Watched the nutcracker for the very first time here at the war memorial opera house and it was such…read morea gorgeous production! Parking is impossible to find here so I highly suggest public transportation or a waymo! The nutcracker set was so gorgeous and the first ten minutes had an homage to SF which was so unique and quaint! The dancers were elegant and breathtaking and they really utilized the opera house with all the set changes. Acoustics were fantastic and tickets were really affordable for balcony! Highly recommend seeing all the shows at the opera house

My husband and I attended The Nutcracker in December, and unfortunately the experience was so…read moreunpleasant that we have no interest in returning to the San Francisco Ballet. We were seated in the second row of the orchestra, directly behind a group in the first row who whispered, turned around, pointed, and moved almost constantly throughout the performance. Their level of fidgeting was honestly bizarre and impossible to ignore. They also had a very young child with them who repeatedly made noise and turned around during the show. It was so distracting that I barely remember the performance itself. What I remember is the group sitting in front of us. We wanted to say something during the show, but there was no usher visibly monitoring our section. We also did not feel comfortable confronting strangers directly in a dark theater and potentially escalating the situation. This is exactly why ushers should be present and attentive during a performance, rather than placing the burden on patrons to police one another. When we spoke with a manager afterward, we were told that we could have reported the issue during intermission and possibly been moved. That response was frustrating. By intermission, half the performance had already been ruined, and it did not seem fair that we would be the ones expected to leave the seats we selected and paid for while the disruptive patrons remained in place. We contacted the Ballet multiple times afterward. Initially, the response felt dismissive. We were then offered tickets for one specific date in February, which was not practical because we live in Santa Cruz and could not simply travel to San Francisco on a randomly selected day. Eventually, we were offered tickets to a spring program, but the most logical and appropriate resolution would have been replacement tickets for the following Nutcracker season, since that was the experience that had been ruined. What made this especially disappointing was not only the behavior of the patrons, but the way the Ballet handled the complaint afterward. A sincere apology and a straightforward effort to replace the experience would have gone a long way. Instead, the process felt unnecessarily difficult and left my husband unwilling to do business with the San Francisco Ballet again. For an organization charging premium prices for a formal live performance, I expected better audience monitoring and much better customer service.

Last night was the debut and crowning of the brand new SF Synphony conductor, Elim Chan. I feel her…read morevibrancy and this town needs some vibrancy. I was up at 2nd tier and it was the best seat because I had a clear view of the orchestra. La Mer and Wagner were for me the standouts. Loved watching the musicians. My favorites: guy with clarinet, timpani, the Chinese gong, the trumpet, piccolo (lady). Elim was so inclusive and mentioned we need patrons to come to the symphony so that the hard working musicians can play for us. I can't wait what she brings to the SF Symphony. Her program won't start till 2027. Michael Tilson Thomas was mentioned and honored by the soprano. He was our SF conductor for 25 years and passed away recently. Elim is young at 39 years old. Can't wait to hear her conduct in this beautiful great place. This Saturday, she'll be conducting. Go get a ticket and celebrate!

Came to see the 98 year old Herbert Blomstedt conduct Mahler's Ninth Symphony. Unfortunately, he…read morewas too ill to perform Saturday's show after conducting Friday. With a guest conductor stepping in, the orchestra still shined. A truly unforgettable performance filled with the beauty, joy, despair, hope darkness and warmth that makes up Mahler's works.

It's a beautiful theater. The drinks are reasonably priced considering the situation. Parking…read morewasn't hard to find. The customer service was very friendly.

Great theater in the heart of Redwood City! Took the train from San Jose and arrived in half hour…read more Station is two small blocks from downtown. Many restaurants, coffe shops and a few bars walking distance. The theater even sells alcoholic drinks that you can enjoy at your seat while watching the show! I went for a Mariachi concert. Sat in the balcony. If you are not tall, either sit in lower balcony or after 5th row of upper balcony. There is a pony wall that can obstruct your view.

