The Curran Theatre has just changed hands for the second time in fifteen years, and its new owner is the SF Giants, led by Giants President and CEO Larry Baer. But programming is likely to remain the same.Sigh. Any hope of theater-loving philanthropist Carole Shorenstein Hays returning to the ambiti ous programming at the Curran like she produced for a few pre-pandemic years is now lost. Ms. Shorenstein Hays, who bought the theater outright in 2010 from her partners in the theater collective formerly known as SHN (Shorenstein Hays Nederlander), fully renovated it, and began producing repertory seasons of on- and off-Broadway imports in 2016, stepped away from the theater amid a legal fight in 2019, and six years later she has completed a sale to the San Francisco Giants.The theater has sold for an undisclosed sum, as the SF Business Times reports, via a joint press release from the Giants and Shorentstein Hays on Thursday.Baer said in a statement that primary operator and lessee of the theater would remain BroadwaySF — the successor entity to SHN which recently brought the Tony-winning play Stereophonic to the venue, in a co-production with ACT. Baer said that there could be more concert programming and live events hosted there when it is not booked with a show.Of the purchase, Baer said, "It's emblematic of our commitment to San Francisco, and working with the mayor and community leaders to keep San Francisco active."Baer had a long association with Walter Shorenstein, the father of Carole Shorenstein Hays, who was part of the original investor group that helped keep the Giants in San Francisco back in the early 1990s. And Shorenstein Hays's banker reportedly approached Baer about a sale a few months ago."It was essential to me that [the Curran's] next stewards would ensure it remains a vibrant home for artists and audiences alike," Shorenstein Hays said in a statement. "I am so pleased that the Giants have stepped up to the plate."The Curran has been the third venue to host shows in BroadwaySF's annual season of national touring shows since 2022, and this year was the venue for Shucked and for Stereophonic, but was largely dark for much of the year.Shorenstein Hays was sued by her former partners in SHN over the import of Broadway hits like Harry Potter the Cursed Child in 2019, and before that, Dear Evan Hansen, because an agreement signed when she bought the theater for her own use apparently said she would not compete directly with SHN for such shows. She lost that suit and transferred management of the theater over to British outfit ATG (Ambassador Theatre Group) in 2019, leasing the Curran to them. And then in 2021, ATG ended up acquiring Broadway SF and the two other theaters still owned by the Nederlander Co., the Orpheum and the Golden Gate.Between 2016 and 2019, though, the Curran was, under Shorenstein Hays' leadership, a beacon of energy and a venue for some fantastic, less commercial fare than SHN typically brought to town, including Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music in 2017, and 2019's The Jungle, which saw the entire theater transformed into the refugee camp known as the Calais Jungle, in Calais, France, with a performance space built on top of the orchestra section.While more boundary-pushing theater likely isn't in the cards in the near term, the Giants are likely to bring in some cool concerts. As Baer tells the Business Times, "We've got a whole register of people we'd like to work with, but the ballpark isn't always available."Mayor Daniel Lurie said the deal "sends a powerful signal of confidence in downtown and Union Square," and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi offered a statement too, saying the sale "will ensure the Curran remains a vibrant and vital beacon for years to come."BroadwaySF General Manager Jamie Budgett said, "We look forward to welcoming the San Francisco Giants as our new landlords." ...read more read less