Stage at the Outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre at the Old Globe
The Old Globe Theatre has 3 stages across San Diego's Balboa Park.
The Donald and Darlene Shiley stage is in the Old Globe Theatre with 580 seats to fill. The Sheryls and Harvey White Theater has an additional 250 seats capacity.
Both of these stages are contained indoors so that you can immerse yourself in the experience come rain or shine.
The third stage, the Tony award-winning Lowell Davies 620-seat festival theater, is located outdoors where the famous summer Shakespeare Festival takes place.
Entrance to the Outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre at the Old Globe
The Old Globe Theatre
Since its opening on December 2, 1937, the Old Globe has been an integral part of both the San Diego and theater community.
It’s incredible to think that several famous, Broadway-bound plays made their world premiere debuts in this very theater. Where would the productions of The Full Monty and Into the Woods be without their first successful runs in San Diego?
Jack O’Brien, the Artistic Director Emeritus from 1981 to 2007, said it best, “If theatre in San Diego has a cradle, The Old Globe is it."
The Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre
Built in 2006 and originally known as the Cassius Carter Centre Stage, the theater offers intimate seating that will immerse you directly into the story.
The 250 seat-in-the-round theater offers seats that are no further than 5 rows away from the stage. The immersion goes further when you consider the actors enter the stage from the same steps that the audience takes in order to access their seats.
Our founder Todd raves about the ingenuity of the way performances are put on at the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre. Often there will be just a few actors with no backstage. The way they do things like doorways and change sets is ingenious and just something you have to experience yourself to believe.
Seating at the Outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre at the Old Globe
Lowell Davies Festival Theatre
You know the saying, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, two Festival Stages were born. The first stage in ‘78 and the second, current stage, in ‘84.
The beautiful Lowell Davies Festival Theatre sits surrounded by eucalyptus trees - and we can’t think of a better location to immerse oneself in Shakespeare’s worlds.
Every summer (July - September) the theater hosts The Old Globe’s Summer Festival, a celebration of Shakespeare’s work. Two plays are produced for audiences that come from near and far.
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The Family Going to How the Grinch Stole Christmas at the Old Globe
Performance Information
Across these three stages combined, the Old Globe features 15 productions and around 600 performances annually.
A couple of 2024 highlights I’m looking forward to include the world premiere adaptation of Henry 6 One: Flowers and France and the West Coast premiere of Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors.
The theater also embraces the holiday by holding an annual performance of, “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”, our #1 pick in our Holiday Season Guide to San Diego Christmas Activities.
If you’re looking for all the specifics on 2024 performance dates, times the Summer Festival and so much more, check out our article with the details to the 2024 season at the Old Globe Theater.
The Intimate Outdoor Theater at the Old Globe
The Old Globe’s Summer Festival
The theater also offers several programs during the festival in order to educate and engage audiences further.
They offer:
- Pam Farr Summer Shakespeare Studio - a program for high schoolers looking to hone their voice while performing Shakespeare
- Shakespeare in the Garden - allows the audience a chance to learn more about the production
- Behind the Scenes Tours - learn how the costumes are made, how the stages are built, and what goes into making the perfect prop
- Globe For All - a touring company created to bring performances, workshops, and more to communities in San Diego and Tijuana
- Globe to Go - free classes and workshops designed to introduce the Bard to new audiences directly in their communities
- School In the Park - a dedicated program that introduces local high schools to free matinee performances, in-classroom workshops, and more
- Production Guides
Enjoy The Old Globe with Friends
The Old Globe is even more fun when you’re with friends! Groups of 10 or more save money and get early access before single tickets go on sale.