A new touring concert experience built around the hit film Wicked is choosing San Francisco for a preview stop, with a single-day engagement set for the Orpheum Theatre on January 16, 2027. The event, billed as Wicked: Part One in Concert, pairs a full live orchestra with the movie projected on a massive HD screen, and it will play performances that day.
According to BroadwaySF, the concert features John Powell and Stephen Schwartz's score along with Schwartz's original songs, all performed live in sync with the film. The orchestra provides the instrumental backing alongside the projected footage, according to the tour's official site. That distinction matters for anyone expecting a traditional stage musical experience — this is a film screening with a live symphony rather than a conventional stage musical.
A Global Tour With Deep Local Roots The San Francisco date carries outsized significance in the tour's rollout. Per NBCUniversal, the Orpheum performance serves as a special preview for the global tour before the concert officially premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on January 23, 2027. The San Francisco engagement is a preview stop ahead of that world premiere.
A Global Tour With Deep Local Roots
The live-to-film concert tour involves Universal Film, Universal Destinations & Experiences, and Hurwitz Concerts, the live-event company founded by Oscar-winning composer Justin Hurwitz, the same report states. Hurwitz Concerts has previously produced live orchestra tours for La La Land and Whiplash, and this marks the company's first concert tour built around a film it did not score.
Following its initial stops in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago, the tour is scheduled to visit international cities in 2027, including Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, according to Consequence. A second concert series covering the sequel film, Wicked: For Good, is also planned. The film adaptation itself, directed by Jon M. Chu and starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, was adapted from the 2003 Broadway musical and Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel.
San Francisco's selection as the tour's preview city is no accident. The city hosted the original stage musical's world-premiere tryout at the Curran Theatre in May and June 2003, a run that led to major script and score rewrites before the show opened on Broadway, according to Wikipedia. The musical later returned to San Francisco for a 660-performance open-ended run at the Orpheum Theatre starting in 2009, cementing the city's place in the show's history.
Inside the Orpheum's Own Storied Past
Inside the Orpheum's Own Storied Past The Orpheum Theatre itself, located at 1192 Market Street, has its own long backstory. It originally opened in 1926 as the Pantages Theatre and features a 12th-century French cathedral-style façade, per the same Wikipedia entry. The venue underwent a $20 million renovation in 1998 to accommodate major Broadway touring productions.
The Orpheum Theatre and nearby Golden Gate Theatre are San Francisco live-entertainment venues.
The Wicked booking is another live event at San Francisco's Market Street venues.
Ticket Access and Presale Timeline
Ticket Access and Presale Timeline ATG San Francisco subscribers got first access to tickets at 10 a.m. on September 9, 2026. A broader Live Nation All Access presale begins September 10, 2026, at 10 a.m. local time, ahead of general public sales opening September 11, 2026, at 10 a.m. Pacific through Ticketmaster and the official tour portal at wickedinconcert.com.
