David Sedaris is scheduled to perform at the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre in downtown San Antonio on Saturday at 8 p.m. The stop is part of his Sanctioned Shaming & Vicious Trauma tour and continues his recurring appearances in the city.
The performance is expected to include readings from Sedaris’s latest book, The Land and Its People, a 28-essay collection about life as a foreigner, a brother and a lifelong friend, according to the San Antonio Current. The ATG Tickets event listing also says Sedaris will share new, unpublished stories and commentary.
The Current reports that the program will include a Q&A and book signings before and after the show.
What's In the New Book
The Land and Its People became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. Hachette Book Group’s publisher information also notes that Publishers Weekly gave the collection a starred review and described its essays as among the best of Sedaris’s career.
With both published essays and unpublished stories on the program, the show is set to draw on Sedaris’s writing while also offering material not yet in print.
A Familiar Face at the Empire Theatre
The San Antonio Current describes Sedaris’s appearances in the city as a near-annual tradition. Saturday’s show continues that pattern at the Empire Theatre.
The Current reports that tickets cost $78 to $225. The Empire Theatre is at 226 N. St. Mary’s St. in downtown San Antonio; the venue’s phone number is 210-226-5700.
The Empire’s History and Visitor Details
The Empire Theatre opened in 1914 as a vaudeville and film house, closed in 1978 and reopened after restoration in 1998, according to the Majestic Empire Foundation. The foundation says the theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Saturday’s performance is one example of its present-day role as a downtown performance venue. For event parking, ATG Tickets says visitors can reserve spaces in advance through ACE Parking. A separate literary event, the free, family-friendly San Antonio Book Festival, was scheduled for April 11, 2026, at the Central Library and UT San Antonio Southwest Campus, the San Antonio Report reported. The festival is distinct from Sedaris’s ticketed theater appearance.
The performance will take place in a downtown theater with a history that predates the show by more than a century.
