Curran Theatre

Curran Theatre is a historic theater at 445 Geary Street in San Francisco's Theatre District, between Taylor and Mason Streets. It opened in February 1922 and was named for Homer Curran, the theatrical producer who developed and initially owned it. Unlike an earlier Curran-named venue in San Francisco, the Geary Street theater has retained the Curran name throughout its history. The venue began as a Shubert house and later became a presentation site for Theatre Guild productions. It subsequently developed a close relationship with the San Francisco Civic Light Opera, an organization that secured high-profile bookings and produced musical theater with prominent performers. The San Francisco Opera also used the Curran for its annual Spring Opera series for many years. This mixture of commercial theater, opera, touring productions, and locally presented work established the theater as one of San Francisco's principal large-scale performance venues. Homer Curran was more than a venue operator. He wrote the book for Song of Norway and co-wrote the book for Magdalena, linking the building to the development of American musical theater. He later moved to Southern California, where he worked in theatrical lighting rental, while the theater bearing his name continued to host major productions. A major operating transition occurred in 1977, when the Civic Light Opera moved its activities to the Orpheum Theatre. Later that year, Carole Shorenstein Hays and James M. Nederlander took over operation of the Curran and launched a Best of Broadway season. The early program included John Raitt in the national tour of Shenandoah and the West Coast premiere of Annie. Shorenstein subsequently operated the theater through SHN, the San Francisco presenting organization that became associated with numerous Broadway tours and theatrical events. She left SHN in 2015 and concentrated her efforts on the Curran; SHN no longer operates the venue. The theater closed in September 2015 for a substantial renovation. The work addressed seating upholstery, carpeting, mechanical and electrical systems, and lobby improvements. During the closure, the building remained active through Under Construction, a series that presented non-traditional performances with audiences seated on the stage. The renovated theater reopened on January 25, 2017, with Fun Home. The Curran has had an especially strong role in developing and presenting productions before Broadway transfers. Its pre-Broadway engagements have included Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Wicked, La Bohème in Baz Luhrmann's staging, Hugh Jackman in Performance, Head Over Heels, Soft Power, Fences, Jitney, Lestat, White Christmas, and multiple other plays and musicals. It has also hosted extensive national-tour runs, including a five-year presentation of The Phantom of the Opera, described as the production's longest domestic engagement outside New York City during the SHN era. Other significant runs included Les Misérables, Jersey Boys, They're Playing Our Song, and The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child began its San Francisco engagement at the Curran in December 2019. Ambassador Theatre Group was scheduled to operate the theater during that engagement and is the operator associated with the venue's current ticketing website. The theater is identified in the supplied reference material as being owned by the San Francisco Giants as of 2025. Its present identity is therefore that of a historic, independently recognizable theater venue rather than a conventional consumer product brand.

The Curran Theatre opened in February 1922 at 445 Geary Street in San Francisco's Theatre District. It was developed and named by theatrical producer Homer Curran, who had previously been associated with another theater bearing his name. The Geary Street building, however, has kept the Curran name since its opening. Its original operation was as a Shubert house, after which it presented Theatre Guild work and became closely connected with the San Francisco Civic Light Opera. The Civic Light Opera used the theater for prestigious bookings and for productions featuring leading performers. Its activities connected the Curran to the wider American touring and musical-theater circuit, while the San Francisco Opera regularly presented its annual Spring Opera series there. Curran himself contributed to musical theater as a writer, credited with the book for Song of Norway and as a co-writer of Magdalena. He later moved to Southern California and entered the theatrical-lighting business. In 1977, the Civic Light Opera transferred its operations to the Orpheum Theatre. Later that year, Carole Shorenstein Hays and James M. Nederlander assumed operation of the Curran and introduced a Best of Broadway season. The initial season included John Raitt in Shenandoah and the West Coast debut of Annie. Shorenstein later reorganized her theatrical activities under SHN. During the SHN period, the Curran became an important San Francisco home for national tours and pre-Broadway engagements, including long-running productions such as The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, and Jersey Boys. The theater closed in September 2015 for renovation. The project included replacement or renewal of seat upholstery and carpeting, work on mechanical and electrical systems, and expansion and improvement of lobby areas. Rather than remaining entirely dormant, the venue hosted Under Construction, a program of non-traditional works in which spectators were seated on the stage while construction continued elsewhere in the building. The Curran reopened on January 25, 2017, with Fun Home. Its history also includes a substantial record of developmental theater. Productions presented before Broadway transfers or other major engagements included Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Wicked, Fences, Jitney, Lestat, La Bohème in Baz Luhrmann's production, Hugh Jackman in Performance, Head Over Heels, and Soft Power. Earlier presentations included Oliver!, Peter Pan, Kismet, Gigi, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and White Christmas. The venue hosted the San Francisco start of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in December 2019. The building's interior contains notable historic features, including a hand-painted main-lobby ceiling designed to resemble wood, marble flooring beneath later carpeting, decorative plaster and remnants of earlier loge configurations, a Phoenix Day chandelier made in San Francisco, and two front curtains consisting of a green decorative fire curtain and a gold curtain. Some former coat-check areas and mezzanine telephone rooms have been repurposed for storage. The theater was also used as a filming location: its interior and exterior represented a Broadway theater in the film All About Eve, and an episode of The Streets of San Francisco used the building as a fictional American Conservatory Theater location, although the actual A.C.T. venue is the adjacent Geary Theatre. The reference material identifies the San Francisco Giants as owner as of 2025. Ambassador Theatre Group is associated with operation of the venue and provides the current ticketing website. The Curran remains an active performance venue whose historical importance rests on its continuity as a San Francisco theater, its Broadway and touring repertoire, and its role in bringing productions to audiences before or beyond their New York runs.