Last year in 2025 we saw the Nutcracker. Such a sweet and well put on performance. Prices are much…read moremore affordable compared to the SF ballet. These are students...I think? I loved the different ages and talent. Parking is a bit of a headache. There isn't near enough for what this building can hold. Please give yourself enough time in case there isn't any parking stalls left. There are plenty of bathrooms, but during intermission, they have ropes set up for the huge line that forms. Snacks are sold, however can't be consumed inside the theater. Go figure? You can only eat outside in the lobby area. In the lobby is a table of Nutcracker/Christmas items you can purchase. I wish that there was a live orchestra, but this was my first time going and I don't understand much about this group. It was a recording that they danced to. I do recommend anyone to see this performance and let us know what you think?

This facility is top notch! We had a dance recital here after being in other venues, and wow! The…read more stage was large and equipped with all the bells and whistles, lighting was great, audience seating was wonderful from all the vantage points and spacious and comfortable, and the backstage areas for the performers were ample downstairs. Having more bathrooms backstage would have been helpful.

Thank you for being a friend Traveled down a road and back…read moreagain Your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidant... OMG, there was only one toilet and one urinal in the men's room, so I'd suggest skipping the fajitas before the show. But hey, the seats were roomy, a nice surprise for a theatre originally built in 1908. Believe it or not, this was my first visit here. There are 480 seats in the house, and all of them were occupied for "The Golden Girls Live! The Christmas Episodes". Jamie W. and I were almost too late to get tickets because we had no idea how quickly the show sells out every year. We realized we missed Heklina as Dorothy since he passed in April, but we looked forward to see Coco Peru step into the deep-throated role. The entire cast was fabulous as they recreated two memorable episodes from the series. The first was the one where Blanche's virile soldier beau from her past has become a mild-mannered pharmacist. The second was where Dorothy reignites the crush she had on her high school English teacher, and due to Rose's desperation, Dorothy and Blanche end up on a talk show identified as a lesbian couple. They were remarkably faithful to the original shows. In between scene set-ups were infectious holiday carol sing-alongs. The intermission was gratefully extended to accommodate the limited restroom facilities. There was a cash bar which we bypassed, and shockingly, we didn't wait in the very long line for a selfie with the cast. I preferred keeping my memories of their epic performance intact. It was a fun time in a great house. And if you threw a party Invited everyone you knew Well, you would see the biggest gift would be from me And the card attached would say 'Thank you for being a friend'. RELATED - Exploring the Mission? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2NHtst6

Attended the SF Tape Music Festival here this past weekend. Loved the charming exterior of the…read moretheater, with bright lights and a classic look. However it was very plain inside, a lack of decor, standard theater folding seats in the auditorium, outdated and a bit dirty. In fact, the floors were kinda gross too. And the concessions stand was very basic with limited offerings. Nothing particularly appealing about the place, but it worked for the event we attended. Plus, it's a historic landmark, the oldest operating theatre in SF, and that's certainly something to appreciate.

This is for the Livermore show! Core memory unlocked at @VenardosCircus! My kiddo couldn't stop…read morelaughing the entire show! We've seen a lot of circuses, but the clowns here are on a whole other level of funny. Our absolute highlight was when the clown pretended to throw a single piece of popcorn at an audience member, but ended up dumping the WHOLE box on him instead! The look on my son's face says it all! The cast have amazing voices on top of their magic acrobatic skills. If you're looking for the perfect family outing in Livermore, this is it! It's wholesome, hilarious, and honestly just pure magic for the kids. Don't sleep on this--grab your tickets before they're gone!

