Bringing the immensely popular Oscar-nominated 1974 film to the Broadway stage was a team effort of monster proportions under the director of comic genius Mel Brooks and inspired director/choreographer Susan Stroman.

WICKED  bids farewell to San Francisco on September 5. Tickets now on sale for these final performances.  Check out Wicked News for stories on the show.

A sizzling musical tribute to his vibrant community of Washington Heights by a homesick college student became the 2008 Tony Award-winning Best Musical and brought a dynamic new sound to the Broadway stage.

Hours of research and experimentation led the gifted choreographer to a 2008 Tony Award for the pulsating dance numbers he created for the 2008 Tony Award-winning Best Musical, In the Heights. Discover how he found his inner Latin rhythm and Hip Hip beat.

How do you take the internationally beloved classic PETER PAN and adapt it for a sensational new version surrounded in stunning 360 degree CGI? Playwright Tanya Ronder shares how she reinvigorated the story yet remained true to author J M Barrie's vision.

Fiddler on the Roof was a pioneering musical when it debuted in 1964 not just for its focus on people in poverty but also for the way it dealt wih serious historical issues. Audiences worldwide have embraced the show and its poignant story of a father struggling to maintain longheld cultural and religious traditions from one generation to the next. Discover more about this perennial family favorite.

Wicked recently celebrated its one-year anniversary at the Orpheum Theatre in the show's open-ended engagement. We checked in with author Gregory Maguire whose best-selling novel, "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" was the inspiration for the blockbuster musical.

It is the show that few thought would appeal to mass audiences yet it became the longest running musical for 10 years after it debuted in 1964, won nine Tony Awards and has become one of the world's most beloved musicals. Sammy Dallas Bayes, the director/choreography of the current production, maintains Jerome Robbins original staging and the universality of Fiddler on the Roof.

Meet Dale Foster the House Head for Wardrobe at the Curran Theatre where he and his crew keep the action moving for Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps.

Discover how Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1935 film was newly adapted as the Tony Award-winning comedy thriller, The 39 Steps.

Meet esteemed British Actress-Director Maria Aitken who made her Broadway debut with the Tony Award-winning comedy whodunit The 39 Steps.

As part of The Witches of Wicked, we meet Patty Duke who plays Madame Morrible in the blockbuster musical currently playing an open-ended engagement at the Orpheum Theatre.

As part of The Witches of Wicked, we go off stage to meet Kendra Kassebaum who plays Glinda in the blockbuster musical currently playing an open-ended engagement at the Orpheum Theatre.

As part of The Witches of Wicked, we chat with Teal Wicks who plays Elphaba in the blockbuster musical currently playing an open-ended engagement at the Orpheum Theatre.

See the actors in their final rehearsal, without costumes, in Lincoln Center Theater's new production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's award-winning musical, SOUTH PACIFIC, now in performance at the Golden Gate Theatre.

See some of the final rehearsal when South Pacific Musical Conductor Lawrence Goldberg, Musical Director Ted Sperling and Director Bartlett Sher bring the orchestra and actors together for the first time.

Why revive the Rodgers & Hammerstein 1949 classic now? Because it is a relevant, critically acclaimed musical, with a Pulitzer Prize-winning book and brilliant score that skillfully expose our cultural struggle with war and ethnic intolerance. It's more than an enchanted evening.

For the new production of South Pacific, a full orchestra will be in the pit playing the lush, Tony Award-winning music. Meet Lawrence Goldberg and discover what it takes to be the musical conductor of a Broadway show, particularly one with Rodgers & Hammerstein's beloved score.

The provocative hit play, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY that the critcs are raving about is featured on TV news. Check out the interviews and reviews.

As the bold tragicomedy unfolds on stage, the audience lets loose and becomes an essential, dynamic element to Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning new play, August: Osage County. The audience is not just sitting on their hands listening — they are a palpable part of the performance.

Meet the Academy Award-winning actress who stars as Violet, the pill-popping, deeply unsettled matriarch at the center of the storm in the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning new play, August: Osage County, kicking off its national tour in San Francisco.

Monty Python co-founder Eric Idle tells the tale of how he and composer John Du Prez transformed the cult movie classic, "Monty Python and The Holy Grail," into a Tony Award-winning Best Musical.

Legend has it that wrangling a flying bovine, the coconuts and myriad props on the set of Spamalot is a never-ending quest. Prop Masters Scott Gibson and Tom Perrin tell all.

You'll meet Wicked actors Everth Lopez and Kehau Ahu and discover what it takes to morph into Chistery and a flying monkey while juggling a variety of other ensemble parts in the San Francisco production of this blockbuster musical. They really do give new meaning to "staying on track."

How the perfect storm of masks and makeup, costumes, lighting, effects and choreography make those Wicked flying monkeys so scary and, ultimately, sympathetic characters in the Land of Oz.

When a show is loaded into a theatre, the Costume Designer and Costume Shop staff hand off the responsibility for all costumes and accessories to the show’s Wardrobe Supervisor. For the San Francisco production of Wicked, that person is Gillian Kadish.

We continue our look at Monty Python's Spamalot, the wacky, irreverent Tony Award-winning musical comedy that gallops into the Golden Gate Theatre on May 22. Actor John O'Hurley, who stars as King Arthur, reveals why the role is a perfect fit.

Check out additional Spamalot podcasts, go behind the scenes with Wicked, or listen in on any of our other recurring podcasts.

Here's the why, what, who, where, when and more about the international musical sensation Wicked.

