A STRANGE LOOP & More Lead San Francisco / Bay Area's April 2024 Top Theatre Shows

San Francisco / Bay Area is never lacking outstanding theatre, whether epic Broadway shows, engrossing dramas or bold fringe offerings. BroadwayWorld is rounding up our top recommended theatre every month.

This months picks include the Broadway classic Funny Girl, a new Tony Award-winner for Best Musical and more!

We understand the importance of choosing the perfect show, especially for new theatregoers. That's why our experienced editorial team meticulously reviews a wide range of productions each month. We consider various factors including a producer's track record, audience reviews, and overall production value, to bring you the very best recommendations for the following month.

See what the experts recommend! Check out our editorial team's top picks for the best shows to see in San Francisco / Bay Area for April 2024.

The 39 Steps

San Francisco Playhouse - March 07, 2024 through April 20, 2024

Step aside, Hitchcock. The legendary filmmaker’s serious spy flick becomes a chaotic and hysterical farce, with four characters playing dozens of roles—and even inanimate objects. While on vacation in London, a Canadian man with a boring life becomes embroiled in a cloak-and-dagger affair related to the mysterious “39 Steps,” an international spy ring. The 39 Steps is a riotous blend of virtuoso performances and inventive stagecraft that will leave audiences delighted.

For tickets: click here.

Algiin Ford's Tobacco, Zig-zags & Gum

The Marsh Berkeley - March 01, 2024 through April 12, 2024

A story based on real events for every generation about the journey of the urban nightmare of addiction, incarceration, and despair. Through and the dream of becoming a productive, responsible, and contributing member of society. And honoring all the timely, unlikely heroes and events that shaped the journey.

For tickets: click here.

Center Repertory Company presents “The Great Leap”

Lesher Center for the Arts - March 16, 2024 through April 07, 2024

Center Repertory Company will be slam dunkin’ it in style when it presents “The Great Leap” by San Francisco native and award-winning playwright Lauren Yee (“Cambodian Rock Band,” “King of the Yees”). This high-stakes work follows a University of San Francisco college basketball team that travels to Beijing in 1989 for a well-publicized exhibition game. For coaches and players, the match offers a chance to claim personal victories on and off the court. Tensions escalate right up to the final buzzer, as a pivotal historical moment collides with the action in the arena. Fueled by dynamic and rapid-fire dialogue, this sharp-witted dramatic comedy—partially set on the basketball courts of San Francisco’s Chinatown—explores the cultural and political risks of raising one's voice and standing one's ground. After helming last season’s “In the Heights,” celebrated regional theatre director Nicholas C. Avila returns to Center REP to coach this riveting roundball play to a power finish.

For tickets: click here.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents “Tiger Style!”

Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts - April 06, 2024 through April 28, 2024

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will stage the hilarious East-meets-West comedy “Tiger Style!” This razor-sharp satire examines the cause and effects of strict “tiger” parenting, as 30-something Ivy League graduate siblings Albert and Jennifer wallow in their adult dissatisfactions with life despite their childhood ultra-achievements. When their lives fall apart, they blame their parents and run away from California to China on an “Asian Freedom Tour” where calamity ensues. Seen together in TheatreWorks’ “The Language Archive,” Obie Award winner Francis Jue (“Soft Power,” “Yellow Face,” “M. Butterfly”) and “Gilmore Girls” actor/theatre mainstay Emily Kuroda return to TheatreWorks as the siblings’ parents, joined by Jenny Nguyen Nelson, Will Dao, and Jeremy Kahn. Written by Guggenheim Fellow Mike Lew (“Teenage Dick”), “Tiger Style!” made its World Premiere at Alliance Theatre and has since performed at leading theatres across the country. In-demand director/playwright and TheatreWorks Associate Producer of Casting & Literary Management Jeffrey Lo, whose productions of “Little Shop of Horrors,” “The Language Archive,” and “The Santaland Diaries” have been seen at TheatreWorks, directs this witty comedy that will resonate with any parent who ever tried to help their child, and any child who has ever blamed their parents.

For tickets: click here.

Hairspray

Orpheum Theatre - April 16, 2024 through April 21, 2024

It's 1962, and pleasantly plump Baltimore teen Tracy Turnblad has only one desire - to dance on the popular Corny Collins Show. When her dream comes true, Tracy is transformed from social outcast to sudden star, but she must use her newfound power to vanquish the reigning Teen Queen, win the affections of heartthrob Link Larkin and integrate a TV network - all without denting her 'do! Don't miss Hairspray, Broadway's musical-comedy phenomenon that inspired a major motion picture and won eight 2003 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

For tickets: click here.

A Strange Loop

American Conservatory Theater - April 18, 2024 through May 12, 2024

The Tony Award–winning musical comes direct from Broadway to San Francisco! Meet Usher: a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize–winning, blisteringly funny work of art exposes the heart and soul of a young artist grappling with desires, identity, and instincts he both loves and loathes. Hell-bent on breaking free of his own self-perception, Usher wrestles with the thoughts in his head, brought to life on stage by a hilarious, straight-shooting ensemble. Bold and heartfelt in its truth-telling, A Strange Loop is the big, Black, and queer-ass Great American Musical for all! A Strange Loop is a co-production with Center Theatre Group.

Don't miss your chance to see A Strange Loop featuring one of it's original Broadway cast members before the production heads from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

For tickets: click here.

FOREVER PLAID

Gateway Theatre - April 18, 2024 through May 05, 2024

San Francisco’s 42nd Street Moon (Daniel Thomas, Executive Artistic Director) is pleased to announce the full cast and creative team for the hit musical FOREVER PLAID, written and originally directed and choreographed by Stuart Ross, with musical continuity, supervision, and arrangements by James Raitt.

For tickets: click here.

Opera San José presents “Florencia en el Amazonas”

California Theatre - April 20, 2024 through May 05, 2024

Opera San José will conclude its 40th Anniversary season with the Bay Area premiere of "Florencia en el Amazonas." Marrying romance with magical realism, this enthralling opera was co-commissioned by Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, and Seattle Opera – making it the first Spanish-language opera to be commissioned by major U.S. opera houses. "Florencia en el Amazonas" premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in November 2023 and this spring will debut at the California Theatre as Opera San José’s first Spanish-language opera performed on its mainstage. In this two-act opera, Mexican composer Daniel Catán transports audiences to a 20th century riverboat sailing the Amazon River. There, a famous opera singer is returning home to perform, while hoping to reunite with her lover, a butterfly hunter who has disappeared into the jungle. 

For tickets: click here.

Funny Girl

Orpheum Theatre - April 30, 2024 through May 26, 2024

This bittersweet comedy is the story of the indomitable Fanny Brice, a girl from the Lower East Side who dreamed of a life on the stage. Everyone told her she'd never be a star, but then something funny happened-she became one of the most beloved performers in history, shining brighter than the brightest lights of Broadway. Featuring some of the most iconic songs in theatre history including "Don't Rain On My Parade," "I'm the Greatest Star," and "People," Michael Mayer's bold new production marks the first time Funny Girl has returned to Broadway since its debut 58 years ago.

Get a first look at the cast featuring Katerina McCrimmon (Fanny Brice), Stephen Mark Lukas, Grammy Award-winner Melissa Manchester and Izaiah Montaque Harris in action!

For tickets: click here.

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