{"id":443117,"date":"2026-08-25T15:50:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T15:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/443117\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T15:50:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T15:50:53","slug":"10-of-the-best-plays-and-musicals-to-see-this-fall-in-the-bay-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/443117\/","title":{"rendered":"10 of the Best Plays and Musicals to See This Fall in the Bay Area"},"content":{"rendered":"

Be sure to check out our full\u00a02026 Fall Arts Guide<\/a>\u00a0to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n

A certain type of magic comes with fall in the Bay Area. As T-shirts and shorts turn to long sleeves and jeans, rich browns and oranges overtake each leaf. Apart from the weather, seeing theater companies kick off their seasons is always thrilling, with world premieres and big hits ready to land all over the Bay Area.<\/p>\n

While darkness may fall faster with each passing day, let the stage lights of these 10 fantastic theater productions brighten your life for the next three months.<\/p>\n

Aug. 27\u2013Sept. 20
Marin Theatre, Mill Valley<\/p>\n

Sean Daniels has been one of the most visible figures in the American theatre to discuss his challenges as a recovering alcoholic while working to soften the stigma of addiction. In his semi-autobiographical play, The White Chip, Steven is a theatrical director whose career spirals out fo control due to drinking. His journey through sobriety includes reckoning with self-acceptance and finding his community. Daniels\u2019 play has seen significant productions nationwide, inspiring those on their own sobriety journeys. Artistic director Lance Gardner directs.<\/p>\n

\"\"(L\u2013R) Caleb Andrew Cabrera, Michael Torres and Alonso Melgoza star in \u2018Manning,\u2019 a play about grief and healing.<\/p>\n

Sept. 5\u201326
Potrero Stage, San Francisco<\/p>\n

The death of a wife and mother. Spreading ashes around the backyard. What results is the growth of a mysterious, giant zucchini overnight, and the discovery of a unique language for grief. Benjamin Benne penned this West Coast premiere in part to imagine a world where patriarchal supremacy is replaced by healthy and whole masculinity. Crowded Fire Theater\u2019s newest production is another in their quest toward daring work that both entertains and challenges. Adin Walker directs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sept. 10\u201327
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, San Francisco<\/p>\n

An African American woman and a Nigerian man announce their quick engagement, which leads to a family dinner in Oakland. Things aren\u2019t exactly smooth, however, as the two very different cultures gather, and as identity, cultural differences and familial expectations all prove to be heated topics of conversation. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre\u2019s rolling world premiere features the triumphant return of frequent collaborator Lisa B. Thompson, with the show stewarded by longtime Bay Area director and artist Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe.<\/p>\n

\"\"(L to R) Linda Amayo-Hassan, Megan Calfas, Aidaa Peerzada and Julius Ernesto Rea make up Playwright\u2019s Foundation residents for 2026-2027. <\/p>\n

Sept. 18\u201327
Strand Theater, San Francisco<\/p>\n

Play development has taken a hit around the country in the past 10 years, but the need for new work in American theater continues. Fortunately, consequential developers in the Bay Area still showcase new voices which may just write the next great American play. The Bay Area Playwrights Festival is coming up on its 47th year, and has seen more than 80 percent of its works go on to successful productions. This year\u2019s festival features four new plays from diverse storytellers, giving audiences a sneak peek of the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"J. Jha stars as the title character in William Shakespeare\u2019s \u2018King Lear\u2019 as Oakland Theater Project jumps across the Bay to Z Space in San Francisco. <\/p>\n

Sept. 25\u2013Oct. 11
Z Space, San Francisco<\/p>\n

While twilight sets on the rule of King Lear, dividing his kingdom among his three daughters becomes another ploy in his quest for flattery. As his power dissipates, the king is proven to be a fool, one whose demise is entirely of his own making. Sound timely? Oakland Theater Project continues their daring season of rethinking classics and putting visceral new razors on stories of brutality. Lear is the model for many of theater\u2019s greatest characters, and an embodiment of self-inflected wounds. Executive Artistic Director Michael Socrates Moran directs one of William Shakespeare\u2019s most devastating tales.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oct. 8\u201318
Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater, San Jos\u00e9<\/p>\n

