Exhibit Opening, “SF on Stage: A New Exhibit Celebrating the City’s Performing Arts.”

The San Francisco Historical Society and the Museum of Performance + Design are proud to announce our inaugural collaboration, San Francisco On Stage. The exhibit features highlights from MP + D’s collection of historical artifacts from the worlds of dance, music, and theater, including costumes, programs, videos of performances, and other unique memorabilia. The exhibit will be on display at the San Francisco Historical Society Museum, 608 Commercial Street, in San Francisco’s Financial District through August 15, 2024.

The exhibit explores San Francisco’s long and colorful tradition of performing arts, which began during the Gold Rush. “This exhibit is a rare opportunity to view the highlights of MP + D’s extraordinary collection–artifacts that are rarely on display for public view,” said Lana Costantini, Director of Operations for SFHS.

Objects on view include the wings from the Eureka Theatre’s production of Angels in America and costumes from Tosca and Der Rosenkavalier worn by opera singers Dorothy Kirsten and Blanche Thebom. Models of the Tivoli Opera House and the War Memorial Opera House are also on display. Photographs in the exhibit include one of groundbreaking opera singer Marian Anderson and a portrait of the “Mother of Modern Dance,” Isadora Duncan, by photographer Arnold Genthe. The San Francisco Historical Society Museum is open Thursday through Saturday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Register at www.SFHistory.org.OnStage