You’ll discover how this award-winning writer, who created TV’s acclaimed “My So Called Life,” teamed up with composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz to create the sensational musical theater adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s novel, Wicked, The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

There's no place like home for Wicked as San Francisco turns green to welcome the international sensation back to where the magic all began.

Find out what it takes to move the multimillion production from Los Angeles to San Francisco, unload, and remount the show for an open-ended engagement at the Orpheum Theatre. It takes a lot more than packing tape and bubble wrap—although they do use some of that, too.

Discover how SHN has evolved and become an intergral part of the Broadway community.

Acclaimed costume designer Martin Pakledinaz shares what inspired his designs for the new production of Grease that rocks the Golden Gate Theatre for a limited engagement beginning March 24.

Production Stage Manager Amy Marsico reveals the magic behind the mask of the international phenomenon, The Phantom of the Opera.

Meet Wicked Producer David Stone.

Discover what inspires award-winning costume designer Susan Hilferty and what challenges she had in creating the 19th Century period costumes for Spring Awakening.

Diving into designer David Gallo's creative process for the innovative sets that transform The Drowsy Chaperone.

The Greater Tuna gals tell all about their favorite city by the Bay.

The Half Moon Bay native stars as Gabriella Montez, the brainy new girl in school, in Disney’s High School Musical on Stage.

Acclaimed New Delhi-based designer created the stunning sets and costumes for Tim Supple’s re-imagined staging of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman talks about adapting Alice Walker's beloved novel to a stage musical. 

Choreographer Sergio Trujillo tells us how the JERSEY BOYS make their moves

"Good Luck" is bad luck so pinch me instead. Discover theatre superstitions.

View an Audio Slideshow and go back to school with Author Alice Walker

View this Audio Slide Show to experience what happens behind the scenes before the curtain goes up.

New online features now available exclusively for subscribers. Fast, convenient options that enhance your Best of Broadway subscription.

The journey from bachelor party skit to Broadway hit began as a celebration of love and evolved into a fun, frothy homage to American musical theater of the Jazz Age.

Critically acclaimed, Tony Award-winning new musical Spring Awakening is a stunning fusion of morality, sexuality and rock and roll that has changed the face of Broadway and attracted a new brand of theatergoer.

A new production of the the original high school musical will soon strut into town. Director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall reveals why Grease has such universal appeal and international popularity.

SHN connects you to Broadway's gala night. The 2008 Tony Awards were announced Sunday June 15. Big winner was the Pulitzer Prize winning new play, August: Osage County which will kick off its national tour in San Francisco as part of our recently announced new season.

Michael Bennett redefined the American musical with his groundbreaking creation, A Chorus Line, but three decades later it is Marvin Hamlisch’s music with lyrics by Edward Kleban that endures.

Discover the South Asian languages and traditional dances that are woven into Tim Supple’s stunning, passionate production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

What is it about William Shakespeare and A Midsummer Night’s Dream that inspires so many varying interpretations? Here are the facts about one of The Bard’s most popular works for the stage.

Two years in the making, British director Tim Supple re-imagines Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with a multilingual Indian and Sri Lankan cast.

The award-winning Greater Tuna creative team takes a wild ride in Las Vegas with a their new comedy, Tuna Does Vegas, and Sin City will never be the same.

From the quirky 1988 New Line Cinema film written and directed by John Waters to a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical then adapted last year to a sensational motion picture.

What is it about The Phantom of the Opera that continues to thrill audiences world-wide after 22 years on the theater scene? Director Hal Prince thinks he knows.

For some reason, we just couldn't stay away so long. Jersey Boys is still the talk of the town and tops on the must see list. Wherever it plays, it continues to break box office records. What is it about this musical chronicling the untold story of 60s pop group The Four Seasons that attracts audiences crisscrossing all demographics?

Chazz Palminteri tells the tale behind A BRONX TALE, his semi-autobiographical one-man show about growing up in the Bronx during the 60s when Mafia bosses controlled his neighborhood.

The 2008 - 2009 Best of Broadway season celebrates the 30th anniversary of SHN presenting theater in the Bay Area.

View this Audio Slide Show to experience what happens behind the scenes before the curtain goes up.

Oprah Winfrey, who starred in Spielberg’s film of The Color Purple, is determined that you not forget its story. So, with producers Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones, she’s put it on Broadway. And now we’re bringing it to the Bay Area, adopted home of author Alice Walker.

FIND YOURSELF HERE

Our defining human experiences come to largest life onstage, pulling us, together, into the present moment. Stay there a while with our newly expanded issues of SHNews, full of thoughtful articles and special audio/visual features that include you in every part of a play's development. So you can return to the theatre even before the next time you visit.

A spectacular new stage production of PETER PAN will make its U.S. premiere in a stunning 1,350-seat theater in the round pavilion specially erected in Ferry Park on the Embarcadero oppostie the Ferry Building in San Francisco. It is the world's first 360-degree CGI set, surrounding theatergoers with 15,000 square feet of high resolution video. When Peter and Wendy fly off to Neverland, the audience flies wtih them.

The 2009-2010 Citibank Best of Broadway season is in full swing at SHN's historic Orpheum, Curran and Golden Gate Theatres in San Francisco. The blockbuster shows direct from Broadway rounding out this year's lineup include the 2008 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical, a hilarious monster re-imagining of the Mary Shelly classic, a new production of the cinematic show that changed musical theater forever, the 2009 Tony Award-winner for Best Revival, and the continuing engagement of the untold story of the witches of Oz, before Dorothy dropped in.