Things to do in San Francisco this week: July 13-17

A chandelier flickers to life and the familiar opening notes of “Belle” fill the theatre: Disney’s Beauty and the Beast has arrived in town, transforming the animated classic into a lavish stage spectacle. The production leans into visual grandeur, with costumes that shimmer under the lights and set pieces that shift from provincial village to enchanted castle in a heartbeat. The cast moves through Alan Menken’s score with energy, from the raucous “Gaston” to the sweeping title ballad, while the Beast’s transformation scene draws audible gasps. There’s a sense of nostalgia in every detail, but the choreography and comic timing keep the story feeling fresh. Children watch wide-eyed as teapots and candlesticks dance, while adults catch sly jokes tucked between the lines. It’s a familiar tale, but the scale and theatricality make it feel newly magical.

Hollywood blockbusters may dominate the multiplex, but the Frozen Film Festival has spent two decades making room for the stories that rarely get that kind of spotlight. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the five-day festival returns July 15-19 with independent films from around the world, alongside documentaries, animation, music videos, live performances, filmmaker Q&As, and special events. Screenings take place at The Crossing Outdoor Cinema, where audiences have the chance to discover emerging directors long before their names become familiar. The festival has built its reputation on championing bold ideas and fresh voices rather than red-carpet premieres, making every screening feel like a genuine discovery. If you enjoy leaving a theater talking about the film you just watched instead of the one everyone else has already seen, this is the festival to put on your calendar.

Troupe brings that unmistakable energy to the Children's Garden at Yerba Buena Gardens with a free family-friendly performance featuring colorful lion costumes, rhythmic percussion, traditional acrobatics, and centuries-old Chinese cultural traditions. Presented by the Oakland-based Toishan Benevolent Association, the performance celebrates the lion dance as a symbol of good fortune, joy, and prosperity while delighting audiences of all ages. Whether it's your first time seeing a lion dance or a tradition you return to every year, it's the kind of performance that's impossible to watch without smiling.

A run of late-summer performances brings Lettuce to SFJAZZ, where the Boston-born sextet continues touring its latest album Cook inside Miner Auditorium. Known for expanding from Berklee students into a tightly synchronized funk collective, the band threads together psychedelic grooves, brass-led arrangements, and extended improvisational passages that often stretch their sets into long-form explorations rather than fixed song cycles. Each performance draws on decades of collaboration and individual side work across jazz, pop, and hip-hop, giving the music a layered, studio-to-stage fluidity that rarely settles into repetition. The SFJAZZ setting frames that approach with concert-hall clarity, allowing rhythm sections and horn interplay to unfold with precision even at peak intensity. Across the run, the focus stays on sustained groove and ensemble chemistry, where variation emerges gradually through solos and shifting textures rather than abrupt changes in direction.

MARVELous: A Risqué Parody gleefully dismantles the Marvel Universe, swapping capes and heroics for striptease, satire, and unapologetic humor. The cast dives headfirst into the world of superheroes, sending up beloved characters with a mix of live vocals, aerial feats, and choreography that veers from the athletic to the absurd. Expect Spider-Man to swing in with a wink and Iron Man to reveal more than just his suit’s upgrades. The production’s cheeky comedy lands somewhere between affectionate homage and gleeful roast, with each scene pushing boundaries in both spectacle and innuendo. This is not a night for the easily shocked: the show’s blend of raunchy parody and high-energy performance is strictly adults-only, and the jokes land as hard as the stunts. For fans who know their Marvel lore—and those who just enjoy a wild night out—this parody promises a universe where nothing is sacred and everything is up for a laugh.

A Monday night at The Blarney Stone turns into an anything-goes comedy room where polished stand-up and first-time performers share the same stage. Donut Worry Just Laugh blends a curated showcase with an open mic, creating a loose, unpredictable atmosphere that can shift from seasoned Bay Area comics to spontaneous new voices in a single evening. During Pride Month, the lineup spotlights LGBTQ+ comedians while keeping the show's signature mix of local talent and surprise guest appearances. Host Cat Pignati Lane keeps the night moving with an easygoing style that matches the neighborhood pub setting rather than a formal comedy club. Once the showcase wraps up, the microphone stays live for anyone willing to test fresh material, making the audience part of a weekly tradition where the boundary between performer and spectator feels unusually thin.

Some stories stay with you long after the last page, especially when you hear them from the people who lived them. Listen To Your Elders: An Elder Project Anthology Release gathers writers, readers, and community members at Ruth's Table in San Francisco's Mission District for an evening celebrating the newest Elder Project anthology. Contributors take the stage to read original essays, poems, and reflections inspired by lives rich with humor, heartbreak, resilience, and joy, turning the book launch into something far more personal than a typical literary event. It's a rare chance to hear decades of experience shared in the authors' own voices and a reminder that some of the most powerful stories are still being written.

Nick Dickson’s “Physical Comedy” leans on the body as both instrument and punchline, turning timing, imbalance and repetition into the core mechanics of the show. Rather than relying on dialogue or conventional stand-up rhythm, the performance builds its momentum through carefully controlled movement sequences that teeter between precision and collapse, with silence often doing as much work as sound. The stage becomes a testing ground for exaggerated everyday gestures that escalate into something closer to choreography than sketch comedy, where a single misstep can reset the entire dynamic of a scene. Across the set, the humor emerges from endurance and restraint as much as release, keeping attention locked on how meaning shifts when language is stripped away and only motion remains.

Wednesday nights at Cat's Corner have become a ritual for San Francisco's swing dance community. Inside the intimate ballroom at 435 Broadway in North Beach, live jazz bands keep the dance floor moving while newcomers and seasoned Lindy Hoppers share the same space, often after a beginner lesson that makes it easy to jump in. No partner is required, and the atmosphere is far more welcoming than intimidating, whether you're trying your first swingout or dancing until the final song. Equal parts live concert, dance hall, and social gathering, it's one of those places where people arrive for the music and end up staying for the community.

Fulton Plaza transforms into a midday stage as San Francisco’s free lunchtime concert series returns for its third season. Twice a week, the plaza outside the Public Library fills with the sounds of local musicians, drawing a mix of downtown workers, library-goers, and passersby into an impromptu audience. The lineup shifts from jazz to indie pop to Latin rhythms, with each performance lending a different energy to the city’s civic heart. Food trucks line the plaza, their aromas mingling with the music and tempting concertgoers to linger over lunch. The open-air setting and rotating roster of performers keep the series feeling fresh, while the steady rhythm of Tuesday and Thursday afternoons gives the event a sense of ritual. It’s a rare chance to experience live music in the middle of the workday, right in the heart of the city.