4 Best Performing Arts Venues in The Bay Area, California

A cinematic treasure since 1925, University Avenue’s grande dame is a time-traveling spectacle not to be missed—an oasis of Hollywood Golden Age glamour in the center of this relentlessly future-minded region. Everything here is majestic: the grand marquee, the bi-level interior, the intricate interior architecture and chandeliers, and the crisp screen and audio quality often showing black-and-white films still in mint condition. Films are often shown as a themed double-feature, perhaps Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers or 1929 silent films. Arguably the highlight for any night is when the Mighty Wurlitzer organ player strikes a tune during the intermission between films.

The festival takes place in mid-September in Old Mill Park, with live music, a kids' stage, and artisans selling crafts, jewelry, and art.

Every May and June, locals tote overstuffed picnic baskets to the Mountain Theater to see the Mountain Play, an annual theater tradition that began in 1913. Past productions have included popular musicals like West Side Story, The Music Man, and My Fair Lady. A free shuttle runs from Manzanita Parking Lot at the junction of Highway 101 and Highway 1, just beyond the Mill Valley/Stinson Beach exit off Highway 101 and from Tamalpais High School.

Tuscany meets Northern California at this nonprofit arts center and 166-acre park, where a beautiful villa stands proudly amidst a forest of redwood trees. It’s a special place for a lawn picnic in the sunshine, and holds concerts in its hillside amphitheater.