39 Best Performing Arts in San Diego, California

The great acoustics here are surpassed only by the incredible Spanish baroque interior. Not just the home of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, the renovated 2,200-seat 1920s-era theater has also hosted major stars like Elvis Costello, Leonard Cohen, and Sting.

This complex, comprised of the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, and the Old Globe Theatre, offers some of the finest theatrical productions in Southern California. Theater classics such as Into the Woods and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and more recent hits like Bright Star and Meteor Shower, premiered on these famed stages and went on to perform on Broadway. The Old Globe presents a renowned summer Shakespeare Festival with three to four plays in repertory. The theaters, done in a California version of Tudor style, sit between the sculpture garden of the San Diego Museum of Art and the California Tower. If you can't catch a show, daytime one-hour behind-the-scenes tours offer a close-up look at the theaters as well as the intricacies of set and costume design.

Under the artistic direction of Christopher Ashley, the playhouse presents exciting and innovative plays and musicals on three stages. Many Broadway shows—among them Memphis, Come From Away, Tommy, and Jersey Boys—have previewed here before their East Coast premieres. Its Without Walls program also ensures that the productions aren't limited to the playhouse, having put on site-specific shows in places like outdoor art spaces, cars, and even the ocean.

Drawing international performers, the opera's season runs January–April. Past performances have included Die Fledermaus, Faust, Idomeneo, and La Bohème, plus solo concerts by such talents as Renée Fleming.

This complex, comprising the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, and the Old Globe Theatre, offers some of the finest theatrical productions in Southern California. Theater classics such as The Full Monty and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, both of which went on to Broadway, premiered on these famed stages. The Old Globe presents the family-friendly How the Grinch Stole Christmas around the holidays, as well as a renowned summer Shakespeare Festival with three to four plays in repertory.

The former Naval Training Center at Liberty Station is a hub for arts and culture with over 120 tenants, including artists, galleries, museums, and nonprofits.

You can buy advance tickets, many at half price, to theater, music, and dance events at Arts Tix.

This renovated theater offers a variety of performances including ballet, music, plays, and even stand-up comedy. In addition to architectural splendor, the space offers unsurpassed acoustics.

The spacious factory setting that houses Bread & Salt feels like a modern art warehouse, though its name nods to its long history as a former Wonder Bread factory. Still adorned with much of the industrial machinery and exposed brick, Bread & Salt now houses rotating exhibits from local and national artists, as well as group events such as motorcycle shows and live music showcases. It's also a partner with La Jolla Athenaeum, and puts on experimental and avant-garde concerts throughout the year.

The center presents mainstream theatrical productions such as Grease and The Odd Couple, as well as concerts, art shows, and dance performances.

The ballet holds performances at the Spreckels Theatre and a few other area venues from November through May. At Christmastime, they dance a mean Nutcracker.

This cabaret-type theater near the Hotel del Coronado stages regular dramatic and musical performances.

A 246-seat theater operated by Cygnet Theatre Company, this is one of the more interesting small San Diego theater groups. Catch local takes on edgy classics like Sweeney Todd and Little Shop of Horrors.

San Diego's premier gay and lesbian company presents a range of original works that focus on LGBTQ themes.

After being home to the long-running Triple Espresso, the Horton Grand Theatre hosts productions from the likes of San Diego Musical Theatre as well as Intrepid Theatre Company, whose shows include Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Woody Guthrie's American Song.

This waterfront, outdoor venue stages intimate shows from big-name national acts from April into October. There's not a bad seat in the house, but those who don't want to pay the sometimes-high ticket prices can catch the concert by renting a canoe or boat and parking it in the adjacent bay for a one-of-a-kind view.

This large space in downtown serves both as a workspace for local designers and artists, and as a storefront showroom to show off their wares.

The little theater company that could, most of Ion's unique and sometimes controversial productions now take place in the quaint BLKBOX Theatre in Hillcrest and have included productions of Gypsy and Topdog/Underdog.

The Athenaeum is a membership-supported, nonprofit library with an exceptional collection of books, periodicals, CDs, and other media related to arts and music. It also hosts classes, exhibits, lectures, and intimate jazz, chamber music, and the occasional folk concert throughout the year.

The theater's regular season of four to five mostly uplifting productions runs from February through November. It also stages an original musical, Festival of Christmas, in December. The company has two performance spaces: the one used for most productions in Coronado, and the Horton Grand Theatre in the Gaslamp Quarter.

The city's esteemed modern dance company presents edgy, intriguing works at venues throughout the city; Malashock has often collaborated on performances with the San Diego Opera, the San Diego Symphony, and other major cultural institutions.

Amateur and professional puppeteers and ventriloquists entertain here five days a week. The cost is just a few dollars for adults and children alike. If you feel cramped in the 200-seat theater, don't worry; the shows rarely run longer than a half hour.

Staging three productions over the year at the 10th Avenue Theatre in Downtown, this company is committed to performances by newer playwrights as well as more obscure works by old masters.

Formerly North Park Theatre, the Observatory North Park has 90 years of history inside its ornate and beautiful walls. It's a top-tier destination for touring musical acts, hosting shows several nights a week.

For more than 30 years, art lovers and museum directors have snagged new pieces from established locals as well as international contemporary artists at this revered gallery. If you're in town at the time of one of the gallery's openings, you can schmooze with San Diego art royalty.

The glamorous new home for outdoor summer and spring concerts presented by the San Diego Symphony sits on the same spot where its former outdoor concert space sat, but with a dazzling new upgrade. An $85 million, two-year project, the Rady Shell is a large and stunning space to catch a concert or symphony performance during the warm summer months—or any time of year, really—with space for up to 10,000 attendees, with typical seated performances accommodating around 3,500. In addition to the sounds and bayside sights, the Shell also has top-notch dining options, including a prix-fixe menu from Blais by the Bay, tacos from Lola 55, and sandwiches from Biga.

The ballet brings a vast repertory of classic and contemporary ballets to several venues countywide, as well as in-studio performances.

The home of the San Diego Opera, the Civic Theatre is the city's largest performing arts venue, with musicals, theatrical productions, and concerts held throughout the year.

The company has earned serious kudos for its diverse company and provocative programming, including Mexican waltzes and its annual "Trolley Dances," which take place at various trolley stops throughout San Diego. Other performances are held at venues around the city.