Final Curtain Call For 'Beach Blanket Babylon' In San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, CA –Steve Silver’s "Beach Blanket Babylon," the world's longest-running musical revue and an onstage institution in San Francisco, will give its final performance Dec. 31, 2019, the show's producer Jo Schuman Silver announced Wednesday.

Upon its closing, the show, seen by 6.5 million people and famous for its spoofs of political and pop culture, spectacular costumes and iconic hats, will have played a record-breaking 17,216 performances, producers said.

“Audiences have embraced 'Beach Blanket Babylon' since the day it opened on June 7, 1974,” said Schuman Silver. “Originally scheduled to run for only six weeks, the show became an international phenomenon and the quintessential San Francisco experience. I am thankful to our fans from around the world who have supported us from the very beginning. Our hats are off to each and every one of you!”

The show follows Snow White on a fast-paced, worldwide journey in search of “Prince Charming.” Along the way, she encounters a star-studded, ever-changing, lineup of political and pop-culture characters.

During its run, "Beach Blanket Babylon" has poked fun at that rotating lineup — most recently including President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Queen's Freddie Mercury, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee, former President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama, entertainers Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Ariana Grande, porn star Stormy Daniels, media mogul Oprah Winfrey and even the San Francisco Giants.

Over the past 45 years, "Beach Blanket Babylon" has been performed before such royalty, dignitaries and celebrities as: HRH Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip; Prince Charles and Camilla; former Secretary of State George Shultz; Rep. Pelosi; Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris; Governors Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom; former San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr.; Rudolph Nureyev; David Bowie; Robin Williams; Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft; John F. Kennedy, Jr.; Liza Minnelli; Shirley MacLaine; and Sidney Poitier, according to producers.

The show's creator, Steve Silver, was renown for his creativity, imagination, whimsy and infamous street performances in San Francisco that drew crowds in the hundreds. Eventually he moved the revue indoors to Savoy Tivoli in North Beach and named the show "Beach Blanket Babylon" on June 7, 1974.

In 1988, "Beach Blanket Babylon Goes to Vegas" played the Sands Resort and Casino in Las Vegas to standing-room-only audiences, producers said. The show also was the first American performing-arts organization to perform at the 1997 Covent Garden Festival of Opera and Music Theatre in London, and was featured in the BBC presentation of “Tales of the City,” in a PBS documentary and a book, "Beach Blanket Babylon: A Hats-Off Tribute to San Francisco’s Most Extraordinary Musical Revue."

The show also was featured on “Good Morning America,” “The Today Show,” and on CNN International’s “Quest’s World of Wonder.”

Steve Silver maintained a philanthropic legacy in the community, supporting numerous health, education and performing-arts charities, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco Public Library, Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, Make-a-Wish Foundation, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, St. Anthony Foundation, Grace Cathedral and the National AIDS Memorial Grove.

Established in 2002, The Steve Silver Foundation and "Beach Blanket Babylon" Scholarship for the Arts awards college scholarships to Bay Area high school seniors, with more than $500,000 to date given to students in performing arts.

This year’s Scholarship for the Arts finals will take place on June 3 at Club Fugazi. High school seniors have until 11:59 p.m. on April 26 to submit entries. Additional details on the “Scholarship for the Arts” can be found here.

Theater lovers and fans still can catch "Beach Blanket Babylon" during performances: Wednesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. The annual Holiday Extravaganza Shows begin Nov. 13. Online ticket sales for New Year’s Eve performances will be announced at a later date, producers said. More details here.

The Club Fugazi box office is at 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd. in San Francisco.

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