The legacy of BEACH BLANKET BABYLON

Many patrons ask about this beloved show. For those who don’t know - in 1974, Club Fugazi became home to Steve Silver’s Beach Blanket Babylon. A wild and wonderful, topical spoof of celebrities, politicians, and newsmakers, the show was known for its outrageous hats, towering anywhere from 4 to 14 feet above the performers’ heads.

It ran for a total of 45 years, becoming the world’s longest-running musical revue. The production played for more than 17,200 performances to over 6.5 million guests, taking its final bow in December 2019, to an outpouring of love and appreciation from legions of fans and coverage by The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, London’s Guardian, and other publications from around the world.  

During its long life, the show toured to Las Vegas and London, opened the Academy Awards, and counted among its audiences Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, as well as Prince (now King) Charles and Camilla, David Bowie, Liza Minelli, Robin Williams, and even the original Beach Blanket movie icon Annette Funicello. (In fact the Tiara Suite was built for the planned visit by QE2 – but because audience demand was so high, that show was moved to Davies Symphony Hall.)

You can read the entire history of this fabulous production here.

While it was loved by audiences from around the world, the Bay Area claimed Beach Blanket Babylon as its own. When it closed, its jewel box theatre went dark – but not for long.  

The founders of The 7 Fingers, Gypsy Snider and Shana Carroll, both San Francisco natives, were interested. These cirque visionaries, who had moved to Montreal to create one of the world’s leading contemporary circus troupes—which has now delighted over 7 million people in 672 cities and 54 different countries (and counting)—envisioned a production that would pay homage to their hometown. Thus, Dear San Francisco was born! It opened during the crux of the pandemic, in October 2020, and has been running ever since. Like its predecessor, Dear San Francisco has been joyously embraced by audiences and critics, earning five star reviews on Tripadvisor, Yelp, Google and more. Critics have given it raves, including the San Francisco Chronicle, The Mercury News, and countless others.

We hope you will join us for a performance soon. For information and to book tickets, click here.