I like that we have a place that can bring in off Broadway shows and comedians. It's a comfortable enough theater but not particularly beautiful like the older theaters. Drink and snack prices are what you'd expect but the prices for any decent seats are up there. Parking is free. Which lets be honest is a huge plus these days! They have a new bar in the hall next door. I didnt go in so I can not comment on it. There are a ton of staff . I think they must have a minimum age of 90 to work there. They just kind of stand around and stare at you when they aren't directing. It is unnerving. The most disappointing thing is the sound quality. Its pretty awful. If you are seeing a play or musical there will most likely be times you have no idea whats being said. I dont mind seeing shows here but it could definitely be better. 3.5 stars read more

Stranahan Theater - Pic taken from BAL RC Row E seat 2 - Performing Arts Near Me - Toledo, Ohio

The Stranahan Theater is a beautiful space. The host many experiences and various types of shows. I was visiting on this occasion, attending a board meeting in a conference room. The people are helpful and friendly. read more

I finally got to come here to watch an awesome play, Pretty Woman. The theatre itself was huge and the concession stands were filled with drinks, snacks, merchandise and all the things you need for a play. Great seats from any location and super clean bathrooms. Great theatre! read more

Stranahan Theater - Performing Arts Near Me - Toledo, Ohio

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From the first show Evita in the 80's to today's treat Beetlejuice how lucky am I that Toledo has such a fine theater. It's very late mid century and a nice jewel in the city. I've seen numerous concerts, Broadway tours and comedians. They offer space for trade shows, in fact the Toledo area Record show just moved here last month. Love this place. read more

They bring in great shows... but the facilities can't accommodate the crowd. I've yet to go to a show where I don't miss part of the second act due to the lack of bathrooms. They just added a VIP lounge so I'm hoping that will lesson the bathroom lines. Ticket prices are always a hair higher than Detroit, but I love having the opportunity to see live theatre in our community. read more

Stranahan Theater - Performing Arts Near Me - Toledo, Ohio

I had a generous 3 stars, but I had to take them down to 1. They deserve a big fat zero! We joined their membership program this time last year. Two shows in & serious wish I could dispute the charges & get a refund. Chicago was a seriously bad show, but when Beetlejuice came around we had an emergency. The day off the show we could not exchange our tickets to a different day. I called the box office & no one was there. I called the number the box office's voicemail said to call, but no one was there either. When I went to the website, I was told to email & someone would help me. The show was Friday & it is now Thursday & no one has responded to my request for help. We were screwed out of a show & our money with no care of this institution. However, they keep emailing to renew my membership! Absolutely not! This whole entire experience has been horrible! Broadway in Toledo is a JOKE! read more

This place just keeps getting worse. The security rules change from show to show, the guards act like the gestapo, and the looming metal detectors do nothing but create a hostile environment. My small cross body bag was deemed "too big and unsafe" and I was told I needed to return it to my car at 7:29 for a 7:30 curtain. The security staff is rude and the theater staff is useless. This is not a welcoming or friendly environment and does a grave disservice to the performing arts. read more

The theater is nice, but the Magic of Motown show was Terrible - with a capital T, Terrible! Who ever booked this act did not do their homework. Felt like a high school production. The band was good and the wardrobe was nice, but some of the singers were really bad. Something was wrong with the sound system too. It didn't flow at all. It felt more like an audition, and several of those singers should not have been hired for a professional show. read more

We came here yesterday to see Star Trek II along with the William Shatner Q&A afterwards. Our seats were in Row U on the main floor and were pretty good, I think with fees, online, they were about $60 each. Seats were very comfortable which is important when you are watching a 2-hour movie and then staying for the Q&A afterwards. It looked like there was a country concert or something going on that night as well, but we didn't hear anything in the auditorium; I only figured that out when I went to use the restroom a few times. They have concessions for sale and seemed reasonably priced, I saw you could buy water for $2 and alcoholic mixed drinks for $8. Overall a pretty nice venue and I would come back here for future events. It's not that far from the Detroit area either, only about an hour and a half drive. read more

