Lynne Kaufman’s
The Secret Museum
San Francisco Mainstage
Nov 7 – 22, 2026
Saturdays at 8:00 pm
Sundays at 5:00 pm
Written & Performed by Lynne Kaufman
Directed by David Keith
Ticket Information
Tickets: $25 – $35 General Seating | $50 & $100 Reserved Seating
70 minutes | No Intermission | Ages 13+
(Please do not bring infants to the show)
Online ticket sales close 2 hours before each performance.
Additional tickets may be available for purchase at the door.
Show Description
Francesca, a contemporary American filmmaker, is shooting a documentary on a newly excavated fresco in Pompeii said to provide startling evidence about sex and the sacred. She has obtained exclusive rights to film the fresco through the good graces of Paolo, the museum’s director and her former college sweetheart. Through three time periods and the lives of three couples, THE SECRET MUSEUM explores the mysteries of eros.
Artist Biography
Lynne Kaufman (Playwright) is the author of 20 full-length plays that have been produced in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Louisville at such theatres as Magic Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, and many more –with Shameless Hussy being her most recent work which premiered at The Marsh San Francisco spring 2025. Four of Kaufman’s plays, Extreme Acts, Acid Test, Two Minds, Who Killed Sylvia Plath, and Poetic Justice, have premiered on stage at The Marsh, while two others, Exposing Margaret Mead and The Smartest Woman in America, have appeared on The Marsh’s digital platform MarshStream. Who Killed Sylvia Plath went on to win Best Play in The Marsh’s 2020 MarshStream International Solo Festival. Kaufman’s plays have won many awards including the Glickman Award for Best New Play (The Couch), the Kennedy Center’s Fund for New American Plays Award (Speaking in Tongues), and the Neil Simon Festival New Play Award (William Blake in Hollywood). Kaufman has published four novels, and her short stories have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Redbook, and McCall’s. She was also the recipient of the Otis Guernsey Outstanding New Voice in American Theatre Award from the William Inge Theatre Festival.
Warren David Keith (Director) is delighted to be reunited with Playwright Lynne Kaufman. His work with her began in 2012 with the Marsh Berkeley premier of Acid Test: The Many Incarnations of Ram Dass, a solo piece in which he played the title role. The play was extended twice in Berkeley then transferred for one performance to a massive tent on Maui, Hawaii where it was seen and enjoyed by Ram Dass and about 300 devoted followers. Subsequently, Acid Test opened at the Marsh San Francisco in 2013 where it also had several runs. Keith has acted in theaters throughout the Bay Area, most recently in 1984 at the Aurora Theatre Company and as the Porter in the California Shakespeare Theater’s production of Macbeth. His film credits include Nomadland, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Haiku Tunnel, Love and Taxes, Raising Arizona, Fargo, A Serious Man, and The Big Lebowski. As a director he mounted more than 15 productions for American Conservatory Theater’s Young Conservatory Program. He reunited with Ms. Kaufman to direct Who Killed Sylvia Plath and The Smartest Woman in America about the final days of Susan Sontag, both at the Marsh San Francisco.
Arwen Anderson (Performer) returns to The Marsh, where she previously collaborated with Lynne Kaufman on a staged reading of her musical Map of Your Mind and performed in Kaufman’s Extreme Acts. Selected regional credits include Testmatch, Men On Boats, Heisenberg, Let There Be Love, A Christmas Carol, and Tales of the City (workshop) at American Conservatory Theater; King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, and The Verona Project at California Shakespeare Theater; August: Osage County, Anne Boleyn, Circle Mirror Transformation, Bellwether , and A Streetcar Named Desire at Marin Theatre ; An Accident, Mrs. Whitney, Expedition 6, The Rules of Charity , and Mauritius at Magic Theatre; A White Girl’s Guide to International Terrorism, The Fit, and 77% at San Francisco Playhouse; Miss Julie at Stanford Repertory Theater; Lobby Hero and The Shape of Things at Aurora Theatre Company; You Know When the Men Are Gone and 4 Adverbs with Word for Word; and roles with American Stage Festival, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Marin Shakespeare Company, Brava Theater, Encore Theatre Company, and Central Works Theater Company. Her film work includes Hog Island, Ashley 22, and Dark Retreat.
Johnny Moreno (Performer) returns to The Marsh, where he previously performed in Lynne Kaufman’s Extreme Acts. He has also appeared at theaters throughout the Bay Area including American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, San Jose Stage Company, Marin Shakespeare Company, Center Repertory Company, Marin Theatre , Crowded Fire Theater, and Pacific Repertory Theatre. He has played award winning roles, such as Macheath in San Francisco Playhouse’s production of The Threepenny Opera (Theatre Bay Area Award for Best Actor in a Musical), and Henry Higgins in San Francisco Playhouse’s production of My Fair Lady (San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Actor in a Musical). He has appeared in numerous film and television productions, such as “Betas,” Callback (winner of the Chicago Indie Fest for Best Film), Upside Out (with Olympia Dukakis), Paradise Club, and I’m Still Here (with Joaquin Phoenix).
Amanda Pulcini (Performer) Regional credits: Out Here (Court Theatre) Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Mrs. Christie (TheatreWorks); M. Butterfly (San Francisco Playhouse); Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson, Apt. 2B; Boeing-Boeing (Third Avenue Playworks); Titus Andronicus (The Shakespeare Forum); US premiere of Robert Icke’s Oresteia (The Theatre School at DePaul). TV credits: Chicago P.D., The Big Leap. Film credits: Soul On Fire (w/ William H. Macy); The Driftless; Hey, I’m Home; Pas De Deux; and more. MFA–The Theatre School at DePaul University. BFA– Shenandoah Conservatory. Certified Intimacy Coordinator & Intimacy Director with IDC. AmandaPulcini.com. @apulcini.
Joseph O’Malley (Performer, AEA) makes his Marsh debut, having performed at the Kennedy Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, Marin Theatre, Cal Shakes, Aurora Theatre, Marin Shakespeare and Center Rep. He is thrilled to reunite with director Warren David Keith for The Secret Museum. Up next: The Gift of Nothing and The Crucible at Marin Theatre, as well as Ang Lee’s film Gold Mountain.
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