Hillbarn Theatre

based on 4 reviews

Categories: Performing Arts, Music Venues

1285 E Hillsdale Blvd
Foster City, CA 94404

(650) 349-6411

www.hillbarntheatre.org

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Hours:: Tue-Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Good for Kids:: Yes

First to Review

Kathleen B.

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4 reviews for Hillbarn Theatre

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Lance H.

San Francisco, CA

1/3/2008

This is a review of the theater itself, not of any particular productions. I've been a season ticket holder for five years and have performed in four productions there as well.

Although the theatre company has been around since 1941, the building itself is only 30 years or so old--still, it's the oldest public building in Foster City. At one time there actually were a hill and a barn, but not in FC.

Parking is free and there is a large outdoor area that is great to escape to during intermission.The lobby has been recently repainted and the corridor leading to the house is lined with a list of every show Hillbarn has ever produced.

The house proper is what gives the theater its signature intimacy. There are only 175 seats and none are more than forty feet from the stage. In fact people in the front row have their feet on the stage. While performing in "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" I had to look at an implied (non-existent) mirror on the edge of the stage with my face about four feet from the audience. Every night folks would move their head to the right or left to avoid being in my sight line; it made keeping a straight face difficult sometimes. Which was tough because I had just delivered a terminal cancer diagnosis.

The sets are consistently excellent; the two Technical Directors do real magic. Because the stage is not of a standard size, everything is custom made for each show. Contrast this with, say, Broadway By The Bay, who just read a rental catalog and order sets for delivery.

Backstage is excellent. There are good dressing rooms and an excellent Green Room for performers to hang in while not on stage.

In my opinion the dramas are consistently excellent, matching any off-broadway theatre in The City. The musicals are rapidly approaching this standard and with a resident Musical Director to give consistency, when live bands are used, they are pretty darn good.

It's worth a trip from SF, but peninsula residents owe it to themselves to check it out.

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Goodbers G.

San Mateo, CA

10/6/2007

I'm addicted to theater; I'm also averse to traveling great distances to get my fix. Hillbarn is cozy and quaint and conveniently just around the corner. Quality is not bad for community theater. And the stage is so small, you are sure to get a good seat even if you get the half-off tickets through Goldstar Events.

I saw Man of La Mancha there in September. Impressive leads but it's no Broadway by the Bay (San Mateo Performing Arts Center). Still, I'll be back for more.

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346

Kathleen B.

Portland, OR

11/9/2006

Foster City creeps me out in a Truman-show sort of way, and this community theater is definitely located in the thick of the city's indistinguishable business park/condo complexes. Outside it doesn't look like much, but the interior is actually very cool. I guess the theater has been open for 66 seasons, I don't know if that is the same as years or what, but anyway it has been around for a while. The ceiling is high and domed, with criss-crossing wooden rafters. Steep stadium-style seating ensures that everyone has a good view. I wasn't a huge fan of the show we just saw, Inherit the Wind, but I would consider going back to the theater. If I'm not too creeped out by the surrounding false waterways and identical buildings.

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Elite '09

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Adena D.

Redwood City, CA

2/19/2007

Extremely high quality productions for "community theater." I say this both as a performer and audience member. I've reviewed theater professionally as well, so while I'm admittedly biased, I do think that the quality of a Hillbarn show is not to be underrated. I'm constantly impressed by the work done at the theater company. Of course not every show deserves equal praise, but overall the productions tend to get a lot of talent and feature strong direction and design. They do six shows per year - typically three musicals and three straight plays (a mix of drama and comedies) so there really is something for everyone. They offer good subscription packages if you want to see every show on the menu.

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Specialties

Hillbarn Theatre has and enduring tradition of high-caliber dramas, comedies and musicals continues to this day in its intimate 175-seat theatre on the mid-Peninsula. Some of its benchmarks in the past few seasons have been GRAND HOTEL, MY WAY, RUMORS, MAN OF LA MANCHA, AIDA, THE LITTLE FOXES and BABES IN HOLLYWOOD - THE MUSIC OF GARLAND AND ROONEY.

Situated midway between San Francisco and San Jose, Hillbarn sits at the foot of the San Mateo Bridge in Foster City making it one of the Bay Areas most centrally located theatres. Ample free parking and modestly priced shows makes it a genuine value for semi-professional performances.

A youth Conservatory is devoted to training young theatre devotees, ages 4 - 18, in aspects of the performing arts.

History

Established in 1941

In 1936, Peninsula Little Theatre performed in schools as part of the College of San Mateo Adult Education Program and in 1941 "Hillbarn" was crafted from two summers at a barn on a hill. In 1943, the Borel Estate Chapel in San Mateo was purchased and renovated. In 1968, the current Hillbarn Theatre structure was built in Foster City on donated land. Proposition 13 effected financial ties with the College of San Mateo and the theatre became self-sustaining but struggled financially during the '80s and '90s. In 1998, a successful fundraising event, "Barnraising '98", for roof replacement and vital maintenance improvements, inspired the Board of Directors to set on a course to grow the Hillbarn subscriber base and staff. Hillbarn now has over 500 subscribers and a full-time Managing Director, Artistic Director, Associate Artistic Director, a half-time Conservatory Director, and part-time staff: box office (2), Technical Director, and Bookkeeper.

Meet the Manager: Stephen M.

Stephen was associated with both the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine and with Peninsula Civic Light Opera (now Broadway by the Bay) as Development Director, has served as Board member and Chair for Saratoga Drama Group in California and for Lubbock Community Theatre in Texas, and he was Executive Director for the International Enneagram Association and the High Tech Consortium - Year 2000 & Beyond which was the first ever collaborative association of high-tech competitors that included such industry giants as AMD, Cisco, Dell, Hewlett Packard, MicroSoft, Motorola, Qualcomm, Solectron, and Sun. Stephen, a member of AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals), is a published food critic and proffers his nonprofit experience on an as needed basis for nonprofits without professional staff. He is also a 50-year veteran of the stage, recently directed Hillbarn's 67th Season opening production of Man of La Mancha and is often seen on the "boards" in dramas and musicals.