Curran Theatre

Charmingly beautiful, with a tight squeeze. The Curran Theatre, located on Geary Street, is perfect walking distance from the Powell BART Station. The walk is mostly flat, and up some small San Francisco hills as well. I would highly suggest BART-ing into the city and then walking; parking in the city can be madness. The walk is just long enough so you can take in some local cafes and restaurants, just in case you want to grab a bite before or after the show. As I walked in, I was immediately greeted by an employee and shown to my seats by another usher. I was almost taken aback by the artwork of the theater itself. There is a beautiful chandelier which hangs from the middle of the ornate ceiling, which is painted with a whimsical, dreamy feel. I especially liked the seating. I was in the front row of the Mezzanine with no obstructed view whatsoever. The seats are smaller and incredibly close together, so be prepared to hold your coat and purse on your lap for the performance. The sound system is loud and powerful; I saw the Jersey Boys and I left with happy ears. One major drawback to the Curran Theatre, however, is that no photography is allowed once inside the theatre itself. Obviously you cannot take photos during the show, but you cannot take photos before, after or during intermission either. In order to show off to your friends via Instagram that you just saw an amazing off-Broadway play, your best bet to stand outside next to a large poster of the show or a picture of your playbill. That was the recommendation I got from an usher. Summary: Great location, beautiful interior, friendly staff, tight seating, no photography. I'd go back and I'd recommend the venue to friends.

I have probably been spoiled by the Orpheum Theater down near Civic, but Book of Mormon was playing last year at the Curran (2012) and I was not going to complain as long as I scored tickets. That was the first time I've actually been in the theater, a nice cosy little one. I had center balcony seats that December night, and as long as they are center, it really does not matter where you are sitting. However, because of the layout of the theater (the balcony seats are quite far away from the stage, you can barely see them without theater binoculars), if you actually want to experience a non-sell out show, you would probably want to try for better seating. If I could have bought mezzanine or orchestra tickets I would have, but these were all that were available for Book of Mormon. One thing I noticed about Curran that I enjoyed a lot more the Orpheum is that the sound echoing is a lot sharper. Sitting in balcony, the smallness of the theater enhanced the musical a lot more. The balcony seats thus had sounds richer than the mezannine seating of a larger theater (and I have been to many, many musicals all over the world). Curran is certainly a nice little theater tucked off Union Square - prime location - except that it's quite a walk from the BART and Muni stations, especially when you are dressed up for a nice evening in San Francisco chilly winter night weather. In the end, Curran is a nice little theater, but I think most of the big name shows end up going to the Orpheum so they do not get as much excitement from the casual theater goer.