Saw the tent when exciting the freeway and got tickets for their last weekend in Newark. My kids…read moreloved Circus Circus in Vegas and I thought this would be a fun activity for the first week of Summer vacation and they did end up loving it! I've been waiting for Vargas Circus to come back to town but they haven't been to the Bay Area this year so I was excited to find Venardos since it seemed to be in the same vein. Lovely Italian made tent, you are seated on the inside and if you don't want audience-performer interaction do not get the first row tickets, you may be involved in different parts. The normal seats are on folding chairs and if someone tall is in front of you, you will be blocked. You can come up to an hour before the show starts and I would recommend it if you have normal seats to get better seating. Some of the ushers leading you to your seats are also the performers! Concession had popcorn, the large is refillable one time, hotdogs, cotton candy, strawberry lemonade, and candy. We loved the popcorn and our family of 4 ate two whole buckets. I don't want to spoil too much from the show but its 90 minutes with intermission and you will see a variety of talents and performers. The kids were really engaged and especially loved the clown and the finale!

Mr. Boswell and Mr. Owens were funny from the get-go! The close-up magic tricks they performed…read moreseemed simple but will astonish you and have you scratching your head for the rest of the night. The "mind reading" was my favorite. The magic show is in a small, intimate room that seats about 30 people at Hotel Rex, a venue that reminds me of the lobby of the tower of terror in disneyland. The show lasted about 1.5 hours and involved a lot of audience interaction. Even in last row, you're still only about 10 feet away from the performer. Parking is hard to come by so it's best to take BART to Powell and walk 10 minutes to the venue. The 2 drink minimum is not enforced, but buy your drinks before the show as there is no table service in the room. Sign-in early to get front row seats. The show will make you laugh, keep you in suspense, and completely perplex you. At only $13 brought from Goldstar, it was a very affordable and entertaining show!

Saw someone mention this in my FB feed, and after checking Yelp reviews decided to check it out. It…read morewas a lot of fun! I like close up magic (and this is definitely close up - everyone was first or second row, and no more than 20 people in the whole audience) because sometimes you have some shot at figuring out how they do it. It's definitely not smoke and mirrors, it's sleight of hand and misdirection and general cleverness. Three performers each put on a 30 minute show, so there is variety to it. My favorite was the "mind reading" which was quite remarkable, and no less so for the magician telling you that he did it through reading microexpressions. A great date night

Review #1,095 Posted on 7.23.26…read more We came here to see Ella Mai in concert on Saturday July 18th. I had been here before many times in the past, but tonight was special as I was with both my wife and daughter. When we arrived I couldn't still recall the last few times I had been here for a concert. Once you get inside the main level is the floor/GA section, they've got merch stands set up, there, and then staircases to go up to the upper level of seats, and also down to the lower level where the bathrooms are. To be honest it's kind of genius to have the bathrooms there, plenty of space and completely out of the way of the crowds up top. The floor is pretty big, my guess is this places holds 3-4 thousand people. Then I looked it up and it holds 8,500 max capacity, that surprised me. Love this venue for a concert.

This was a Hella Packed Show. Ella Mai Really packed this venue! Sold out and more. The whole…read moreBolton floor to the top was filled to the brim and even on the balcony. I was thoroughly impressed. I do love her music. That one song the captivated me and many was "Boo'd up". Her love story and RnB sang in melody got fans to the chokehold singing, dancing on the floor to swaying and dancing on the balcony on their seats. The venue was buzzing with people and I loved this for her. She talked about how she once opened up here for PLO I believe and now she back as the main, in this packed space it just empowering and she gave her love to her fans here in "San Fran" for supporting her. I think Bill Graham is a great venue for this concert. The openers were great too! It was orderly with the ushers taking directing us in, security check, and ticket scanners. Ella Main had a Photo Booth section for picture momements. I love the pink purple themed lighting across the venue space, manageable merch line and grand atmosphere. There was also a medical l emergency that Ella Mai called out some minutes and she helped organize showgoers at the front space for the victim. I didn't purchase any drinks but they looked refreshing with the oat milk coconut non alcohol cocktail I would have done but I pregamed and was down. I love my shirts that I purchased for $45 of her and hat that $35 dad hat that's says "do you still love me" and it's a yes I do!