In the 1930s, papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9 artist Pedro Linares created the earliest alebrijes \u2013 a form of Mexican folk art depicting mythical hybrid animals. In Teatro Vision\u2019s production of Alebrijes: A Dia De Los Muertos Tale, playwright Georgina Escobar presents a mythological tale of Linares being chased by \u201cLa Muerte\u201d through the colorful celebration of the Day of the Dead. The 42-year-old company and the production are both under the artistic hand of Rodrigo Garcia, and showcase all of the emotional pageantry of the festive holiday, with traditional Mexican music, comedy and community on full display in East San Jose.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Golden Thread Productions founder Torange Yeghiazarian.<\/p>\n

Oct. 9\u2013Nov. 1
Potrero Stage, San Francisco<\/p>\n

Founded by Torange Yeghiazarian, Golden Thread celebrates its 30th anniversary this year as a company that interrogates and celebrates Middle Eastern culture and identity. There\u2019s never a shortage of candidates for Golden Thread\u2019s signature festival, and this year is no different: of the 83 plays submitted, only five were selected. This year\u2019s lineup focuses on Iran and Palestine, with rich diversity among the titles, one of which, Homing Pigeons & Co, is directed by Yeghiazarian herself.<\/p>\n

Oct. 10\u2013Nov. 1
The Strand, San Francisco<\/p>\n

\u201cHarlem of the West\u201d is a famous description of San Francisco\u2019s Fillmore District in the \u201840s and \u201850s \u2014 and now, it\u2019s the subject of a major world premiere for SFBATCO<\/a>. Every Saturday Night has been in development for four years, and it explores a San Francisco once filled with Black excellence and soul-stirring jazz. Those good times came to a halt when urban renewal\u2019s displacement and gentrification robbed the world of a thriving Black community. Bay Area playwright, composer and director Danny Duncan joins forces with acclaimed playwright Michael Gene Sullivan for this anticipated production.<\/p>\n

\"\"Drag queen Alaska Thunderfuck will star as Mary Todd Lincoln in the San Francisco run of Cole Escola\u2019s \u2018Oh, Mary!\u2019\u00a0(Daniel Rampulla)<\/p>\n

\u2018Oh, Mary!,\u2019 Oct. 13\u2013Nov. 1; Curran Theater, San Francisco
\u2018John Proctor is the Villain,\u2019 Nov. 12\u2013Dec. 6; Toni Rembe Theater, San Francisco<\/p>\n

Picking between Oh, Mary! or John Proctor is the Villain when both are being produced at A.C.T. is like picking a favorite child \u2014 you might have one, but you don\u2019t say it out loud. Oh, Mary! is a riotous, side-splitting show (and 2026 Pulitzer finalist) by Cole Escola, while Proctor is a Broadway hit that inspired the New York Times headline \u201cWhy Women are Leaving This Broadway Show in Tears.\u201d The two shows couldn\u2019t be more different in tone and temperament, but they\u2019re firmly in the can\u2019t-miss category.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The New York cast of Bess Wohl\u2019s \u2018Liberation\u2019 at the Laura Pels Theatre in 2025.<\/p>\n

Oct. 23\u2013Nov. 29
Roda Theatre, Berkeley<\/p>\n

Bess Wohl\u2019s Liberation, a piercing memory play about a group of women who strategize in a 1970s recreation center basement about how to change the world, won a Pulitzer and Tony during its Broadway run. Whitney White, who directed, returns in the same role for this West Coast premiere, a co-production with the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles and Washington D.C.\u2019s Studio Theatre. (And if you\u2019re looking for more Wohl in the Bay, San Jose Stage produces her 2012 play Barcelona from Sept. 30\u2013Oct. 18<\/a>.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Be sure to check out our full\u00a02026 Fall Arts Guide\u00a0to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":443118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-443117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}