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Approximately 250,000 people annually attend top-rated performances here. Three theaters include indoor performances at the Old Globe, an intimate perspective at the theater-in-the-round Carter stage, and outdoor Shakespeare at the Davies Festival Theatre (see Old Globe Theatres).

The San Diego Civic Light Opera performs summer Broadway shows in this idyllic Balboa Park setting (see Balboa Park). Although under the flight path of San Diego’s International Airport, plane-spotters cue the performers when to freeze. Audiences good-humoredly accept the interruptions as part of the experience.

Gregory Peck, Mel Ferrer, and Dorothy McGuire founded this acclaimed theater in 1947. All the Hollywood greats once performed here. Now affiliated with UCSD, many plays that debuted here have gone on to win the Tony; the theater itself took America’s Outstanding Regional Theater award in 1993.

Posters at La Jolla Playhouse

Two theaters are part of the San Diego Repertory Theatre complex: the 550-seat Lyceum and the 270-seat Lyceum Space Theatre. Productions run from the experimental to multilingual performances and Shakespeare with a modern slant. In addition, the theater hosts visiting companies and art exhibitions.

Only 250 amphitheater-style seats wrap around the stage of this intimate theater housed in an Old Town barn. See musicals and comedies such as Forever Plaid and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change .

Formerly known as the Fox Theatre, a Rococo-Spanish Renaissance extravaganza built in 1929, it was to be destroyed until developers donated it to the San Diego Symphony in 1984. Now brilliantly restored, the hall hosts excellent classical music concerts.

Commissioned by John D. Spreckels (see Silver Strand State Beach), this Neo-Baroque downtown landmark presents theatrical productions and concerts. Murals, classical statuary, and an elegant marble lobby give the theater an aura of old San Diego.

If you missed the latest Broadway show, chances are the touring company will perform at this grand theater. Featuring local talent and the world’s most acclaimed stars, the San Diego Opera stages five annual productions here. The theater is also home to the California Ballet.

Major pop artists perform from March to October in this acoustically notable open-air amphitheater. Great sight lines and giant video screens ensure a good view. Seating holds 10,000 people with room on the grass for another 10,000.

From May to October, well-known performers of jazz, rock, comedy, blues, folk, and world music perform in an outdoor 1,350-seat amphitheater next to San Diego Bay. Special packages to Humphrey’s Restaurant and Humphrey’s Half Moon Bay Inn are available to patrons (see Humphrey’s Half Moon Inn & Suites).