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San Francisco Playhouse Live Theater is Back Starting June 8

For first time in 15 months audiences are welcomed back for live theater at San Francisco Playhouse
By - posted 6/8/2021 No Comment

The time has finally come for in-person arts to return and the San Francisco Playhouse welcomes back live audiences on June 8th for “Hold These Truths,” a play that bears particular significance, considering the recent spate of anti-Asian violence in America.

Artistic Director Bill English has been working to find the ideal merger of safety, experience and economics, as the Playhouse will need to continue to stream performances due to the limited capacity.

This will be the first live show at San Francisco Playhouse in 15 months since the final performance of Tiny Beautiful Things (the Cheryl Strayed and Nia Vardalos play) on March 7, 2020.

San Francisco Playhouse (Artistic Director Bill English; Producing Director Susi Damilano) announced its return to in-person performances with a fully staged production of Hold These Truths by Jeanne Sakata, directed by Jeffrey Lo.

The company is expanding its health and safety protocols for audiences to return to the intimate Union Square theatre beginning June 8, 2021. The move comes after more than a year of video productions during the COVID-19 pandemic and marks the company’s foray into a hybrid in-person and digital video presentation, with the show also available as an on-demand video stream for audiences to enjoy at home.

  • Previews begin June 8, 2021
  • In-person performances June 8 – July 3, 2021 
  • Where: San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post St., San Francisco.
  • Tickets In-person tickets ($30-$100) will be available for purchase in May 2021, along with on-demand video tickets ($15 – $100) that are valid throughout the show’s run.

Last October, the company was one of the first in the nation to obtain permission from Actors’ Equity Association, the labor union representing actors and stage managers, to film its performances live on stage in front of cameras. After six filmed productions—all presented as online video streams—Hold These Truths will be the first Playhouse show to follow the company’s planned hybrid model that combines in-person audiences with online video access. The company plans to stage two more hybrid productions in Summer 2021 before beginning its 2021/22 Season.

Hold These Truths is based on the incredible true story of one of America’s unsung heroes. In February 1942, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, authorizing the relocation and incarceration of tens of thousands of innocent American citizens of Japanese ancestry. Among these citizens was Gordon Hirabayashi, whose defiance of the internment order catapulted him into a 50-year journey of conscience to protect the Constitution from a country that viewed him as the enemy. Hold These Truths was inspired by many hours of interviews conducted by playwright Jeanne Sakata with Mr. Hirabayashi as well as numerous primary sources from his life. This one-man show will feature Bay Area favorite Jomar Tagatac as Gordon Hirabayashi.