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Enjoyed the Nutcracker very much with good seats, good sound and polite service. My one complaint was concession prices which were outrageous. $4.50 for a bottle of water. That's obnoxiously outrageous. My grand daughters will forever remember the Nutcracker Ballet. I will forever rember the concession prices. read more

The stranahan is a nice venue but my only complaint is 9 dollars for a beer to steep but the staff is friendly would recommend it

This theatre was built 50 years ago, but you would not know it. It holds a little over 2,400 people. I have sat in more comfortable seats, but they were not unbearable. The view from the loge was ok, it is closer in some theaters. I was surprised that someone brought a baby to a Friday night performance. Parking was free in a flat lot adjacent to the auditorium. A very close walk. This was amazing! So, I would go back if the right performance was right. Price of the show was good. read more

Stranahan Theater - Stage view from loge - Performing Arts Near Me - Toledo, Ohio

First time visiting this theater & my family saw the Lion King! Beautiful venue with great views of the stage, super clean facilities, and gorgeous building and grass areas for photos. The low rating is that there was no air conditioning what so ever!! It felt like a sauna with all the doors shut during the performance,l to the point that even my younger kids were complaining about the heat, and they're pretty resilient. It made the performance pretty miserable, but ushers soared to the rescue! Shout out to Michelle, who also is an educator, she was SO empathetic, helpful and accommodating not only to my family, but those struggling with physical disabilities too. She found us a more relaxed seating situation after intermission! Another usher did the same with my friend and her young daughters too. 3 stars though because you have to keep your audience cool & comfortable...! The great staff and cleanliness at this venue truly turned the heat "lemons" into lemonade so we could enjoy the second half of the show comfortably. Thank you Michelle! read more

Stranahan Theater - Theater art work - Performing Arts Near Me - Toledo, Ohio

I was fortunate to attend a musical here recently.My seats were awesome and everything was great.

Poor acoustics for the concert we attended (Kip Moore (regretfully) and The Cadillac Three (awesome)). My wife and I both had the same thought that the sound was off. The line for the merchandise crossed in front of the line for drinks confusing everyone. read more

Amazing productions, and great performances. Definitely worth getting out to an event show or other to see something live and not on your TV! read more

Went to see Lion King. Beers are $9.00. A package of about 15 gummy bears is $4.00 as well as a bottle of water. No organization for entry, intermissions etc. they heard you like cattle. Seats are small and old. My dads arm chair was broken. We were all uncomfortably sweating in the theatre. It was so hot. I would never pay again to go to this venue. Oh also, we sat near the back and could barely hear the dialogue of the actors. read more

We had tickets for Lord of the Dance on 11/10/23. We bought our tickets weeks ago. Went out for dinner and then to theater to wait for show only to find out it was cancelled after much research and a dark parking lot. They never notified us nor was it posted on their website or sign in front. We bought our tickets at the theater not from a third party. Very disappointed in their customer service. We get it things come up shows get cancelled but they had no problem taking our money and we were notified during covid when shows for cancelled so they have our contact info. Not at all impressed! read more

This is a beautiful, modern theatre with many accommodations and memorabilia from every show that can be a fun gift or keepsake for a loved one and little one. Clean facilities, welcoming staff, and wonderful quality shows and decent prices for the "average joe." I look forward to the upcoming 5 shows for 2019! read more

Stranahan Theater - The moment we walked into the theatre we noticed the AMAZING Broadway opening set for Cinderella! The tree forest set looks AMAZING!! - Performing Arts Near Me - Toledo, Ohio

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Went to a Cole Swindell concert with Vip access for my moms birthday and couldn't enjoy it. I was very rudely told I wasn't allowed to dance or even stand next to my seat or down below where there was open space and no seating. We had to stay in our exact seat the problem was the gentleman next to me was large and if we all stood we could fit in the row, the staff wouldn't let me even stand a little outside of my seat. The staff was extremely snippy and had very poor attitudes. It was an extreme buzz kill and we ended up not wanting to stay for the whole concert.. because if you can't enjoy the music, what's the point? I will never recommend seeing a concert at this venue again. The Huntington Center is much more at ease and the staff have better attitudes, I'll be taking my business there from now on! read more