• 2019

  Harry Potter and the Cursed Child begins

  [1]Curran Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  The production starts its San Francisco engagement at the Curran in December.

• 2017

  Renovated theater reopens

  [1]Curran Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  The Curran reopens on January 25 with Fun Home.

• 2015

  Renovation closure begins

  [1]Curran Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  The theater closes in September for renovation and presents Under Construction works with audiences seated on the stage during the project.

• 2003

  Wicked engagement

  [1]Curran Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  Wicked is among the major pre-Broadway or developmental engagements presented at the Curran.

• 1977

  New operating partnership begins

  [1]Curran Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  Following the Civic Light Opera's move to the Orpheum, Carole Shorenstein Hays and James M. Nederlander assume operation and launch a Best of Broadway season.

• 1948

  Magdalena receives a Curran connection

  [1]Curran Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  Magdalena, whose book was co-written by Homer Curran, is among the productions associated with the theater's musical-theater history.

• 1922

  Curran Theatre opens

  [1]Curran Theatreen.wikipedia.org

  The theater opens on Geary Street in February under the name of developer and first owner Homer Curran.

A landmark San Francisco theater positioned around premium Broadway and touring productions, major pre-Broadway engagements, and occasional innovative performance formats in a historic setting.

• Live theater

  Broadway touring productions

  The Curran presents national tours of major Broadway musicals and plays. Its historical touring repertoire has included The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Jersey Boys, They're Playing Our Song, and other large-scale commercial productions.

• Theatrical development

  Pre-Broadway engagements

  The venue is particularly associated with presenting productions before or around their Broadway transfers. Examples include Wicked, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Fences, Jitney, Lestat, Head Over Heels, Soft Power, and Baz Luhrmann's La Bohème.

• Experimental theater series · 2015

  Under Construction

  Under Construction was a series of non-traditional works staged while the theater underwent renovation. The audience was seated on the stage, making the building process part of the presentation context.

• Play · 2019

  Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

  The Curran hosted the beginning of the San Francisco engagement of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in December 2019, adding a major contemporary play to the venue's Broadway-oriented program.

• 2015Under Construction

  San Francisco

  The theater used its renovation period to present non-traditional works, seating audiences on the stage while construction took place.

  Outcome. The series kept the venue culturally active during its closure and highlighted its architecture as part of the performance experience.

  Source
• 1977Best of Broadway season

  San Francisco · United States

  The new operating team of Carole Shorenstein Hays and James M. Nederlander introduced a Best of Broadway season at the Curran, beginning with Shenandoah and the West Coast debut of Annie.

  Outcome. The season established the theater's modern identity as a major presenter of Broadway-oriented productions.

  Source

• 2019

  Launch of the San Francisco engagement of Harry Potter and the Cursed ChildProduct launch

  Background

  The Curran was selected as the starting venue for the production's San Francisco engagement.

  Action taken

  The play began performances at the theater in December 2019, with Ambassador Theatre Group associated with venue operation.

  Aftermath

  The engagement expanded the Curran's profile as a host for major contemporary theatrical productions.

  Source

• 2015

  Renovation and temporary programmingStrategy

  Background

  The theater closed for upgrades to seating, carpeting, building systems, and lobby areas.

  Action taken

  The operator proceeded with a major renovation while using the Under Construction series to present performances in an altered audience configuration.

  Aftermath

  The renovated Curran reopened in January 2017 with Fun Home.

  Source

1. 1Curran Theatreen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Curran Theatre official venue pageus.atgtickets.com