by Kristen Nevárez Schweizer
In March, San Diego Theatre Month turns the whole County into a sampler platter: big houses, small stages, musicals, plays, improv, concerts, and dance. The official ticket tiers are $15, $30, and $45, with some additional “two-for” promos to make spontaneity feel reasonable.
It’s produced by the San Diego Performing Arts League, in collaboration with playwright Christian St. Croix, as its 2026 Artist Ambassador.
A quick note before you plan in the group chat: Theatre Month listings flag which dates/performances qualify for the offer, and which offers run beyond March, so check out the fine print at https://sandiegotheatremonth.com/shows and then enter this code at checkout: SDTM26
2026 Theatre Month offers (with my favorites highlighted)
$15 offers
- Seussical (musical)
Cuyamaca College
Feb 27 – Mar 8 - Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (children’s musical theatre)
San Diego Junior Theatre @ Casa del Prado Theatre
Feb 27–Mar 14 - National Comedy Theatre
Mar 1–Mar 31- National Comedy Theatre is a San Diego institution that has both thrived and survived on the purest fuel there is: word of mouth. The whole show is made up on the spot in real time based on audience suggestions. The improv show is generally clean, all-ages-friendly, and built like a full night out rather than a quick set, which makes it a perfect “bring your skeptical friend” pick. I’ve checked out shows there for nearly two decades and will always recommend it.
- National Comedy Theatre is a San Diego institution that has both thrived and survived on the purest fuel there is: word of mouth. The whole show is made up on the spot in real time based on audience suggestions. The improv show is generally clean, all-ages-friendly, and built like a full night out rather than a quick set, which makes it a perfect “bring your skeptical friend” pick. I’ve checked out shows there for nearly two decades and will always recommend it.
- Lyrics & Laughs
Mockingbird Improv
Mar 6–Mar 20 - The Mercy Seat (play)
OnStage Playhouse
Mar 6–Mar 29 - Broadway Unscripted
Mockingbird Improv
Mar 6–Mar 20 - All Hands On Deck!
Mockingbird Improv
Mar 7–Mar 28 - Improv VS Standup
Mockingbird Improv
Mar 7–Mar 28 - Radio ’47
Mockingbird Improv
Mar 13–Mar 27 - Telenovela Improv
Mockingbird Improv
Mar 13–Mar 27 - Let Me Have It!
Mockingbird Improv
Mar 13 (one-night) - Giulio Cesare (opera seria)
Shiley Theatre (University of San Diego)
Mar 21–Mar 22 - Writers Wing Sketch Comedy
Mockingbird Improv
Mar 21 (one-night)
$30 offers
- An Act of God
Roustabouts @ Scripps Ranch Theatre
Mar 7–Mar 29- I wrote a whole article about this script. Witty, irreverent, and unexpectedly profound, An Act of God flips faith, power, and humanity upside down with razor-sharp humor. When God descends to Earth—alongside two long-suffering angels—to set the record straight, sacred truths collide with modern skepticism, politics, and pop culture. A laugh-out-loud exploration of belief, free will, and the flawed brilliance of being human.
- I wrote a whole article about this script. Witty, irreverent, and unexpectedly profound, An Act of God flips faith, power, and humanity upside down with razor-sharp humor. When God descends to Earth—alongside two long-suffering angels—to set the record straight, sacred truths collide with modern skepticism, politics, and pop culture. A laugh-out-loud exploration of belief, free will, and the flawed brilliance of being human.
- Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Backyard Renaissance @ Tenth Avenue Arts Center
Mar 7–Mar 21- I’ve never been invited to review Backyard Renaissance, but I can tell you their script choice is excellent. Edward Albee’s Tony Award–winning play is the original dinner party from hell, where cocktails curdle into confessions and games turn into emotional blood sport. Plus, Tenth Avenue Arts Center has up-close intensity when you want the catharsis of feeling like it’s happening to you.
- I’ve never been invited to review Backyard Renaissance, but I can tell you their script choice is excellent. Edward Albee’s Tony Award–winning play is the original dinner party from hell, where cocktails curdle into confessions and games turn into emotional blood sport. Plus, Tenth Avenue Arts Center has up-close intensity when you want the catharsis of feeling like it’s happening to you.
- Matt & Ben
New Village Arts
Mar 27–Apr 25- Matt & Ben is a buzzy San Diego premiere: a fast, hilarious Hollywood send-up by Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers that imagines young Damon and Affleck getting tested by a Higher Power when the Good Will Hunting script literally drops out of the sky. Low stakes, high laughs, and a pop-culture hook.
