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Sacramento, California

Sacramento Arts: Art Scene in Sacramento

Best known as California’s capitol city and the birthplace of the Gold Rush of 1849, Sacramento is the location of a number of historically significant museums exploring the state’s colorful history. Additionally, Sacramento has a number of excellent performing and fine arts destinations, in keeping with the city’s historic pedigree.

Those who live in or are visiting Sacramento also have easy access to art attractions in Stockton, a city of almost 300,000 people, just a 50 minute drive south on I-5.

Sacramento Arts Information

Art Museums

Crocker Art Museum

The main entrance to the Crocker Museum is through the original museum building, which was built by Judge Erwin B. Crocker in 1872 as his family’s home. The grand, Italianate mansion originally included a bowling alley, skating rink and billiards room on the ground floor; a natural history museum and library on the first floor; and gallery space on the second floor to exhibit the Crocker’s private collection. ...more...

Theater

B Street Theatre

Sacramento’s newest and most innovative professional theatre company, B Street offers a refreshing blend of out of the box classics, emerging playwrights, and area premieres over the course of three annual seasons performed on two intimate stages. Originally founded as a contemporary children’s theatre, B Street continues that tradition with a touring program that performs to over 200,000 students each year. Named “Best Live Theatre” 14 years in a row …more…

California Musical Theatre

California Musical Theatre Information
Venues: Wells Fargo Pavillion (1419 H Street); Community Center Theater (1301 L Street); Cosmopolitan Cabaret (1000 K Street)
Public Transportation: All venues are easily accessible by several bus and light rail routes
Handicapped Accessibility: Good
Performances/Programs: 7 shows per season at various venues
Ticket Prices: Tickets range from $19–$74 with prices varying by date, venue, and seat selection
Group Discounts: Group rates are available
Subscriptions: Each venue has their own subscription options, which …more…

California Stage Company

California Stage Company Information

Public Transportation: Good (a 1-minute walk from bus 38 at Q Street/25th Street; and a 2-minute walk from the Gold Light Rail line at R Street/24th Street)
Handicapped Accessibility: Good
Performances/Programs: 6–7 shows per season. Performance schedule is Friday–Sunday
Ticket Prices: Adult $20; Students, Seniors, SARTA $15
Group Discounts: Discounts available for groups of 6 or more ($12 per ticket)
Subscriptions: Subscriptions are available.

Capital Stage

This company had its beginnings in 1999 as the Delta King Theatre, a division of the Riverboat Delta King, and it continues to perform in the riverboat’s 115-seat theatre. In 2004, the company attained full Equity status; the following year, it became an independent, nonprofit organization and its name was changed to Capital Stage Company.

Cap Stage offers fully mounted productions …more…

Music Circus

California Musical Theatre is the largest nonprofit arts organization in the state, and the city of Sacramento’s oldest professional performing arts organization. Its summer stock theatre, Music Circus, has been producing musicals since 1951. Among the performers who appeared in Music Circus shows as unknowns and later achieved fame were Madeline Kahn, Joel Grey, and Eileen Brennan.

In 2002, Music Circus produced its final summer season under its famed canvas big-top. …more…

River Stage

Best known for its Playwright’s Festival of New Works, focused on developing world premieres and provocative dramas from emerging playwrights, River Stage also presents two mainstage productions annually, highlighting works from such diverse writers as Sam Shepard, Charles Dickens, Moliere, and Lanford Wilson. Performances are held at the comfortable 140-seat Cosumnes River College Performing Arts Center. ...more...

Sacramento Theatre Company

Pulling from a roster of works by mostly contemporary playwrights, Sacramento Theatre Company presents a pleasant array of small cast audience favorites at the intimate Polluck Theatre, and a large scale holiday musical each year on its Main Stage. A well regarded School of the Arts and a cabaret series saluting classic and current Broadway round out the current calendar for this company which first …more…

Classical Music

Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra

When the troubled Sacramento Symphony Orchestra went under in 1997, the musicians and music lovers of Sacramento still believed that Sacramento deserved its own prestigious classical organization; they immediately formed the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra.

The SPO, today, has a much more manageable calendar (and budget) than the original historic ensemble. The 83-member ensemble is led by Music Director, Michael …more…

Vox Musica

Vox Musica, under the direction of Daniel Paulson, is a 12-member women’s vocal ensemble performing in the Sacramento area. The group performs and eclectic mix of choral music and focuses especially on premiering new and challenging works by contemporary composers.

