San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Playhouse brings ‘Into the Woods’ to Union Square for the holidays
SAN FRANCISCO – A new production of the Broadway classic “Into the Woods” is bringing a dose of magic — and a reminder about the power of community — to Union Square this holiday season.
San Francisco Playhouse is staging the Stephen Sondheim musical now through mid-January.
What they’re saying:
Co-founder and producing director Susie Damilano said the show’s blend of childhood fairy tales and adult consequences feels especially resonant this year.
“It’s all the fairy tales we grew up with,” Damilano said. “In Act One we see the characters’ wishes come true. In Act Two, we see the consequences. It reminds us to be careful what we wish for.”
At the center of the production is a new story thread involving a baker and his wife longing to have a child.
Damilano said the woods themselves become a metaphor for the characters’ journeys — mystical and inviting in some moments, dark and tangled in others.
“I decided that having magical, mystical woods would be the way to go,” she said. “They represent our collective unconscious… beautiful, but with a lot of tangled things in there, just like our own minds.”
Damilano said she cried the first time she saw the full production come together, moved by the design team’s work and the emotional weight of the story.
“It just takes my breath away,” she said. “This show touches us deep in our soul. It reminds us how important community is.”
Big picture view:
The production arrives at a time when many theaters are still struggling in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Damilano said San Francisco Playhouse feels fortunate and energized by audiences returning to the city’s core.
“We’re filling our houses,” she said. “Union Square is coming back to life. People are out playing chess and ping pong again, the Christmas tree is up, there’s ice skating. It feels good.”
With its familiar characters and themes of family, loss, and longing, “Into the Woods” is designed to be a holiday-friendly experience for all ages.
“Into the Woods” runs through Jan. 17 at San Francisco Playhouse in Union Square. Tickets and show times are available at sfplayhouse.org.
The Source: Original reporting by Allie Rasmus of KTVU
The San Francisco Giants have been one of the biggest disappointments in baseball this season, prompting the front office to explore operating as sellers this summer. Amid a flurry of MLB trade rumors this week about a potential firesale, there is now more buzz regarding the future of Matt Chapman with the team.
MLB insider Robert Murray spoke to executives around the league who said that Chapman is “the most appealing” trade target of the group that also includes Rafael Devers and Willy Adames.
Matt Chapman Trade Landing Spots
- Matt Chapman contract (Spotrac): $25.166 million AAV (2026-2030)
It’s no surprise that Chapman is the most coveted player among the highly-paid trio. He is a Gold Glove Award winner at third base who can still provide well above-average fielding at the hot corner as a 33-year-old. On top of that, he is also outproduced Adames by a wide margin this season and offers far greater positional value than Devers.
However, there is a complicating factor. Chapman has played 10 seasons in the majors and has a full no-trade clause. He also made it clear to reporters this week that he prefers to remain in San Francisco, especially since he is a California native.
Rafael Devers Trade Landing Spots
- Matt Chapman stats (2026): .252/.337/.400, .737 OPS, 7 home runs, 41 RBI in 309 plate appearances
As a result, per Murray, San Francisco is not expected to move him this offseason. That makes it even more likely that the club’s highest-paid players remain with the team for the remainder of the season, with president of baseball operations Buster Posey expected to pursue alternative options.
More than likely, the Giants will instead be trading the likes of Robbie Ray, Tyler Mahle, and Luis Arraez. All three veterans are on expiring contracts, so San Francisco will attempt to get whatever it can for them on the trade market next month.
Willy Adames Trade Landing Spots
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco hotels see steady World Cup business, but fall short of Super Bowl surge
Bay Area bars and restaurants are packed for World Cup watch parties this week, but San Francisco hotels are not seeing the same sell-out crowds experienced during the Super Bowl earlier this year.
While the Super Bowl brought a concentrated week of events that sent hotel prices soaring into the thousands, the World Cup spans more than a month. The extended timeline has resulted in a slower, steadier trickle of out-of-town soccer fans booking rooms.
The Bay Area has several exciting matches on the schedule at Levi’s Stadium, but none feature top-seeded teams or the mega-star power seen when “Messi mania” previously swept the region.
“We knew we weren’t going to get any of the first-place teams. We weren’t going to get Brazil, or Germany, or any of the teams carrying big fan bases — Messi, Ronaldo,” said Alex Bastian, CEO of the Hotel Council of San Francisco. “But that being said, this is still such a great thing, because people are coming here from around the world.”
Bastian noted that the city’s hospitality industry is still in a strong position for the summer.
“We have a great convention calendar for the month of June, and because we were prepared, we’re doing much better compared to our colleagues across the country,” he said.
A significant surge in hotel bookings could still happen if Levi’s Stadium secures a match featuring Team USA. That possibility grew stronger following the U.S. team’s 2-0 win over Australia on Friday.
“I’m really excited about Team USA. I’m USA all the way,” Bastian added. “I’m hopeful that when that game is played here, the world will come check out San Francisco as well.”
The San Francisco Giants are headed even farther south today as they begin a weekend road series against the Miami Marlins.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be noted bigot Landen Roupp. Roupp enters today’s game with a 4.24 ERA, 2.96 FIP, with 82 strikeouts to 32 walks in 74.1 innings pitched. His last start was in Friday night’s 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs, in which Roupp clearly cared more about proselytizing than he did about winning, allowing four runs on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks in four and two thirds innings.
As of the time this is being written on Thursday, the Marlins have not announced a starting pitcher for today’s game and I am off today (Happy Juneteenth!). But you can head on down to the comments for the most up to date information.
Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Miami Marlins
Where: loanDepot park, Miami, Florida
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
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