- Matt & Ben is a buzzy San Diego premiere: a fast, hilarious Hollywood send-up by Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers that imagines young Damon and Affleck getting tested by a Higher Power when the Good Will Hunting script literally drops out of the sky. Low stakes, high laughs, and a pop-culture hook.
- Lend Me a Soprano
Scripps Ranch Theatre
Apr 26–May 16
$45 offers
- The Notebook
SD Broadway’s Broadway Tour @ Civic Theatre
Feb 27–Mar 14- The Notebook earned three 2024 Tony Award nominations, with Ingrid Michaelson’s score leaving audiences happily wrecked. This is your chance to catch a buzzy, nationally celebrated title without needing a special occasion to justify the price.
- The Notebook earned three 2024 Tony Award nominations, with Ingrid Michaelson’s score leaving audiences happily wrecked. This is your chance to catch a buzzy, nationally celebrated title without needing a special occasion to justify the price.
- Straddle
Diversionary Theatre
Mar 1–Mar 15- The hook is smart and human: longtime partners Dodie and Vita hit another anniversary and start asking what intimacy looks like when their rituals start to feel like reruns. Diversionary is always worth the shoutout: it’s one of the country’s longest-running LGBTQ+ theatres because it consistently programs plays with something to say.
- The hook is smart and human: longtime partners Dodie and Vita hit another anniversary and start asking what intimacy looks like when their rituals start to feel like reruns. Diversionary is always worth the shoutout: it’s one of the country’s longest-running LGBTQ+ theatres because it consistently programs plays with something to say.
- Somewhere Over the Border
Cygnet @ The Joan
Mar 4–Mar 14- Read my review HERE.
- Read my review HERE.
- The Maltese Falcon
North Coast Repertory Theatre
Mar 4–Mar 28 - The ’70s: The Golden Age of the Album
Old Town Theatre
Mar 5–Mar 27 - Motown: The Groove that Changed America
California Center for the Arts, Escondido
Mar 14–Mar 15 - Riverdance
SD Broadway @ Civic Theatre
May 1–May 3 - The SpongeBob Musical
Cygnet @ The Joan
Jun 10–Jun 20- The SpongeBob Musical will exceed expectations. It surprised Broadway with serious momentum, earning 12 Tony Award nominations in 2018 (including Best Musical), making it exactly the kind of take the family/take your inner 12-year-old kind of night that reminds you theatre can be wholesome fun without being fluff.
- The SpongeBob Musical will exceed expectations. It surprised Broadway with serious momentum, earning 12 Tony Award nominations in 2018 (including Best Musical), making it exactly the kind of take the family/take your inner 12-year-old kind of night that reminds you theatre can be wholesome fun without being fluff.
- Measure for Measure
The Old Globe
Jun 14–Jun 21- If you’ve ever wanted to be the person who casually says, “We did Shakespeare under the stars in Balboa Park last night,” this is your window. Measure for Measure is the kind of Shakespeare that feels uncomfortably current—power, hypocrisy, “morality” used as a weapon—and Theatre Month pricing means snagging select performances without the usual Globe sticker shock.
2 for $45 deals (two tickets for $45)
- Laurel Canyon Revival (concert)
The Bornemann
Mar 7 - Rebel Star (concert)
The Bornemann
Mar 13 - The Soul Seekers (concert)
The Bornemann
Mar 14 - Parallel Universe of Humanity (play)
Trinity Theatre
Mar 15–Mar 29 - Amor Prohibido Returns (concert)
The Bornemann
Mar 21 - All Things Equal: The Life & Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (play)
Balboa Theatre
Mar 21–Mar 22 - The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (play)
Oceanside Theatre Company @ Sunshine Brooks Theater
Mar 13–Mar 29- The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is a mature, body-slamming satire with real prestige behind it: it was a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist and went on to win major accolades, including an Obie Award for Best New American Play. The fresh venue is part of the appeal: Sunshine Brooks Theater in Oceanside, home base for Oceanside Theatre Company, is a local stage to get on your radar.
- The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is a mature, body-slamming satire with real prestige behind it: it was a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist and went on to win major accolades, including an Obie Award for Best New American Play. The fresh venue is part of the appeal: Sunshine Brooks Theater in Oceanside, home base for Oceanside Theatre Company, is a local stage to get on your radar.
- Strange Snow (play)
PowPAC
Mar 27–May 17 - Never Die Young – The Music of James Taylor (concert)
The Bornemann
Apr 11
