This is, quite simply, one of the best theater companies in the U.S., with peerless acting, design and show-selection. Since its debut in 1967, a number of big names have “trod the boards” here, including Annette Bening, Denzel Washington, Danny Glover, and Nicolas Cage. The A.C.T. season runs September through July and features both classic and contemporary plays. Its home is the stupendously beautiful (and viewer-friendly) Geary Theater, built in 1910, a national historic landmark.