October’s Accessible and Inclusive Performances in the Bay Area
Check out ASL, captioned, haptic tours, and audio described performances in the Bay Area this month.
The Bay Area’s arts scene is increasing its options when it comes to accessibility. For organizations around the city, ensuring the performing arts are accessible is about much more than checking a box; it’s about ensuring everyone has the opportunity to enjoy and participate in the performance.
When arts organizations and venues offer options like ASL interpretation, open captions, or sensory-sensitive environments, they break down barriers that can often leave people feeling excluded. Accessibility opens up a range of possibilities, allowing people of all abilities to engage with the arts.
By offering these inclusive options, the Bay Area arts community is sending a message that the arts are for everyone. It strengthens our cultural landscape, invites new perspectives, and fosters a more connected and diverse community. The more accessible we make our spaces, the richer the experience is for all of us.
If you’re looking for shows that offer a more inclusive experience—whether that’s in theatre, opera, or musicals—there are some great performances coming up.
Wicked
- Closed Captioned: Provided at all performances through GalaPro
- Audio Described: Provided at all performances through GalaPro
- ASL Interpreted: October 5 at 1 p.m.
- Open Captioned: October 12 at 1 p.m.
From the first electrifying note to the final breathtaking moment, Wicked—the untold true story of the Witches of Oz—transfixes audiences with its wildly inventive story that TIME Magazine cheers is “a magical Broadway musical with brains, heart and courage.”
BroadwaySF
broadwaysf.com
King James
- ASL Interpreted: October 22 at 7:30 p.m.
- Open Captioned: October 27 at 2 and 7 p.m.; October 30 at 2 p.m.
- Audio Described: November 2 at 8 p.m.; November 3 at 2 p.m.
In Rajiv Joseph’s brilliant and slam-dunk new comedy, superfans Matt and Shawn forge a friendship through a shared love of their hometown Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
theatreworks.org
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
- ASL Interpreted: October 9 at 8 p.m.
Join the original ‘Magenta’—Patricia Quinn—for a screening of the original unedited movie with a live shadow cast and audience participation! Plus a costume contest, and more!
BroadwaySF
broadwaysf.com
Clue
- Closed Captioned: October 30 at 7:30 p.m.
- ASL Interpreted: November 2 at 2 p.m.
- Audio Described: November 3 at 1 p.m.
- Open Captioned: November 3 at 6:30 p.m.
Murder and blackmail are on the menu when six mysterious guests assemble at Boddy Manor for a night they’ll never forget! Clue is the ultimate whodunit that will leave you dying of laughter and keep you guessing until the final twist.
Broadway San Jose
broadwaysanjose.com
Mummenschanz: 50 Years
- Audio Described: October 27 at 3 p.m.
The delightful Swiss mime troupe Mummenschanz visits with a retrospective program celebrating 50 years of wonderfully inventive—and totally silent!—storytelling. The company resurrects mesmerizing larger-than-life creatures and creations from its favorite repertoire.
Cal Performances
calperformances.org
Mexodus
- Closed Captioned: All matinee performances through October 17
- Audio Described: October 19 at 2 p.m.
History meets hip-hop in Mexodus, an electrifying live-looping musical, composed in real-time by multitalented writer/performers Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson. Mexodus explores the often-untold stories of the Underground Railroad that led south into Mexico.
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
berkeleyrep.org
The Play That Goes Wrong
- Audio Described: October 13 at 2 p.m.
This Olivier Award-winning comedy is a hilarious hybrid of Monty Python and Sherlock Holmes. Welcome to opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor, where the hapless Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s attempt to stage this 1920s murder mystery devolves into madcap mayhem.
San Francisco Playhouse
sfplayhouse.org
Choir Boy
- Audio Described with Haptic Tour: October 6 at 5 p.m.
- ASL Interpreted: October 13 at 5 p.m.
With contemporary arrangements of traditional African American spirituals and dance, Choir Boy is a brilliant, moving, and uplifting play from Academy Award-winning playwright, Tarell Alvin McCraney. This is not a coming-out story. It’s a story about the power of self-love.
Dance Series 1
- ASL Interpreted: October 18 at 7:30 p.m.
- Audio Described and Haptic Tour: October 20 at 2 p.m.
Dance Series 1 introduces two choreographers to Smuin audiences, Jennifer Archibald and Matthew Neenan. Archibald, globally in demand, creates a World Premiere in her first project with Smuin. Neenan, declared “one of the most appealing and singular choreographic voices in ballet today” by The New York Times, also makes his Smuin debut.
Smuin Contemporary Ballet
smuinballet.org
