The Bankhead Theatre

Covering The San Francisco Bay Area & Sacramento Valley Since 2001

The Bankhead Theatre • 2400 First Street, Livermore, CA 94551

Plays • Musicals • Opera • Dance

Official Website Venue Directions

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The Bankhead Theatre also stages concerts, stand-up comedy, and variety shows. For current listings, refer to our concerts section

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Playing This Month

• DEC 13-21, 2025 •

The Nutcracker / Ballet

For Tickets & Info:

The Nutcracker sweeps the audience into a world where holiday magic feels close enough to touch, beginning on a winter night that seems ordinary until it suddenly turns extraordinary. A young girl receives a mysterious gift that feels far more meaningful than the toys scattered around her, and the moment she holds it, the atmosphere shifts as if the room itself is waiting for something to happen. What begins as a family celebration soon bends into a dreamlike adventure filled with swirling snow, curious creatures, and elegant figures who glide across the stage with purpose and hidden stories of their own. The music carries each moment forward, lifting the girl beyond the safety of her home and into a landscape where beauty and danger seem to share the same breath. Every scene reveals something new, yet keeps its deeper secrets tucked just out of reach. The journey feels both personal and universal, inviting the audience to follow its quiet clues and wonder what waits just around the corner. By the end, the line between imagination and reality feels thinner, and the promise of something enchanting lingers in the air.

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Coming Soon

• OPENS JAN 17, 2026 • The Addams Family / Musical The Addams Family is a musical comedy that drops you straight into the wonderfully offbeat world of the famously spooky Addams clan. Wednesday Addams has grown into a sharp and strong young woman who surprises her family when she falls for a cheerful and completely ordinary boy from a very ordinary family. When his parents arrive at the mansion for a dinner meant to bring everyone together, the night turns into a wild collision of clashing personalities, awkward secrets and unpredictable emotions. Gomez tries to keep the peace while balancing his loyalty to Morticia with the promises he makes to Wednesday. Morticia senses that something is being kept from her, which only adds to the tension and humor bubbling through the evening. All around them, the rest of the household adds their own brand of quirky chaos, from Uncle Fester’s whimsical romantic ideas to Pugsley’s panic over losing his sister to adulthood. The musical blends heart, humor and a touch of the macabre while inviting the audience into a story about identity, family expectations and the courage it takes to open the door to something completely new.
• OPENS FEB 28, 2026 • Cosi Fan Tutte / Opera Cosi fan tutte is a lively comic opera filled with sharp wit, playful twists, and a mischievous look at love put to the test. Set in a bright world of young romance and impulsive decisions, the story follows two couples whose comfortable relationships are suddenly shaken by a bold experiment that challenges everything they think they know about loyalty. What begins as a light teasing conversation soon grows into a daring plan, and the couples find themselves swept into a clever game of disguises, confusing encounters, and surprising emotions. The opera uses humor to explore how quickly hearts can change when temptation enters the picture, yet it does so with charm, warmth, and a musical score that keeps the entire journey bubbling with energy. Mozart fills every scene with sparkling melodies that mirror the characters’ rising curiosity, confusion, and excitement. As the stakes rise and the characters begin to question their own assumptions, the audience is drawn into a smart and entertaining story that gently asks how well anyone truly knows the person they love. The result is a colorful, engaging, and emotionally rich comedy that leaves plenty to wonder about long after the curtain falls.
• OPENS MAR 12, 2026 • A Midsummer Night's Dream / Play A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most playful comedies, a stage production that blends fantasy, romance, and mischievous humor into a single enchanted adventure. Set between an Athenian court and a shimmering forest alive with magic, the story invites audiences into a world where young lovers chase their hearts, actors rehearse a show they hope will make them famous, and fairies stir up trouble that sends everyone spinning. The tone is light, whimsical, and imaginative, mixing poetic language with everyday frustrations so the characters feel both timeless and familiar. As the night deepens, human emotions collide with supernatural forces, creating a chain of surprises that push everyone toward discoveries they never expected. The production’s genre is theatrical comedy, but it carries hints of romance and fantasy that make it richer and more layered than a simple laugh fest. Forest enchantments shift the characters’ paths, friendships are tested, and affection gets tangled in unexpected ways. The result is a magical journey filled with charm and curiosity that keeps the audience leaning in, wanting to see how each twist will unravel without ever taking them out of the spell the story casts.
• OPENS MAY 1, 2026 • The Glass Menagerie / Genre In this haunting and intimate family drama we meet Amanda Wingfield, a once-proud southern belle now trapped in a modest St. Louis apartment, trying to hold together the fragile lives of her two children: Tom, who works in a shoe warehouse while yearning for something more, and Laura, who is shy, physically vulnerable, and lives in a quiet world of glass animal figurines. Amanda still clings to memories of better days, pressing her children into roles she imagines will secure their futures. Tom’s memories become the lens through which the story unfolds, shifting between hope, resignation and regret as the family navigates love, duty and the pain of unfulfilled dreams. The play transforms everyday moments into something almost dream-like, where the glass animals, the memories and the unspoken desires all shimmer in the shadows.
• OPENS JUN 12, 2026 • Newsies / Musical Newsies, the hit musical inspired by the real newsboys strike of 1899, bursts to life with energetic storytelling rooted in grit, friendship, and the stubborn spark of young people refusing to be stepped on. Set in New York City during a time when street kids scraped by selling papers for pennies, the musical follows a tight-knit band of newsboys who dream bigger than the narrow streets they work. When the price they must pay for their papers suddenly jumps, the group faces choices that push them out of their comfort zones and into something larger than any of them expected. Packed with high-energy choreography, fiery songs, and the scrappy humor of kids who have learned to survive by sticking together, the story builds a sense of rising tension without revealing where it leads. As the newsboys navigate tough decisions, surprising alliances, and the weight of standing up for what feels right, Newsies draws the audience into the heartbeat of a city crackling with possibility. The result is a musical that feels both classic and current, inviting viewers to root for a group of underdogs who refuse to fade quietly into the background.
• OPENS AUG 1, 2026 • Spongebob The Musical The SpongeBob Musical is a lively, splash-happy musical rooted in the familiar world of the animated series. Set in the underwater town of Bikini Bottom, the story follows the ever-optimistic sponge, SpongeBob SquarePants, alongside his loyal best friend Patrick Star, their cranky neighbor Squidward Q. Tentacles, and the rest of the quirky sea-creature ensemble as they face a mounting crisis: a volcano on the verge of erupting. As panic spreads through the town, old friendships are tested and hidden strengths emerge, revealing that this undersea world is more than just sandy floors and Krabby Patties. With a score boasting songs from a motley crew of popular artists, the production balances goofy underwater hijinks with surprisingly meaningful themes about community, identity and believing in yourself. The spectacle of bold, neon-sea-color sets and costumes matched with heartfelt performances invites audiences of all ages to dive into a story where even the simplest sponge might hold the power to save the day and remind us that hope and friendship can rise from the deep.