San Francisco Playhouse will present the West Coast Premiere of Jocelyn Bioh's "Nollywood Dreams" as part of its 2023-24 Season. "Nollywood Dreams" will perform September 28 – November 4, 2023. Pictured is Awa Sal Secka, Quiantae Thomas, Isio-Maya Nuwere, Wade Watson, Grasan Kingsberry, and Teshomech in Berkeley Repertory Theatre's World Premiere of "Goddess," which featured a book by Jocelyn Bioh.
Photo Credit: Kevin Berne/ Berkeley Repertory Theatre
“This season is full of heart and humor.”
According to Artistic Director Bill English, the 2023-2024 season at San Francisco Playhouse features works that are comedic and romantic. “In times like these, it’s cathartic to laugh and see love reflected on stage.” Further, he comments:
“These works also speak to the power of big dreams, both realized and unfulfilled, a testament to the human spirit. Together we look forward to building a better world, one play or musical at a time, flexing our powers of compassion in our theatrical Empathy Gym.”
Six works make up the season including two musicals and four plays. Performances will be presented in the heart of San Francisco’s Union Square Theatre District at 450 Post Street. The season begins in the Fall with the West Coast premiere of romantic comedy Nollywood Dreams, written by Jocelyn Bioh. Full details of the season below.
BAY AREA STAGE
SAN FRANCISCO PLAYHOUSE 21st SEASON
September 2023 to September 2024
San Francisco Playhouse (450 Post Street, San Francisco)
Description of the season from San Francisco Playhouse:
San Francisco Playhouse’s 21st Season will take audiences on a globe-trotting journey, spotlighting stories set across the world. This season includes a World Premiere Play exploring gentrification and the metaverse at a Vietnamese restaurant, a West Coast Premiere highlighting Nigerian movie magic, a gender-bent take on a classic Broadway musical comedy, a hysterical farce of Hitchcock that traipses through the Scottish moors, a prescient production of a Broadway musical investigating Argentinian power struggles and politics, and a visceral and poetic American masterpiece.
Nollywood Dreams
By Jocelyn Bioh
Directed by Margo Hall
West Coast Premiere
September 28 – November 4, 2023 (opening night: October 4)
It’s the nineties in Lagos, and Ayamma dreams of stardom. Working at her parents’ travel agency, she yearns for the bright lights of Nollywood, the burgeoning Nigerian film industry. When she lands an audition with Nigeria’s hottest director, tensions flare with his former leading lady—as sparks start to fly with Nollywood’s biggest heartthrob.
Guys and Dolls
A Musical Fable of Broadway
Based on a Story and Characters of Damon Runyon
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
Directed by Bill English
November 16, 2023 – January 13, 2024 (opening night: November 22)
It’s Damon Runyon’s mythical New York City and nightclub performer Adelaide must find a way to convince Nathan, her gambling fiancé of fourteen years, to finally bet on love. Meanwhile, high roller Sky Masterson might have made a miscalculation when he put down money he could charm strait-laced missionary Sarah Brown.
San Francisco Playhouse will present the World Premiere of “My Home on the Moon” by Minna Lee (pictured). Photo Credit: Caean Couto
My Home on the Moon
By Minna Lee
Director to be announced
January 25 – February 24, 2024 (opening night: January 31)
From the windows of the old pho restaurant, Mai watches her neighborhood get gentrified, storefront by storefront. Just as the restaurant seems doomed to close, a mysterious and enthusiastic consultant named Vera arrives, helping Mai achieve the impossible and put the noodle shop on a path back to the glory days. But as Mai discovers that things aren’t what they seem, she must navigate the metaverse and enlist the help of ancient Vietnamese ancestors to help her find the truth.
The 39 Steps
Adapted by Patrick Barlow
Based on the book by John Buchan
From the movie of Alfred Hitchcock
Directed by Susi Damilano
March 7 – April 20, 2024 (opening night: March 13)
Step aside, Hitchcock. The legendary filmmaker’s serious spy flick becomes a chaotic and hysterical farce, with four characters playing dozens of roles—and even inanimate objects. While on vacation in London, a Canadian man with a boring life becomes embroiled in a cloak-and-dagger affair related to the mysterious “39 Steps,” an international spy ring. The 39 Steps is a riotous blend of virtuoso performances and inventive stagecraft that will leave audiences delighted.
The Glass Menagerie
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Jeffrey Lo
May 2 – June 15, 2024 (opening night: May 8)
Ghosts of the past continue to haunt in Williams seminal play The Glass Menagerie. Amanda Wingfield is a faded remnant of Southern gentility who now lives in a cramped St. Louis apartment with her aimless son, Tom, and her debilitatingly shy daughter, Laura. With their father absent and the Great Depression in motion, the siblings find comfort in their distractions — alcohol, movies and writing for Tom and a collection of glass animals for Laura. When a gentleman caller arrives for dinner, the Wingfield family is flooded with hope. But it’s uncertain if this mysterious visitor will change things for the better or shatter a family’s fragile illusions.
Evita
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Book and Lyrics by Tim Rice
Directed by Bill English
June 27 – September 7, 2024 (opening night: July 3)
In this exploration of Argentinian First Lady Eva Perón’s rise to power and eventual demise, Eva travels to Buenos Aires and finds a life she never thought possible. Audiences will follow Eva’s life and death through the lens of a restless revolutionary leader as she scrambles up the social and political ladder in tumultuous 1940’s Argentina.
San Francisco Playhouse was founded in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano.
BAY AREA STAGE
