San Francisco Ballet continued to serve as the school's director until his retirement in 1975. In 1938, the company's first major production was "Coppélia", choreographed by Willam Christensen. In 1940, it staged "Swan Lake", the first time that the ballet was produced in its entirety by an American company. On Christmas Eve 1944, the company staged "Nutcracker"—the first complete production of Tchaikovsky's most popular piece ever danced in the United States. In 1942, San Francisco Opera Ballet split into two independent companies, ballet and opera. The ballet half was sold to Willam and Harold Christensen. Willam became artistic director, while Harold took on
San Francisco Playhouse San Francisco Playhouse San Francisco Playhouse (formerly SF Playhouse) is a non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, founded in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano. The theater stages nine plays yearly, including Broadway plays, musicals, and world and regional premieres. San Francisco Playhouse has been home to several notable world premieres, including "Bauer" by Lauren Gunderson, "Ideation" by Aaron Loeb, "Grounded" by George Brant, and "Seared" by Theresa Rebeck. As part of its mission to shape and promote the growth of performing arts in the Bay Area, San Francisco Playhouse created the Rising Star Program, which provides theatre