San Francisco Playhouse presents the Northern California Premiere of 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning Fat Ham. Playwright James Ijames turns William Shakespeare’s Hamlet on its head in this piping hot play that transports the drama to a modern-day barbecue in the American South. Queer Black college kid Juicy longs to break his crazy family’s cycle of trauma and violence when his father’s ghost demands Juicy avenge his murder. With family feuds and a dance party on the menu, this delectably irreverent, poignant play explores legacy and identity, love and loss, as well as pain and joy. Making its World Premiere in a filmed production presented by Wilma Theater, Fat Ham received the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama ahead of its in-person premiere Off-Broadway at The Public Theater. The production transferred to Broadway in 2023, where it was nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Play. The New York Times hailed the show as “hilarious yet profound. It is the rare takeoff that actually takes off — and then flies in its own smart direction.” The Wrap called it “the most fun you'll have at any play this Broadway season” and Deadline lauded it as “a delicious and irresistible piece of work. Sweet, saucy, and very funny, Fat Ham has enough good-time disco sparkle to win over all but the grumpiest of spirits.” Bay Area theatre titan Margo Hall, who directed the Playhouse’s [hieroglyph], Barbecue, Red Velvet, The Story, and most recently Nollywood Dreams, returns to direct.
The Play That Goes Wrong (3/20/25-5/10/25)
Fat Ham (3/20/25-4/19/25)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (5/1/25-6/21/25)
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” (5/1/25-6/21/25)
Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady (7/3/25-9/13/25)
San Francisco Playhouse is at 450 Post Street, San Francisco, CA.
Exotic Deadly: Or The MSG Play (1/30/25-3/8/25)
Waitress (11/21/24-1/18/25)
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The Glass Menagerie (5/2/24-6/15/24)
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San Francisco Playhouse presents “The 39 Steps” (3/7/24-4/20/24)
The 39 Steps (3/7/24-4/20/24)
My Home on the Moon (1/25/24-2/24/24)
Located in the heart of the Union Square Theater District, San Francisco Playhouse is the city’s Off-Broadway company, an intimate alternative to the larger more traditional Union Square theater fare. San Francisco Playhouse provides audiences the opportunity to experience professional theater with top-notch actors and world-class design in a setting where they are close to the action. San Francisco Playhouse is committed to providing a creative home and inspiring environment where actors, directors, writers, designers, and theater lovers converge to create works that celebrate the human spirit.
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Fly By Night
Hillbarn Theatre (3/6 - 3/23)
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Parade
The Curran Theatre (5/13 - 6/8) | |
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Fat Ham
San Francisco Playhouse (3/20 - 4/19) | |
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& Juliet
Orpheum Theatre San Francisco (7/1 - 7/27) | |
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The Mousetrap
City Lights Theater Company (3/13 - 4/6) | |
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Newsies
Gellert Auditorium (3/28 - 4/5) | |
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Mark Morris Dance Group: Pepperland
Cal Performances' Zellerbach Hall (5/9 - 5/11) | |
CO-FOUNDERS
Strand Theater (5/29 - 7/6) | ||
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