Came to see Kristina Wong's Sweatshop Overlord. We got balcony seats, which were fairly priced and…read moreit was a perfect view of the stage. It's a pretty small theater across the street from Orpheum Theater. I never realized that Strand Theater was here! Glad to be able to enjoy theater arts here in San Francisco beyond the touring Broadway shows.

First time at here to see the Teen Edition of Hadestown. This is a great theater! I like the size…read moreespecially for shows like this. Every seat seems like a great seat. You're not too far. No obstructed views. I purchased seats in the 2nd row. I felt like I was a little too close but I got to see and hear voice so clearly. The acoustics were great! Despite it being summer, it was very cold in the theater probably for the actors on stage. Be sure to bring a jacket or sweater when watching the show. I sat next to a person who seemed to shake his leg off and on during the show. The whole row was vibrating. Nice lobby with concessions. You can also preorder so your drinks are ready by intermission. Will Call was nice and easy. You can take BART and get off Civic Center. There are places to eat that are walking distance but be sure they are open.

For my 1000th review, I decided to pay homage to the Fine Arts…read more I've been having a good run with the dating world lately. Not sure if it has to do with the mild winter or that there are some people out there that actually share, the very least, a mild affection for theater performances and other creative venues for evening meets. In regards to that, one of the many successful dates led me to catch Sartre's Existential classic No Exit. The space is tiny but the perfect setting for the play. Stark. Simple. Abstract and hot. The perfect hell for the perfect menage of shipmates on trial for the rest of eternity. The seats are graduated and the fading red velvet cushions pay homage to a long bygone era of art appreciation. I found myself shedding my coat and then subsequently my sweater as the verbal chaos ensued onstage........taken away by a slight representation of what could be Dante's Hell of their own making. One of the other reasons as to why I was here was because of my being acquainted with two members of the cast. Diana Brown is a friend of a playwright/director friend of mine and I've always been taken by her sweet passionate and verbose self on stage. In addition, Andrey Esterlis had also struck a chord of recognition ever since I caught him in Dead Certain. Powerful and impressionable. In addition to hosting plays the space also trains students in the steps of Kyogen and Noh plays. This specialty takes me back to my childhood days of training in Kyomai dance, a highly stylized and elegant dance form in traditional kimono attire. The space is close to a Starbucks, which we did visit prior to opening for my caffeine fix. For dinner dates, there are other options nearby, such as the Slow Club and Cafe Gratitude for a romantic interlude and perhaps a nice glass of wine to warm you up prior to the show.

Oh my God! I love…read morethis theatre! It is an old, small hardwood floor theatre with about 45 seats on a tall upward angle, which are red and cushy. Real theatre seats! There is a tiny, tiny dressing room off to the side where the dancers and thespians and musicians prepare. It is so tiny, but there is a big mirror and dressing room lights! We love the dressing room lights. I can tell I will enjoy performing here. I think it's really fun to sit in the cushy red seats and enjoy a show here, too, no matter what it is, because the atmosphere is so authentic. There is a large triptych on the wall by the seats which is GORGEOUS. Its selling price is $9000.00, but you know what, it's worth more and don't touch it, as it belongs in this theatre. It is perfect black on white broad strokes of movement. I am going to sign up to their e-mail list. This is one of the coolest, sweetest, smallest, most authentic venues in San Francisco.

Love this group and their unique brand of smart, physical theater! As the other reviews mentioned,…read morethey just won the Goldie for best theater from the Guardian. They also won "Best of" at last year's Fringe Festival with an adaptation of "Turn of the Screw" that was inventive and more scary than any stage piece has a right to be. Now their latest production, "Monster in the Dark" is a brilliant world premiere playing at Counterpulse through March 23rd. The foolsFURY Theater ensemble and writer Doug Dorst have been hatching this Existential and Orwellian tale with the Biblical backstory for three years now. I love the staging, with audience members facing each other from two sides and costume changes taking place right in the open. Which makes their work more visceral than ever. Once again the movement and choreography goes way beyond theater. Plus, the script is cult favorite-ready and the cast is super-strong. I promise that you've never heard tongue spackle like this before! Oh, and it's pretty darn scary. They got lots of great reviews for this one in the papers, but I think the one in the Examiner captured it best: http://www.examiner.com/a-1254823~Review___Monster__is_masterful.html Don't sleep on this one, get a ticket, some nights are selling out. And if you miss it, catch their next production...

The most exciting small theater company in the Bay Area…read more Artistic Director Ben Yalom & crew are really innovative both in their choice of material (original works & adaptations) and their staging. They are supremely physical and they find much sublime meaning in props and everyday objects. The fact that they can invoke such haunting power with spare resources has left me scratching my head as well as inspired. Haunting, intriguing, sometimes dense, never boring. This review is based on last years production of "The Devil on All Sides" and their current Fringe Festival production of "The Turn of the Screw".

