Visiting town, I bought a last minute ticket, 10 min before show time, for the Back To The Future…read moreMusical. I didn't have much time to tour the venue but it's very pretty and once inside it seems there's a good view from anywhere, I was 2nd to last row at the top balcony. The lights, sound and view were all great. If you're wanting to catch a show here, it's a quality venue. The staff was also friendly and helpful.

This theater is simply beautiful. The architecture, wall and ceiling paintings, and inside decor…read moreare breath taking. There doesn't seem to be a bad seat in the theater as I have been here 4 times and have sit in multiple locations, and each time I can hear and see well. Highly recommend and will be back!

Jazz Hands If you're…read morelooking for a night of entertainment, look no further than CPH and visit this theatre. This place is the bees knees. We'll start off with the building and facilities.... All the theatres include exquisite architecture. From detailed lobbies, to unique art, they have it all here. Grooving through the Allen theater for the CPH performance of A Christmas Story, I was throughly impressed with the cast, sets, and audio quality. The show was full of energy and the cast executed the plot wonderfully. I hope all those cats make it big. The only negative to my experience was the two women who drinking wine in front of me. It was quite strong and stimulated my gag reflex during the show. One would get tipsy just by sitting in their section. And they kept purchasing the drinks from the concession stand. Maybe CPH should consider having an "Friends of Bill W" meeting room if they continue to serve alcohol. Speaking of the concessions, buyer beware, it's cashless. In addition, and most important, they still have the soft pretzels from my childhood . Bottles of water are expensive, so bring your own, or maybe just plan on being dehydrated. Regarding the comfort of the Allen Theatre, specifically the seats in Allen were much more comfortable than the nasty red tiny velour ones in the large Playhouse Palace Theatre. There's enough room in aisles to stretch your legs and not feel like you need a knee replacement, after sitting through a show. The Allen Theatre is the perfect sized theater, with great angles from all seats, not too small, or too big. Dancing back to the lobby, you will find some rather tacky white pleather sofas... similar to the pants you may have owned in the 70s. These sofas look clunky & out of place, and I feel these need to be removed immediately to preserve the old time feeling of the building and historic culture of the venue. I understand the importance of providing seating, but these don't match. Whoever approved these sofas, killed the vibe and is trying to eliminate a natural historic element of Cleveland. It's a disgrace to all architects and historians. But with great history, comes great responsibility, and if you review my photos, you'll note each photo is blurry, probably due to the theater ghosts. (Except the photo "Stinky Wine.") personally, I felt a positive theatre ghost presence, but wanted to set the scene. In the lobby, you'll also find various awards, which I'm not sure what they all are, or if they're real, but it's cool. Additionally, there was a family room, located near the Facenmeyer Lobby, but I'll be darned if I could find an entrance. But to be fair, I didn't want to see Uncle Joe or Aunt Millie so I didn't bother to look around too much. I also like to run in the other direction when children are near. Accessibility wise, Playhouse and CPH are great, with a plethora of elevators, ramps, rails, and seats, making the trek a little easier for folks. I didn't bring my tape measure to ensure all the ramps were 10' and 2' but the incline didn't seem as nuts as other ramps in town. Bathrooms are also plentiful, with vanities and stalls to ensure large intermission crowds. When I visited, it was Christmas season, thus everything was adorned with holly and most people were jolly. Redcoats are available to guide guests to their viewing throwns and ensure etiquette in the theatre. They were very kind and passionate for theater. Overall, great night out, but watch out for women obsessed with wine, theatre ghosts and ugly sofas.

CPH has tons of free events and discounts to make theatre affordable. The $25 under 35 partnership…read morewith SCENE allows young people to see quality theatre at a fair price. If you want to see up and coming artists, I recommend checking out one of the MFA student shows! $15 ticket or $7.50 for students. These kids have crazy talent.

One of the coolest draws of Cleveland is Playhouse Square downtown. On a recent visit, we saw a…read morelive podcast show which was held at the Allen Theatre. The entire street is lined with historical theatres, some of which have been split into smaller venues inside. You can see the heyday of the city and all the money it used to bring in with the ornate structures and artwork inside. It'd be fun to just explore these buildings as a destination in themselves. Our show was roomy, which plenty of comfortable seats for all. They have restrooms on various levels, plus bars for alcoholic and soft drinks around too. The staff here were all welcoming and happy to help point us on our way. It was neat to see so many different events going on in the same spaces, seems like a great place for small shows, big shows, and private events.

Not a bad seat in the house - and a gorgeous lobby with creative preshow activities, too. The…read moreCleveland Playhouse is truly a treasure and this is a space worthy of their productions.

I've been a patron for years and there isn't a better company anywhere! Fabulous productions, rich…read moresets, glorious performances by amazing actors in a historic theater with a bar built in?! Nirvana.