Each of the four concerts in Vox Musica’s season are programmed around a theme, often around one relating to a newly …more…

Opera

Sacramento Opera

Like many other companies, Sacramento Opera laid down its roots soon after World War II. A group of culturally conscious women founded the Sacramento Opera Guild and imported productions from the San Francisco Opera. Buoyed by factors such as a four-fold increase in population in the succeeding decades, the Guild morphed into the Sacramento Opera Association and began producing its own works in 1981. That …more…

Jazz

Sacramento Music Festival (Sacramento, CA)

(May 25-28, 2012) Known as the Sacramento Jazz Festival and Jubilee before a 2011 name change, the Sacramento Music Festival is Sacramento’s annual jazz, blues and zydeco party, packing almost a years’ worth of music into a four day span in early summer. The festival features performers from up and down the West Coast, as well as acts from across the country, covering all styles of jazz and beyond. ...more...

Dance

Sacramento Ballet

Sacramento Ballet is adept at balancing public appeal with a bit of artistic experimentation. While their repertory includes a standard array of full-length Romantics, 20th century classics, and contemporary works, their consistent efforts to engage local audiences have resulted in some innovatively designed extra-curricular events.

The Sacramento Ballet’s Capital Choreography Competition showcases three talented choreographers competing for cash prizes and invites audience members to vote …more…

Multi-Arts Festivals

Sacramento Festival of New American Music

(November)

Sacramento Festival of New American Music Information

Public Transportation: Varies by venue
Handicapped Accessibility: Depends on venue
Performances/Programs: Performance schedule varies
Ticket Prices: Free.

Sacramento Music Festival

This festival, formerly known as the Sacramento Jazz Festival and Jubilee, retitled itself in August 2011. In 2012, only half of the festival will be dixieland and traditional jazz. But with all of the performances and spaces at the festival’s Sheraton venue being called a “Jubilee Heritage Area,” regulars will still find plenty to listen to.

The other half? Zydeco and latin music have been performed for years in addition to jazz. But …more…

Venues

Community Center Theater

Sacramento’s Community Center Theater (CCT) is part of the larger Sacramento Convention Center, a multi-purpose civic and cultural meeting space visited by over one million people annually.  The CCT features many of the highest-profile musical and theatrical artists to pass through Sacramento, and is home to the city’s major arts organizations including Broadway Sacramento, the Sacramento Ballet, Sacramento Opera, …more…

Memorial Auditorium

Sacramento’s historic Memorial Auditorium is officially a part of the Sacramento Convention Center, though it is freestanding, and located across the street from the Convention Center proper.  Opened in 1927, the Memorial Auditorium has featured everything from Big Bands of the swing era to classical virtuosi to the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones. It reopened, refurbished, in 1996.

Today some of the world’s most renowned artists and entertainers continue to …more…

Art Museums

Crocker Art Museum

The main entrance to the Crocker Museum is through the original museum building, which was built by Judge Erwin B. Crocker in 1872 as his family’s home. The grand, Italianate mansion originally included a bowling alley, skating rink and billiards room on the ground floor; a natural history museum and library on the first floor; and gallery space on the second floor to exhibit the Crocker’s private collection. ...more...

Theater

B Street Theatre

Sacramento’s newest and most innovative professional theatre company, B Street offers a refreshing blend of out of the box classics, emerging playwrights, and area premieres over the course of three annual seasons performed on two intimate stages. Originally founded as a contemporary children’s theatre, B Street continues that tradition with a touring program that performs to over 200,000 students each year. Named “Best Live Theatre” 14 years in a row …more…

California Musical Theatre

California Musical Theatre Information
Venues: Wells Fargo Pavillion (1419 H Street); Community Center Theater (1301 L Street); Cosmopolitan Cabaret (1000 K Street)
Public Transportation: All venues are easily accessible by several bus and light rail routes
Handicapped Accessibility: Good
Performances/Programs: 7 shows per season at various venues
Ticket Prices: Tickets range from $19–$74 with prices varying by date, venue, and seat selection
Group Discounts: Group rates are available
Subscriptions: Each venue has their own subscription options, which …more…

California Stage Company

California Stage Company Information

Public Transportation: Good (a 1-minute walk from bus 38 at Q Street/25th Street; and a 2-minute walk from the Gold Light Rail line at R Street/24th Street)
Handicapped Accessibility: Good
Performances/Programs: 6–7 shows per season. Performance schedule is Friday–Sunday
Ticket Prices: Adult $20; Students, Seniors, SARTA $15
Group Discounts: Discounts available for groups of 6 or more ($12 per ticket)
Subscriptions: Subscriptions are available.

Capital Stage

This company had its beginnings in 1999 as the Delta King Theatre, a division of the Riverboat Delta King, and it continues to perform in the riverboat’s 115-seat theatre. In 2004, the company attained full Equity status; the following year, it became an independent, nonprofit organization and its name was changed to Capital Stage Company.

