Thirty-Five Curtains Across Twenty December Dates
San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker runs at the War Memorial Opera House from 4 December to 27 December 2026. The production page lists 35 performances across 20 dates.
Fifteen performances start at 7:00 pm. Thirteen start at 2:00 pm. Three start at 6:00 pm, on Tuesday 8, Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 December. Two start at 11:00 am and two at 4:00 pm, on Thursday 24 and Sunday 27 December. Fifteen of the dates carry two performances and five carry one.
Four dates inside the window go dark. Monday 7, Monday 14, Monday 21 and Friday 25 December carry no performance.
The Front-Desk Clock
Act I runs 47 minutes, the intermission 20 minutes and Act II 50 minutes. The three parts total 117 minutes. A 7:00 pm curtain ends at about 8:57 pm. The last two curtains of the run end at about 12:57 pm and 5:57 pm.
The venue publishes no doors time. The FAQ states that the Opera House lobby opens one hour before the performance.
Late seating drives the arrival window. The FAQ states there is no late seating while a performance is in progress during the repertory season. Nutcracker keeps the same late seating and re-entry rules, with times of late seating left to the discretion of house management. Latecomers can stand in the standing-room section or watch on a monitor.
Will Call and the Box Office
The box office sits in the Opera House main lobby and opens only on performance days, four hours before the performance. The FAQ advises Will Call collection at least 45 minutes before the curtain, because the lines run long.
A 7:00 pm curtain puts a Will Call peak between 6:15 pm and curtain. Fifteen of the 35 performances carry a 7:00 pm start, and they sit in the same window as dinner service.
Standing Room, Rush and Group Terms
Standing-room tickets are $10 and sell in person on the day of the performance at the box office. The section sits behind a 4-foot-4-inch wall, and the FAQ states cash is preferred for a quick transaction.
Rush tickets are limited and go on sale on the day of the performance from 10 am until one hour before the curtain. The limit is two tickets per household.
Group tickets carry a discount at 20 seats or more, booked through ticket services at 415-865-2000.
A Principal 6 Series carries up to 30 percent off the regular ticket price, depending on the seating section.
What the Ticket Carries
The ticket price for every seat in the Opera House includes a $1 or $2 facility fee.
Single-ticket exchanges run at $20 per order in advance up to the performance day, then $25 per ticket on the performance date until three hours before the start. Exchanges inside the final three hours are not allowed. Package exchanges run at $10 per order in advance, waived until 17 January 2027 for the Flight of Four, Mini and Create Your Own packages, and $20 per order on the performance date.
The Friday 4 December evening performance is followed by the Nutcracker Nightcap at 9 pm. Tickets are $150 for a 21-and-over event, and they do not include a performance ticket. The Sunday 27 December 11:00 am performance is the Sensory Friendly Performance, adapted for neurodiverse audiences.