench style seating. We will definitely be returning annually and hopefully with more friends.

I visited the Opera House to see Mary Queen of Scots and really enjoyed the venue. Both the…read moreexterior and interior is stunning with white columns outside and a plush, grand interior. I love that there's space for gallery exhibits and activations inside and compared to other performance houses I've been to, the Opera House feels a bit more spacious. The live orchestra combined with the performance, greeters, ushers and gift shop workers were all great and very helpful.

My husband and I attended The Nutcracker in December, and unfortunately the experience was so…read moreunpleasant that we have no interest in returning to the San Francisco Ballet. We were seated in the second row of the orchestra, directly behind a group in the first row who whispered, turned around, pointed, and moved almost constantly throughout the performance. Their level of fidgeting was honestly bizarre and impossible to ignore. They also had a very young child with them who repeatedly made noise and turned around during the show. It was so distracting that I barely remember the performance itself. What I remember is the group sitting in front of us. We wanted to say something during the show, but there was no usher visibly monitoring our section. We also did not feel comfortable confronting strangers directly in a dark theater and potentially escalating the situation. This is exactly why ushers should be present and attentive during a performance, rather than placing the burden on patrons to police one another. When we spoke with a manager afterward, we were told that we could have reported the issue during intermission and possibly been moved. That response was frustrating. By intermission, half the performance had already been ruined, and it did not seem fair that we would be the ones expected to leave the seats we selected and paid for while the disruptive patrons remained in place. We contacted the Ballet multiple times afterward. Initially, the response felt dismissive. We were then offered tickets for one specific date in February, which was not practical because we live in Santa Cruz and could not simply travel to San Francisco on a randomly selected day. Eventually, we were offered tickets to a spring program, but the most logical and appropriate resolution would have been replacement tickets for the following Nutcracker season, since that was the experience that had been ruined. What made this especially disappointing was not only the behavior of the patrons, but the way the Ballet handled the complaint afterward. A sincere apology and a straightforward effort to replace the experience would have gone a long way. Instead, the process felt unnecessarily difficult and left my husband unwilling to do business with the San Francisco Ballet again. For an organization charging premium prices for a formal live performance, I expected better audience monitoring and much better customer service.

The cast of Knockoff Broadway put on such an entertaining performance at All Out Comedy Theater…read morethis past Saturday. The theater room didn't open till a few minutes before the listed show time. But they had a lovely lobby for waiting, full of color and character. And basic snacks and drinks were sold on site (chips, pocky, soda, beer, etc.). The show started about 12 minutes late and lasted exactly one hour (8:12-9:12pm). This was your typical improv show with talented individuals acting out their creative ideas on the spot, but with a unique element which made it different from the many improv events I've been to... the cast breaking into song on stage during various parts of the story. Everything was improvised, even the awesome tunes played by three musicians on the drums, keyboard, and electric guitar. Audience suggestions were taken in the beginning, three ideas total narrowed to one via votes by applause. The theme of the night (and title of the knockoff musical) ended up being "Landfill". The performance had the crowd bursting with laughter at scenes including skunks falling in love to a doo-wop number and a wannabe artist turning poop into beauty (a sculpture made of poop lumps), as well as lessons and reminders that "the world can be a dump but it doesn't have to be!" The performers were hilarious, the music and made-up lyrics were fun, and the show overall was lighthearted and enjoyable. And since it's improv, it's never the same experience. So it's worth coming back to see Knockoff Broadway's quirky musicals again and again, or to check out one of the many other shows featured at this venue, like puppets, magic, and mental health comedy.

This is an annual two-day event celebrating the filipino-american community and culture through the…read morearts, food, and unique exhibits. The festival took place at Yerba Buena Gardens with the Saturday parade along Market Street. I enjoyed viewing the cultural performances, song and dance, along with traditional attire, both during the parade and on the event stage. Plenty of seating was available in the grassy field at the festival. The schedule even included a classified records tribute to music from the 90's... it was hard not to sing along to nostalgic hits by filipino artists from the bay area, like Pinay and Jocelyn Enriquez. MG also put on a show for us 90's kids, including a vocal performance of Sweet Honesty as staff danced the cha-cha on stage. There were tons of merchandise tents and food vendors selling a wide variety of filipino bites, along with ube everything. We enjoyed several snacks and dishes including lumpia, pork bbq skewers, longanisa, chicken adobo, and of course, rice. It was delish! The free polvoron and candies given out during the parade were yummy treats too. We did have to park a few blocks away, but it was worth it for such a joyful event offering a diverse range of entertainment, activities, and culinary delights for people of all ages.

This festival beautifully captured Bay Area Filipino culture in Yerba Buena Park. The parade was…read moregorgeous! There were many vendor stands selling merchandise and delicious food. At the stage, there were amazing vocal and dance performances that encapsulated Filipino skill! The only downside, however, was that many of the vendors packed up or ran out of product early. The festival was scheduled to end at 5:00pm but vendors were out nearly two hours before then. It's great to see that the community is showing their support though! Definitely will visit again next year!

Note: there is a Hotel, Studio, and Museum at these two adjacent related locations…read more Also a fee is now charged for the musuem.