The Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe will perform its free summer musical on the Mill Valley Community Center Back Lawn on Sunday, July 26.
The show, "Wreckage: A Musical Tragicomedy," tackles AI gone awry, economic anxiety, religious zealotry, and political dysfunction through sharp comedy and original songs. Written by Michael Gene Sullivan and directed by Lisa Hori-Garcia, the production features music and lyrics by Daniel Savio.
Mill Valley is the troupe's only Marin County stop on a summer tour that runs July 3 through Sept. 7 across the Bay Area, according to the company's official schedule.
Live music starts at 4:30 p.m., with the show beginning at 5 p.m. at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto. Admission is free, though a $20 donation is suggested. Attendees should bring a blanket or low-backed chair for the outdoor lawn seating.
A 67-season tradition of free park theater
The San Francisco Mime Troupe has been performing free shows in Bay Area parks since 1962. The company won the Tony Award for Excellence in Regional Theater in 1987 and was named the 2026 recipient of The Prize of Hope from Åsen Theatre in Denmark for its body of work. Despite the name, the troupe performs full musical theater, not silent mime.
The four-person cast includes Sullivan, Jed Parsario, Keiko Shimosato Carreiro, and Chloris Li. A live three-piece band features Will Durkee on bass and guitar, Daniel Savio on keyboards and slide whistle, and Miguel Jose Wacher on drums and percussion.
"Live theatre, performed in a small community, provides two hours that validate that you're not crazy," Sullivan said in a July 15 interview with the Ukiah Daily Journal ahead of the troupe's Northern California tour stops. "The point of all our plays is to analyze the issues in the community, and look around, see your neighbors and friends and realize you are not alone."
Sullivan, a Guggenheim Fellowship recipient who has written or directed more than 35 plays for the troupe, described the show's approach in the same interview: he builds stories around different working-class characters so audience members can recognize themselves or their families on stage.
The set depicts ravaged city streets with the Statue of Liberty lying askew above the stage, according to reviews of earlier tour stops.
How to attend
What: "Wreckage: A Musical Tragicomedy" by the San Francisco Mime Troupe
When: Sunday, July 26. Live music at 4:30 p.m., show at 5 p.m.
Where: Mill Valley Community Center Back Lawn, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley
Cost: Free (suggested $20 donation)
More info: sfmt.org
