SHN (theatres)
Encyclopedia
SHN is a theatrical production company in San Francisco. Under the leadership of commercial Broadway
producers Carole Shorenstein Hays
and Robert Nederlander, SHN has evolved from its inception in 1977 as a promoter of short engagements of national tours in one theatre to become the pre-eminent theatrical entertainment company in San Francisco presenting a year round season of plays and musicals. SHN also owns and operates three historic theatres in San Francisco: the Curran
, Orpheum
and Golden Gate
Theatres.
For over 30 years, SHN has presented a Broadway
series including musicals and plays featuring world premieres, pre-Broadway engagements, limited West Coast-only runs of productions starring the original Broadway casts and national tours.
, Mamma Mia!
, Baz Luhrman's La Bohème, the 2006 revival of A Chorus Line
, Legally Blonde The Musical and a new musical stage version of Irving Berlin
's White Christmas (musical)
SHN engagements have kicked off the national tours of Jersey Boys
, Spring Awakening
, the Lincoln Center revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein
's South Pacific
, Avenue Q
, Edward Scissorhands
and The Light in the Piazza
all immediately following their Broadway runs. And, SHN has presented the West Coast premieres of Caroline, or Change
, I Am My Own Wife
, Spamalot
, The Color Purple
and the Pulitzer Prize
winning play August: Osage County
.
Blockbuster hit shows that spawn multiple companies in addition to their touring versions frequently establish West Coast sit-down engagements in San Francisco. Wicked
returned to San Francisco playing a two year run, Jersey Boys
, The Lion King
, and Les Misérables
each played for over a year, while The Phantom of the Opera
broke records with an unsurpassed five-year run.
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
producers Carole Shorenstein Hays
Carole Shorenstein Hays
Carole Shorenstein Hays is an American theatrical producer. She has produced many award-winning Broadway plays. In additiion to her Broadway endeavors, she is the President of SHN , a theatrical producing company in San Francisco...
and Robert Nederlander, SHN has evolved from its inception in 1977 as a promoter of short engagements of national tours in one theatre to become the pre-eminent theatrical entertainment company in San Francisco presenting a year round season of plays and musicals. SHN also owns and operates three historic theatres in San Francisco: the Curran
Curran Theatre
The Curran Theatre is located in San Francisco and was named by its first owner, Homer Curran. The theatre is currently owned by Carole Shorenstein Hays and is operated by SHN - Overview :...
, Orpheum
Orpheum Theatre (San Francisco)
The Orpheum Theatre is a performance venue located at 1192 Market at Hyde Street in the Civic Center district of San Francisco, California. The theatre first opened in 1926 as one of the many designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca for theater-circuit owner Alexander Pantages. The interior features...
and Golden Gate
Golden Gate Theatre
The Golden Gate Theatre is a performance venue located in San Francisco, CA., first opened in 1922 as a vaudeville venue, and later was a major movie theater...
Theatres.
For over 30 years, SHN has presented a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
series including musicals and plays featuring world premieres, pre-Broadway engagements, limited West Coast-only runs of productions starring the original Broadway casts and national tours.
Notable productions
SHN has hosted the world premieres and pre-Broadway engagements of numerous shows including: WickedWicked
Wicked is generally used as an adjective to mean evil or sinful.Wicked may also refer to:* Wicked Pictures, an American pornographic studio...
, Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...
, Baz Luhrman's La Bohème, the 2006 revival of A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch....
, Legally Blonde The Musical and a new musical stage version of Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
's White Christmas (musical)
White Christmas (musical)
White Christmas is a musical based on the Paramount Pictures 1954 film of the same name. The libretto is by David Ives and Paul Blake, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin...
SHN engagements have kicked off the national tours of Jersey Boys
Jersey Boys
Jersey Boys is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is a documentary-style musical, based on one of the most successful 1960s rock 'n roll groups, the Four Seasons...
, Spring Awakening
Spring Awakening
Spring Awakening is a rock musical adaptation of the controversial 1892 German play of the same title by Frank Wedekind. It features music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater. Set in late-19th century Germany, it concerns teenagers who are discovering the inner and outer tumult of...
, the Lincoln Center revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
's South Pacific
South Pacific (musical)
South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
, Avenue Q
Avenue Q
Avenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller...
, Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands is a 1990 romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. The film shows the story of an artificial man named Edward, an unfinished creation, who has scissors for hands. Edward is taken in by a suburban family and falls in love with their teenage daughter...
and The Light in the Piazza
The Light in the Piazza
The Light in the Piazza is a musical with a book by Craig Lucas and music and lyrics by Adam Guettel. Based on a novella by Elizabeth Spencer, it is set in Florence and Rome in the summer of 1953. A young American tourist, Clara Johnson, meets and falls for young Italian Fabrizio Naccarelli...
all immediately following their Broadway runs. And, SHN has presented the West Coast premieres of Caroline, or Change
Caroline, or Change
Caroline, or Change is a through-composed musical with book and lyrics by Tony Kushner and score by Jeanine Tesori that combines spirituals, blues, Motown, classical music, and Jewish klezmer and folk music....
, I Am My Own Wife
I Am My Own Wife
I Am My Own Wife is a play by Doug Wright based on his conversations with German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. The one-man play premiered Off-Broadway in 2003 at Playwrights Horizons. It opened on Broadway later that year. The play was developed with Moisés Kaufman and his Tectonic...
, Spamalot
Spamalot
Monty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre...
, The Color Purple
The Color Purple
The Color Purple is an acclaimed 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker. It received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction...
and the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning play August: Osage County
August: Osage County
August: Osage County is a darkly comedic play by Tracy Letts. It was the recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on 28 June 2007, and closed on 26 August 2007. Its Broadway debut was at the Imperial Theater on 4 December 2007 and...
.
Blockbuster hit shows that spawn multiple companies in addition to their touring versions frequently establish West Coast sit-down engagements in San Francisco. Wicked
Wicked
Wicked is generally used as an adjective to mean evil or sinful.Wicked may also refer to:* Wicked Pictures, an American pornographic studio...
returned to San Francisco playing a two year run, Jersey Boys
Jersey Boys
Jersey Boys is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is a documentary-style musical, based on one of the most successful 1960s rock 'n roll groups, the Four Seasons...
, The Lion King
The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
, and Les Misérables
Les Misérables
Les Misérables , translated variously from the French as The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, or The Victims), is an 1862 French novel by author Victor Hugo and is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century...
each played for over a year, while The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera
Le Fantôme de l'Opéra is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialisation in "Le Gaulois" from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910...
broke records with an unsurpassed five-year run.