SF Theater Revives Classic Plays with Innovative Series, From Director With SMC Roots

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — A theater director with San Mateo County Roots at San Francisco's Magic Theatre will breathe new life into its storied history this June with the Magic Classics series, a month-long celebration of groundbreaking plays that once defined the theater's reputation.

Leading this revival is Andrea Gordon, a Bay Area native with deep Peninsula connections.

The series will feature readings of landmark plays including ones written by Sam Shepard, Wendy MacLeod and Luis Alfaro, all directed by Gordon herself. These performances aim to not only showcase the theater's rich artistic legacy but also help address recent financial challenges after the National Endowment for the Arts rescinded critical funding, Gordon told Patch.

"These are desperate times," Gordon told Patch. "We need to come up with innovative new ways to fund theater, or it will die. That's just the truth of it."

Gordon, whose family roots stretch across San Mateo County, brings a unique perspective to the project. Her uncle Andy Odstad built much of Pacifica, while her sister runs a Grammy-winning record company in the same city. Growing up visiting relatives throughout the Peninsula, Gordon has maintained strong local ties.

"I grew up cycling between aunts in Redwood City and Belmont and Menlo Park and Pacifica," she told Patch.

Her Rainbow Zebra Productions, now a resident company at the Magic Theatre, focuses on amplifying voices of women and artists over 50, Gordon told Patch.

"I want to see diversity, equity, and inclusion front and center in everything I do," Gordon told Patch.

The Magic Classics series runs every Monday in June, featuring an impressive cast of actors and promising to honor the theater's commitment to diverse storytelling, Gordon told Patch.

The full lineup:

Fool for Love
By Sam Shepard (originally Premiered at the Magic 1982)
Featuring: Sarah Nina Hayon, Sean San José, Catherine Castellanos and Liam Vincent
Stage Directions: Caleb Cabrera
Directed by Andrea Gordon
Monday, June 2, 2025
7:00 p.m.

True Beauties
By Julie Hébert (originally Premiered at the Magic 1986)
Featuring: Margo Hall, Lisa Ramirez, Sarah Nina Hayon, Brian Rivera, Camille Collaço and Lauren Andrei Garcia
Stage Directions: Caleb Cabrera
Directed by Andrea Gordon
Monday, June 9, 2025
7:00 p.m.

Oedipus El Rey
By Luis Alfaro (originally Premiered at the Magic 2009)
Featuring the cast of Luis Alfaro’s upcoming World Premiere at the Magic, Aztlán: Juan Amador, Catherine Castellanos, Daniel Duque- Estrada, Gabriela Guadalupe, Sean San José, Ogie Zulueta plus Sarah Nina Hayon
Directed by Andrea Gordon
Monday, June 16, 2025
7:00 p.m.

The House of Yes
By Wendy MacLeod (originally Premiered at the Magic 1990)
Featuring: Sarah Nina Hayon, Gabriela Guadalupe, Samuel Del Rosario, Caleb Cabrera and Jenny Nguyen Nelson
Stage Directions: Eiko Yamamoto
Directed by Andrea Gordon
Monday, June 23, 2025
7:00 p.m.

Buried Child
by Sam Shepard (originally Premiered at the Magic 1978)
Featuring: Donald E. Lacy, Jr., Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, Brian Rivera, Khary L. Moye, Caleb Cabrera, Chanel Tilgham and Chuck Lacson
Stage Directions: Kevin Rolston
Directed by Andrea Gordon
Monday, June 30, 2025
7:00 p.m.