San Francisco Ballet Salt Lake City later that year, Lew took over as full director of SF Ballet; he held the position until 1976, when Michael Smuin joined him as co-director. Lew Christensen remained SF Ballet co-director until 1984, the year of his death. After leaving the vaudeville circuit in 1935, Harold Christensen danced with American Ballet, San Francisco Opera Ballet, Kirstein's Ballet Caravan, and San Francisco Ballet until his retirement from the stage in 1946. In 1940, his brother Willam invited him to become director of the San Francisco Ballet School, and in 1942 he and Willam purchased the SF Ballet. Harold
San Francisco Playhouse to the new voices in American Theater. 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