In the interest of full disclosure I must state that I worked for GLTF for four years or so. That…read morestill cannot take away from the fact that it is one of the best live theaters in the midwest, if not the nation. Dedicating itself to the classics, Great Lakes manages to create art that is accessible to every facet of society (as well as every budget!). You want to be entertained for a few hours? Go watch a movie. You want to be truly moved? Come to Cleveland. You'll thank me.

What a cozy and beautiful theatre. Seats are comfortable and we enjoyed a hypnotist/comedy show…read morehere. Will definitely be back.

After a long time away from the pandemic, I revisited the Alex Theater for a Queens of the 9 show…read more It's still as fun as I remembered. The Alex Theater is located inside The 9 Hotel and you do not have to be a hotel guest to attend a show at Alex Theater. Valet your car (it's just the easiest parking) and simply walk straight in to the elevators and click the call button for Alex Theater. The Alex Theater has a full bar (no snacks) and can seat about 100 people comfortably between the leather recliners and high-top tables that are sometimes assembled. The programming at the Alex is always five-stars. Check their website regularly and you'll see evenings for drag, live bands, magic shows, film events and more. I want to give kudos to the staff. A very annoying, obnoxiously drunk couple was next to us and ruining our experience. At intermission, we let the staff know and they discretely took care of the situation. The Alex is a classy place, and if I wanted a rowdy night out, I'd be at a college bar. A night out at the Alex Theater is always a fun experience and I can't recommend it enough!

This place makes any night magical. I love being downtown for whatever occasion, but there's…read moresomething about the state theatre that just warms the heart. The architecture is stunning and the red coat staff is always eager to please.

The Keybank State theater is the first and largest of the Playhouse Square theaters constructed…read more Known for it's extremely long lobby you can see huge and beautiful murals on all 4 sides. The theater's history dates back to vaudeville where live stage shows were presented featuring long gone celebrities such as Abbott and Costello, Jack Benny, and Judy Garland. It later became a movie house before transforming into what it is today. Due to it's size it is able to present musical extravaganzas such as "Hamilton", and "Miss Saigon" which was the reason for my visit. My husband and I had great seats but they felt hard and we were cramped. Seems like they should have updated these as well. Before entering the theater you pick up your Playbill or whatever they call it here near the end of the lobby. Friendly people known as "red coats" are extremely willing to help you with whatever you need. I was excited to see the updated production that dated back to the 90s. The performance started out okay but we had difficulty hearing part of the opening scenes. Were it not for the fact I'm familiar with this production I would have been lost. Miss Saigon is an outstanding production of survival during the last days of the Vietnam war. We meet 17 year old Kim, forced to work in a bar run by the notorious Engineer-expertly played by Red Concepion. She meets and falls in love with Chris, an American GI but torn apart during the fall of Saigon. She, for 3 years tries to find her way back to him, who has no idea he has fathered a son. The story is heart-wrenching since one can only pity the fates of the mixed breed children as emphasized in the number "Bui doi." The songs are phenomenal but the best part is the use of special effects. The famous helicopter scene is recreated with such authenticity it makes you wonder how it is done. Along with a Chinese dragon and a Cadillac on stage, exceptional singing and solid acting, the show itself is definitely a 5 star rating in my opinion. The restrooms are in the basement right outside the doors leading into this theater but they have first floor handicapped facilities available. Since this theater sits behind the Connor Palace theater you can exit via a side door instead of waiting a long time once the show is over. That works if you have orchestra seats and you get out fairly quickly. The Keybank theater is one of many theaters which are all connected which is better known as Playhouse Square. Preshow talks are given in the "Allen" theater about an hour before showtime and in addition to a parking garage you can find street lots nearby as well as places to eat. With the exception of the cramped seating and some poor acoustics this theater hosts some of the finest productions I've seen during my visits here. Definitely recommend "Miss Saigon" if you are here or if it comes to your city. Take the time to check out the architecture and the beautiful murals in the long lobby from the 2nd floor food area. It's worth seeing if you have the time.

Tosca, Tosca, beautiful Tosca!…read more The Opera's not had an easy time of it - over the last few years, they've really cut back on programming. The company's last run of Salome was disappointing - musically, great, but the production was uninspired. Salome's a salacious, sensuous piece of work - the level of daring in this production didn't quite meet my expectations. But this season's opener of Tosca was wonderful - the singers are not only amazing, but have a great sense of theatricality. I thought the set, choreography, and the direction were fabulous. There are definitely a couple of blockbuster moments that left me breathless. In the end, I connected with the material. For me, that's the measure of a good performance. Even if you're not familiar with opera, I'd recommend starting with this one - it's a well-produced, accessible piece. http://www.clevelandopera.org/

Ventured to their production of "The Pearl Fishers" with a date. The actors' and singers' work was…read morefantastic, though it was very unfortunately marred by technical issues. We sat in the back seats where the subtitle marquee malfunctioned throughout the entire first quarter. The problem made it difficult to follow what was happening on stage, as well as upsetting several other patrons. I plan on seeing their next production, but if the issue isn't resolved by then I will not attend another.