San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the US, and the county seat of Santa Clara County. It is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay. The San Jose/Silicon Valley area is a major component of the greater San Francisco Bay Area Combined Statistical Area (CSA), a region of nearly 7.5 million people. Once a small farming city, San Jose experienced rapid growth from the 1950s to the present. It is now the largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area in terms of population, land area, and industrial development.

The downtown historic district is known for its architectural landmarks, from the 1883 Italianate-style Oddfellows building to Spanish Colonial Revival structures. The city is home to many performing arts companies, including Opera San Jose, Symphony Silicon Valley, Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, sjDANCEco, Children's Musical Theater of San Jose (45 years old in 2013), the San Jose Youth Symphony, the San Jose Repertory Theatre, City Lights Theatre Company, The Tabard Theatre Company, San Jose Stage Company, and the now-defunct American Musical Theatre of San Jose which was replaced by Broadway San Jose in partnership with Team San Jose.