Best Theaters and Concert Halls In The Bay Area
While San Francisco's historic Herbst Theatre is under wraps and theater lovers await the opening of The Strand, we take a look at some fine recently added venues -- and one beloved stalwart -- on the Bay Area theater and concert scene.
The Strand
1127 Market St.
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 749-2228
www.act-sf.org
The abandoned mid-Market space, shuttered in 2003, is being turned into a 285-seat showcase with a smaller 120-seat theater and café as the newest addition to the Bay Area's cultural scene. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is leading the redesign, including the restoration of the building's original 1917 façade. Purchased by the American Conservatory Theatre in 2012, an opening date is expected for spring 2015, when the curtain rises on the inaugural production, "Love and Information," by renowned British playwright Caryl Churchill.
Weill Hall, Sonoma State University
The centerpiece of the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University is Weill Hall. Modeled after Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood in the Berkshires, the concert hall can be fully opened onto a lovely landscaped terrace and lawn, accommodating audiences up to 5,100. Inside the hall, a third floor balcony provides wonderful views of the Sonoma Mountains. Opened in September 2012, the 1,400-seat Joan and Sanford I. Weill Hall has quickly gained a reputation as one of the world's finest acoustic venues for solo performers and full symphonies alike.
Bing Concert Hall, Stanford University
327 Lasuen St.
Stanford, CA 94305
(650) 724-2464
www.live.stanford.edu
Built at a cost of $112 million, the concert hall which opened in January 2013 has a vineyard concept of 842 seats surrounding the stage. The venue "is transforming the practice, study, and experience of the performing arts on the Stanford campus." When used for concerts, the unusually intimate layout means that all seats are within 75 feet of the conductor's platform. Stanford University's venues have a busy production calendar with full-blown theatrical performances, repertory, dance, symphony, jazz and more.
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SFJazz Center Miner Auditorium
201 Franklin St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
(866) 920-5299
www.sfjazz.orgFirst in the nation to be built from the ground up specifically for jazz acoustics, the Robert N. Miner Auditorium has received plaudits for excellence in a flexible space with seating for up to 700. The permanent home of SFJAZZ opened in early 2013, providing the non-profit arts organization with a new, permanent home at the corner of Franklin and Fell. "We wanted a space that had the intimacy of a jazz club, but had all the functions of a major performing arts center," according to SFJAZZ Center Executive Director Randall Kline, as quoted in The Stanford Daily.
A.C.T. Theater
415 Geary St.
San Francisco, CA 94012
(415) 749-2228
www.act-sf.orgNamed to the Register of National Historic Places in 1975, the Geary Theatre is a survivor. Of the eight downtown theaters built as part of the city's post-earthquake revival in 1906, only this one, opened as the Columbia Theatre in 1910, remained in full-time operation as a theater through 1989. Shuttered by damage from the Loma Prieta earthquake, the seismic refit required a $27.5 million capital campaign leading to a re-opening in 1996. Home to the American Conservatory Theater since 1967, across these boards have tread Sarah Bernhardt, Isadora Duncan, Clark Gable, Laurence Olivier, Edward G. Robinson, Ethel Barrymore, Vivien Leigh, Frederic March, Boris Karloff and many other 20th century theater luminaries.
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Laurie Jo Miller Farr loves walkable cities. A tourism industry professional and transplanted New Yorker by way of half-a-lifetime in London, she's writing about the best of the bay and beyond for Yahoo, USA Today, eHow, and on Examiner.com.