Broadway Meets the Bay in Time for Summer

Wicked, Company, Cabaret, and lead slate of shows coming to theatres across the Bay.

Image c/o Wharton Center for Performing Arts

By Drew Paxman
Visiting Entertainment Columnist

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Wicked headlines a stacked slate of musicals coming to San Francisco, while the San Jose Performing Arts Center looks to host Peter Pan and Frozen.

After celebrating its 20th anniversary on Broadway on October 30, 2023, Wicked returns to the city where it originally premiered in 2003. The Wizard of Oz prequel tells the story of Elphaba, a misunderstood woman with “emerald-green skin,” who eventually becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, all while befriending a popular blonde named Glinda. 

“If you want to see a story about two women and their ever-evolving friendship, and a story about if a person is really wicked or [has] wickedness thrust upon them, and if you want to see a story about an underdog learning their power and learning their voice, come see this show,” prompted Olivia Valli, who has taken on the role of Elphaba for this production.

While Wicked sets to end San Francisco’s summer season (performances begin August 28 and end October 13), four other shows are set to occupy the Orpheum, Curran, and Golden Gate Theatres. The Tony-Award winning revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Company kicks off the summer, followed by the biopic The Cher Show, the musical adaptation of Mrs. Doubtfire, and the Bob Dylan jukebox musical Girl From the North Country.

In San Jose, a new adaptation of Peter Pan, based on the original 1954 musical, takes center stage from June 25 to 30, while Disney’s Frozen casts a spell of eternal winter from August 21 to September 1.

Near the Lamorinda area, Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts says “Willkommen” to a new production of Cabaret from May 26 to June 23. Set in late 1920s Berlin, Cabaret explores the tangled relationships of a writer and nightclub singer during the rise of the Nazi Party.

For Rotimi Agbabiaka, who plays the iconic Master of Ceremonies (or Emcee), joining the company of this production was a full-circle experience. “Almost two decades ago, playing the [Emcee] in college cemented my decision to attempt a career in theatre,” Agbabiaka posted on Instagram. “I can’t wait to return to this role as a professional and I hope you’ll come to the Cabaret, old chum.”

These shows are just an overture of productions set to take center stage in the Bay Area this summer. Hopefully, their success will lead to an encore of more to come in the future.

Tickets for these productions can be found on the BroadwaySF, Broadway San Jose, and Lesher Center for the Arts websites.

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