A lot of San Francisco bars might have a prohibition-era vibe, but none can claim to be quite as elaborate as the The Speakeasy, Boxcar Theatre's immersive theatrical experience. The original Speakeasy first made its SF debut in 2014 with a completely sold out 75-show run, during which showgoers spent an evening at an elaborately staged nightclub from 1923 interacting with bartenders, servers, and performers who are actually actors, each playing their own pre-set role in the story. At the time, SF Weekly said it "made a strong case for being the best bar in San Francisco," as the booze served during the show was very real.
While the show only ran for five months until the original Tenderloin location was sold off, it returns this August with a brand new full-time, 9,050-square-foot space on the edge of Chinatown and North Beach. Although it's staying mum on the location for now (astute Chinatown neighbors probably have a few guesses), the new space is getting $2 million worth of renovations and will feature a two-story cabaret with disguised entrances and secret passageways. And more important for our drinking purposes: at more than three times the original production's size, the new location will host two bars and up to 250 audience members a night.
Running those two bars is manager Geof Libby, who will be putting together a menu of "contemporary interpretations of Prohibition-era cocktails" — minus the part where the booze had to be made in a bathtub, we're told. While the new bar menu is still getting finalized, the 2014 run featured creatively titled numbers like the Cleopatra (Cocchi Americano, dry vermouth, Strega, organ bitters) and the Italian Cowboy (gin, campari, Fernet Branca), as well as a Black Manhattan (bourbon, Amaro Averna, bitters), a classic Negroni and beer or wine options. "Very few of our cocktails can be found anywhere else," Libby tells Eater. "I like to think that with these drinks we could have brought a few teetotalers over to our side."
Previews for the show begin Friday, August 12, and presale tickets will go on sale Thursday, June 9 at 10 a.m. for members of the exclusive "Club 1923" and other select groups. General public tickets go on sale June 13th. When the regular run begins in October, shows will happen nightly Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and every other Sunday at 5 p.m.