San Diego Theatres: Classy and Sassy Entertainment

What little girl hasn’t dreamed of watching a ballerina mesmerize an audience to an emotional score?  Who wouldn’t feel cultured with the opportunity to spend a night at the opera?  Who doesn’t want to laugh until they cry at a comedy show??  All these entertainments and many more are offered to San Diegans via the San Diego Theatres and when the curtain rises for a show the viewer will be transported into a world that can be funny, thought-provoking, and beautiful.

Established in 2003 San Diego Theatres took on the mission to bring fine arts and a world-class theatre experience to America’s Finest City.  This season the organization has accumulated a line-up that would surely please any kind of theatre enthusiast.  Drawing from theatrical resources like Broadway/San Diego, San Diego Opera, La Jolla Music Society, and the California Ballet means that theatres in the city are packed with culture and art every weekend.  It’s not just for those desiring glass shattering pitches from a woman wearing a Viking helmet either.  A spectrum of performances broad enough to also include Willie Nelson and Nail Salon comedian Anjelah Johnson is offered at the theatres the organization oversees.

San Diego Theatres manages, markets, and maintains the productions at two theatres in San Diego, both with a rich history of art that extend decades.

The Balboa Theatre opened as a vaudeville house in 1924 showing live entertainment like acrobats, dancers, singers, magicians, trained animals, and comedians to the public.  A state of the art building at the time it has since gone through several transformations to make it the beautiful theatre it is today.  Its history also includes lending its office space to the US Navy in WWII as living quarters for men about to be shipped out.  In 2002 restoration and renovation of the Balboa Theatre began and in 2008 it was reopened and has since claimed awards on local, state, and national levels.  Home to both nationally recognized events like the Mainly Mozart Summer Festival and locally treasured ones like Classics 4 Kids.  The Balboa Theatre has dedicated itself to ensuring that the people of San Diego can have a creative outlet to enjoy in their free time.

The San Diego Civic Theatre also falls under the umbrella of San Diego Theatres.  Opened in January 1965 the theatre has expanded to indulge in a diverse range of uses for San Diego.  Some nights a passerby can hear the echoes of opera and on others the rally of political activities.  While the theatre has welcomed incredible talents in the fields of performing arts it has also become a community gathering place.  Events held there include inaugurations, government addresses, religious services, political activities, lectures, educational presentations, and corporate meetings.  The San Diego Civic Theatre is granted these honors because it can proudly state that the 2,967 seat theatre is the region’s largest performing arts venue.

Today both theatres have become cultural landmarks for the city and this season they are proud to host comedians, a Valentine’s Day Concert, Moby Dick, a new musical called Rock of the Ages, River Dance, a ballet production of Cinderella, the Tony Award winning Memphis, and many more musicals, dance performances, and concerts.  The list is both long and star-studded, which makes it excellent to look at when trying to come up with a new date night idea or a gift for that special someone.  The recipient could be into rock or Broadway, age 6 or 60, there is an event to suit everyone be they classy or sassy.