I should find more places missing photos and reviews when places like this has been here a while…read more The Taube Atrium Theater is a new high-tech, modular 299-seat theater located on the fourth floor of San Francisco Opera's new Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera in the San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center that was inaugurated in February 2016 . Enter the Veterans Building from Van Ness Avenue and take the elevator to the 4th floor. In this level you will see a photo wall gallery of historical photos of past opera performances. I was lucky enough to visit this theater because the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra had a program I wanted to see innovative, classical with a touch of metal to keep the music lively and entertaining with a rare unique harpsichord instrument that you don't see too often playing solo or with an orchestra! I enjoyed my time here, modern, contemporary seats were comfortable, night leg room for people to pass in your row. I would love to attend another event here if there was one. The Herbst theater is in the ground floor.

Adult open classes here are fantastic and the facility is beautiful…read more The teacher lineup is consistently the best in SF - all experienced and professional. Amazing SFB principal Joanna Berman has been teaching on Wednesdays. Yuri Possokhov, Christopher Stowell, and other big names rotate in and out as teachers. Great pianists. Always a great experience.

I am a parent who spent a long time searching for the best ballet school for both my daughter and…read moremy son, and without a doubt City Ballet School San Francisco is hands down the best ballet school in the Bay Area if you're looking for REAL professional training. What sets City Ballet School San Francisco apart is the level of seriousness and results -- they consistently produce the highest number of students who go on to dance professionally, far more than any of the other schools around here. The faculty is made up of dancers/teachers who have performed and had careers with major companies (Bolshoi, Mariinsky, ABT...). Compared to other ballet schools in the area, like Bayer Ballet or Osipova Ballet Academy -- where teachers may hold teaching diplomas that sound impressive -- having a diploma is not the same as having lived the career. You need to feel what it's like on stage, to understand the sensations and subtleties of the body. Books and certificates can't replace real, lived experience. Nowadays, anyone can get a teaching diploma from JKO, but that doesn't automatically make you a good teacher. Too often, it has become a business, and, sadly, that can take away from the art itself. Another big advantage is that City Ballet School San Francisco has its own theater in the building. That means students don't just train in the studio -- they get real stage experience throughout the year. And it's not just putting kids in a mice costume for Nutcracker and making them run around for free labor, like at other schools. Here, they actually get professional-level stage opportunities that help them grow as artists. And what really makes City Ballet School San Francisco stand out for us as parents is their real men's program for boys. My son benefits from training designed specifically for male dancers -- something I don't know of any other school in the Bay Area offering at this level. This program is essential, and it shows how seriously the school takes preparing boys for professional careers in ballet. Simply put, City Ballet School San Francisco combines world-class training, experienced faculty, unique performance opportunities, and a dedicated men's program, making it the clear leader for professional ballet training in the Bay Area.

Recently attended Oakland Ballet's Dancing Moons festival performance at the Oakland Asian Culture…read moreCenter with my husband who was a former Oakland Ballet dancer and his friend who's very involved in the ballet world, and we all thought it was amazing! The stage was a bit too small for the dancers but they made it work. Amazing costumes, symbolism, technique, choreography, etc and loved that there was a diverse group of dancers. My husband thought it was great that the dancers were able to give input on the choreography. After the dance, we were able to talk to the director of the company and he was so friendly. Would love to attend more of their performances!

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!

Recently attended a touring Final Fantasy orchestra concert here (even if you don't play the video…read moregames I still recommend going to one of these concerts.....sure context helps but the musical pieces are still beautiful without it!!). Venue is alright. I agree with another reviewer in that the concert hall gets pretty humid. Had to take a breather (quite literally) during intermission and went outside for some fresh cool air. Also, not the biggest fan of the velvet chairs; might be a nit-pick as a material-texture thing, but with the room being a heat box I can't help but imagine how much sweat is embedded into the chairs here lol (sorry for the imagery). Ehh was leaning towards giving this place 3 stars but I'll give it 4 because of the great ease of finding parking that's within short walking distance (at least for evening shows). Not a venue that you should avoid at all costs, but there are still certain things that I want you to be mindful of!

Programming that's not very challenging, uninspired playing, bland interpretations, bad venue,…read morehalf-empty crowds...I know, I sound really harsh for a performing arts organization, but I really can't find many redeeming qualities about this (flute-focused) chamber music series. What bothers me most is that they exhaust the conservative parts of the repertoire and play to a crowd that's around 80 years on average without any meaningful information or insight given in the program notes; sorry, but that's almost like listening to background music. Maybe it's all me and I subconsciously just don't like woodwinds, but despite wanting badly, I can't say that I enjoy these concerts. A star for being a 20-year old performing arts organization in a competitive area and for the technical virtuosity of Alexandra Hawley.

This series is impeccable. Held in the stunning Florence Gould theatre at the Legion of Honor, it…read morefeatures top musicians such as Robin Sutherland, the pianist for the San Francisco Symphony. This last season they had all BACH event, as well as a tribute to Anne Frank. Each concert is different, sometimes all woodwinds; other times harp, piano and violin, sometimes flute and guitar, etc. 80% packed house and celebrated 25 years in existence. You can also see their performances at Stanford every year.