Cap Stage offers fully mounted productions …more…

Music Circus

California Musical Theatre is the largest nonprofit arts organization in the state, and the city of Sacramento’s oldest professional performing arts organization. Its summer stock theatre, Music Circus, has been producing musicals since 1951. Among the performers who appeared in Music Circus shows as unknowns and later achieved fame were Madeline Kahn, Joel Grey, and Eileen Brennan.

In 2002, Music Circus produced its final summer season under its famed canvas big-top. …more…

River Stage

Best known for its Playwright’s Festival of New Works, focused on developing world premieres and provocative dramas from emerging playwrights, River Stage also presents two mainstage productions annually, highlighting works from such diverse writers as Sam Shepard, Charles Dickens, Moliere, and Lanford Wilson. Performances are held at the comfortable 140-seat Cosumnes River College Performing Arts Center. ...more...

Sacramento Theatre Company

Pulling from a roster of works by mostly contemporary playwrights, Sacramento Theatre Company presents a pleasant array of small cast audience favorites at the intimate Polluck Theatre, and a large scale holiday musical each year on its Main Stage. A well regarded School of the Arts and a cabaret series saluting classic and current Broadway round out the current calendar for this company which first …more…

Classical Music

Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra

When the troubled Sacramento Symphony Orchestra went under in 1997, the musicians and music lovers of Sacramento still believed that Sacramento deserved its own prestigious classical organization; they immediately formed the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra.

The SPO, today, has a much more manageable calendar (and budget) than the original historic ensemble. The 83-member ensemble is led by Music Director, Michael …more…

Vox Musica

Vox Musica, under the direction of Daniel Paulson, is a 12-member women’s vocal ensemble performing in the Sacramento area. The group performs and eclectic mix of choral music and focuses especially on premiering new and challenging works by contemporary composers.

Each of the four concerts in Vox Musica’s season are programmed around a theme, often around one relating to a newly …more…

Opera

Sacramento Opera

Like many other companies, Sacramento Opera laid down its roots soon after World War II. A group of culturally conscious women founded the Sacramento Opera Guild and imported productions from the San Francisco Opera. Buoyed by factors such as a four-fold increase in population in the succeeding decades, the Guild morphed into the Sacramento Opera Association and began producing its own works in 1981. That …more…

Jazz

Sacramento Music Festival (Sacramento, CA)

(May 25-28, 2012) Known as the Sacramento Jazz Festival and Jubilee before a 2011 name change, the Sacramento Music Festival is Sacramento’s annual jazz, blues and zydeco party, packing almost a years’ worth of music into a four day span in early summer. The festival features performers from up and down the West Coast, as well as acts from across the country, covering all styles of jazz and beyond. ...more...

Dance

Sacramento Ballet

Sacramento Ballet is adept at balancing public appeal with a bit of artistic experimentation. While their repertory includes a standard array of full-length Romantics, 20th century classics, and contemporary works, their consistent efforts to engage local audiences have resulted in some innovatively designed extra-curricular events.

The Sacramento Ballet’s Capital Choreography Competition showcases three talented choreographers competing for cash prizes and invites audience members to vote …more…

Multi-Arts Festivals

Sacramento Festival of New American Music

(November)

Sacramento Festival of New American Music Information

Public Transportation: Varies by venue
Handicapped Accessibility: Depends on venue
Performances/Programs: Performance schedule varies
Ticket Prices: Free.

Sacramento Music Festival

This festival, formerly known as the Sacramento Jazz Festival and Jubilee, retitled itself in August 2011. In 2012, only half of the festival will be dixieland and traditional jazz. But with all of the performances and spaces at the festival’s Sheraton venue being called a “Jubilee Heritage Area,” regulars will still find plenty to listen to.

The other half? Zydeco and latin music have been performed for years in addition to jazz. But …more…

Venues

Community Center Theater

Sacramento’s Community Center Theater (CCT) is part of the larger Sacramento Convention Center, a multi-purpose civic and cultural meeting space visited by over one million people annually.  The CCT features many of the highest-profile musical and theatrical artists to pass through Sacramento, and is home to the city’s major arts organizations including Broadway Sacramento, the Sacramento Ballet, Sacramento Opera, …more…

Memorial Auditorium

Sacramento’s historic Memorial Auditorium is officially a part of the Sacramento Convention Center, though it is freestanding, and located across the street from the Convention Center proper.  Opened in 1927, the Memorial Auditorium has featured everything from Big Bands of the swing era to classical virtuosi to the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones. It reopened, refurbished, in 1996.

Today some of the world’s most renowned artists and entertainers continue to …more…