Maybe bio-musicals have finally, mercifully completed their farewell tour.
For years these glorified fan conventions have been a staple at ATG San Francisco, which imports Broadway musicals to the Orpheum, Curran and Golden Gate theaters. Whether about Donna Summer or Neil Diamond, Michael Jackson or Gloria Estefan, the arc of these pieces is always like a VH1 “Behind the Music” episode: an unlikely but meteoric rise, a precipitous fall, a hard-won redemption. The storytelling is secondary to the IP, and the fans gather like churchgoers, partly to measure how closely a simulacrum apes the original, partly to mark the very fact that a beloved artist has been canonized as musical theater fodder.
But in ATG San Francisco’s 2026-27 season, announced Tuesday, Feb. 24, there’s no such title. In place of the sentimental drudgery of theatrical fast fashion comes prestige at the high end and camp at the deliciously low.
Aficionados of the art form should rejoice.
The cast of “Buena Vista Social Club” on Broadway. The show tours to the Orpheum Theatre as part of ATG San Francisco’s 2026-27 season. (ATG San Francisco/Matthew Murphy)
Just revealed titles in 2027 – all taking place at the Orpheum Theatre, all Tony Award winners – start with “Buena Vista Social Club” (Feb. 2-21).
Marco Ramirez’s show might sound like it’s going to be a bio-musical about the creation of the eponymous 1997 album credited with bringing new popularity to traditional Cuban forms such as the trova, filin and danzón. But the musical uses fact only as a jumping-off point, fictionalizing dynamics and interactions in order to focus on the nitty-gritty of music-making.
Then comes “Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical” (March 9-28). David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts’ musical is inspired by a true World War II story of British soldiers who successfully led the Germans astray of their plans with the aid of a disguised corpse. Already, the musical’s drawn such a devoted following that New York Times Magazine writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner – who doesn’t usually cover theater – wrote a 5,200-word story about it called, “Why on Earth Have I Seen the Same Broadway Show 13 Times? An Investigation.”
Rounding out the new arrivals is “The Great Gatsby” (April 27-May 16), adapted by Kait Kerrigan and Nathan Tysen from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s indelible Jazz Age novel. Marc Bruni directs.
The cast of “The Great Gatsby” on Broadway. The show tours to the Orpheum Theatre as part of ATG San Francisco’s 2026-27 season. (Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman/ATG San Francisco)
These shows join three others that the company had announced before it changed its name from BroadwaySF last month. “The Outsiders” (Dec. 9-27) adapts the S.E. Hinton novel and Francis Ford Coppola film pitting poor adolescents against rich ones in Tulsa, Okla., and “Death Becomes Her” (June 9-26, 2027) is based on the 1992 Robert Zemeckis movie about aging show biz frenemies who engage in mortal combat over looks, men and careers.
“Maybe Happy Ending” (June 29-July 18), which last year brought San Francisco native Darren Criss his first Tony Award, imagines a not-too-distant future in which two obsolete robots find love.
Additionally, the producers of “Oh, Mary!” had previously announced that the riotous comedy centered on a bizarro Mary Todd Lincoln was coming to San Francisco. Now, though, ATG San Francisco is confirming its dates and venue.
Cole Escola’s play is scheduled to open the company’s season, running Oct. 13-Nov. 1 at the Curran. As with 2025’s tour leg of “Stereophonic,” this run is presented in association with American Conservatory Theater, whose Toni Rembe Theater neighbors the Curran.
Current subscribers can renew now, with prices ranging from $373.23 to $1,402.45, by calling 888-746-1799 or visiting us.atgtickets.com.
Subscriptions open to newcomers in March, with single tickets going on sale at a later date.
This article originally published at Why ATG San Francisco’s 2026-27 season is its most promising in years.