For 15 years, the San Francisco Playhouse has welcomed theatergoers to its distinctive stage for award-winning performances. Housed on the second floor of the historic Kensington Park Hotel on Post Street at Union Square, the venue evokes a bygone era with palms, polished wood, and twinkling chandeliers. The 1925 Gothic building features hand-painted ceilings in the lobby, and the theater’s balcony curves above the lower auditorium to create an intimate atmosphere that brings audiences close to the city’s leading Off-Broadway company.
Founded in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano, the San Francisco Playhouse has grown into one of the Bay Area’s fastest-expanding theater companies. Its productions have earned numerous awards and praise across drama, comedy, experimental works, and musicals. The Playhouse also runs educational initiatives, including PlayProjects workshops that foster community among young actors and feature guest lectures from local professionals; a play reading series; and the Sandbox Series, which nurtures and promotes new plays.
Upcoming and recent seasons showcase a diverse lineup. Highlights include La Cage Aux Folles (July 12–Sept. 16), Zenith (Aug. 15–Sept. 8), Barbecue (Sept. 26–Nov. 11), and A Christmas Story: The Musical (Nov. 22–Jan. 13). In earlier seasons the theater presented Born Yesterday (Jan. 23–March 10), Non-Player Character (Feb. 7–March 3), The Effect (March 20–April 28), An Entomologist’s Love Story (May 8–June 23), In Braunau (June 13–July 7), Sunday in the Park with George (July 5–Sept. 8), and Washed Up on the Potomac (Aug. 9–Sept. 1).