Twenty Dates and 35 Performances
Nutcracker returns to the War Memorial Opera House at 301 Van Ness Avenue at Grove Street. The published run covers December 4 to 27, 2026, with 35 performances across 20 dates.
The weekends carry the load. Saturdays and Sundays hold eight performances each, Fridays, Wednesdays and Thursdays five each, and Tuesdays four. The first performance is Friday, December 4 at 7:00 PM and the last is Sunday, December 27 at 4:00 PM.
The production runs 117 minutes across two acts, with a 20 minute intermission between them. A sensory-friendly performance sits on December 27 at 11:00 AM.
Standing Room at 10 Dollars, Sold in Person on the Day
Standing-room-only tickets are 10 dollars. The ticket is available in person on the day of the performance at the SF Ballet Box Office at the War Memorial Opera House, or by calling 415-865-2000.
The ticket allows standing at the rear of the main floor and the rear of the balcony. The standing section sits behind a 4 foot 4 inch wall. The page states that cash is preferred for a quick transaction.
One sentence sits beside the standing room terms: prices may differ for some special events. The Nutcracker run carries a published December season of its own, so the printed 10 dollars arrives with that qualification attached.
The box office opens only on performance days, starting four hours before the performance. Arriving 45 minutes early is the guidance for a Will Call pickup.
Rush Opens at 10 AM With a Two-Ticket Cap
The discount programme called Rush for All publishes a limited number of tickets for select performances. When the tickets are offered, they go on sale on the day of the performance starting at 10 AM and go off sale the hour before curtain. The page caps the purchase at two tickets per household.
The same paragraph scopes the programme to the Repertory Season. The Principal 6 Series covers all six Repertory programs of the 2026-27 season, and the Nutcracker run is published separately as the holiday production.
The Facility Fee Sits Inside Every Seat Price
One FAQ answer covers fees. The ticket price for every seat in the War Memorial Opera House includes a 1 or 2 dollar facility fee.
The offers page repeats the fee inside a package promotion and adds the rule that matters to a buyer. Each ticket includes a 2 or 1 dollar facility fee, and the discount does not apply to fees.
A package discount therefore reduces the seat price and leaves the facility fee at the full amount. The production page publishes no per-seat price for any performance, and it states that programming, casting and prices are subject to change.
Waived Package Exchange Fees Until January 17
All sales are final. Tickets are non-refundable and there are no cancellations. The only published recovery route is an exchange.
Single tickets carry a 20 dollar per order advance exchange fee until the day of show. On the performance date the fee is 25 dollars per ticket until 3 hours before the scheduled start time, and no exchange is allowed inside those 3 hours.
Flight of Four, Mini and Create Your Own packages carry a 10 dollar per order advance exchange fee, and that fee is waived until January 17, 2027. On the performance date those packages carry a 20 dollar per order fee under the same 3 hour rule.
A Principal 6 Series package carries a fee-free advance exchange. January 17, 2027 is a Sunday, and it sits 21 days after the run closes.
Group Pricing Starts at 20 Seats
The venue page publishes a group term: discounted prices for groups of 20 or more, arranged by calling 415-865-2000. No group rate is printed.
The season packages publish their own ladder. The Principal 6 Series saves up to 30 percent off regular ticket prices and includes fee-free advance exchange. Mini packages carry three or four handpicked programs. Create Your Own takes any three or more programs.
A subscriber also carries a 20 percent discount on Nutcracker tickets and a 15 percent saving at the shop.
The December Room Side Has No Published Offer
The production page, the tickets page, the packages page, the offers page, the venue page, the venue FAQ and the plan-your-visit page carry no hotel, no lodging, no room block and no accommodation term.
The run sits inside the Bay Area holiday window. The calendar gives nine midweek dates inside the run, on December 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22 and 23, plus December 24 with an 11:00 AM and a 4:00 PM performance.
The group threshold sits at 10 or more rooms per night at most hotels, and some properties discount from 5 rooms.
Neither the organiser nor the venue publishes a rate for any night around the run, so the room case rests on the calendar and the exchange clock.
The Night Around the Performance
An afterparty called Nutcracker Nightcap runs on December 4 at 9:00 PM. Tickets are 150 dollars, the event is limited to guests 21 and over, and space is limited.
The page notes that San Francisco Ballet presented America with its first-ever Nutcracker in 1944, more than 80 years before this run.
A buyer holding a standing room ticket carries the printed clock into the day of the performance, along with the 4 foot 4 inch wall and the preference for cash.