I like that we have a theater in Toledo where we can enjoy a nice show. The theater seats are a little close together so it can get cramped if your sitting by a armrest hog. On the orchestra level, it can be a little hard to see depending on where you sit & who's sitting in front if you. Recently I went and an average sized man was sitting in front of me. Because of the way the chairs are staggered and where we were seated, I couldn't see the stage when the guy was sitting facing directly in front of him. If he leaned to the right or left it was ok but the angle & staggering didn't make it easy to see when we both were sitting straight which meant there was a lot if shifting from side to side in order to try to see the stage. I think if u sit in the center section or even the balcony, there's less of a problem with the staggering/angle. Still, I love coming here to watch musical! Definitely a great way to spend an evening! read more

My wife and I traveled from Detroit to see the Impractical Jokers live stage show here. I was quite impressed with how well-kept the venue is given that it looks to be more than 50 years old. There's a ton of space for parking but the biggest drawback (and really the only one) to this venue is that getting out of the lot is a tricky and time-consuming situation. Road Rage Drivers need not drive. Other than that one hiccup, every part of my experience at this theatre was wonderful. Truly a great sightline from 20 rows back even. I enjoyed it very much. See you again, Toledo. read more

Toledo really is lucky to have the Stranahan. Being something of a theater geek, I have seen probably a hundred or more shows here over my life time, ranging from my own student dance recitals and high school graduation to Broadway level productions of my favorite musicals... often with Broadway or soon-to-be Broadway stars. And for what it's worth, I have seen many of these same musicals (sometimes with the same cast) in other places...and I always come away thinking that in terms of ease, availability, cost, and sometimes even entertainment value and energy, that the shows the Stranahan brings in are often difficult to top. The traveling version of Phantom I saw here, for instance, was at least as good as that which I saw in NYC... I want to say it was even the same Phantom (the absolutely amazing John Cudia). I dare say I even liked the Toledo run better than the first version I saw in Toronto, where the cast seemed a bit tired and rote the day we attended....and the chandelier was having technical difficulties. Also, Wicked, which I saw in Cinci a week ago, was no different than the version we saw at the Stranahan some years back. In fact, I liked it better in Toledo since I was relatively close to the stage. In Cinci, I was literally in the second to last row on the top balcony....a comfortable but distant seat for which I still paid a fortune, but from which I couldn't see a thing since the theater was ridiculously massive and I had not thought to bring opera glasses. The Stranahan, after all, is nowhere near so large. Of course, there are still problems with the visibility which the previous reviewer described. Seats are cramped and not very well staggered or elevated. If you have a lovey-dovey couple, person with big hair, or just someone very tall in front of you, it can be very difficult to see. Without completely redoing the entire theater, I am not sure how this can be remedied, though. I recommend aiming for aisle or near-the-front-row\balcony seats. If you are tall, definitely aim for the aisle (though watch out during shows like Cats where the aisle is part of the performance). I will say, though, that there are now a sufficient number of restrooms (this used to be a major ordeal when I was little). You still will wait in line, but I have not had any trouble getting there and back during an intermission in years. Parking is one thing Toledo definitely has over a big city. Despite the neighboring Masonic outlawing use of their lot (so that they can run craft shows, meetings, etc on the same day as a play), there is still a lot of parking near the main theater entrances. People do drive pretty crazily and the lot will be crowded, so I recommend arriving early, then waiting a while in the theater or in the parking lot after the show to let the crowds thin a bit. However, unless you want to use the VIP lot\valet parking, there is no charge, and though the roads are crowded at theater time, getting to and from the Stranahan is much simpler than fighting big city traffic and parking garages. Overall, if you live in or are visiting Toledo, definitely check out what is playing at the Stranahan, and into season tickets. It may not be located on Broadway, but the show will likely be just as good. read more

As soon as I entered, an usher yelled at me to show him my ticket. I calmly explained that I had a ticket I just had to pick it up in the auditorium. He very rudely and curtly told me I had to walk all around the theater in the snow to the other side to get my ticket. Made absolutely no sense. They should really collect tickets pain entering the auditorium, not coming though the front door. Then another usher said I had only 1 ticket, when I clearly had 2. I had to go to another usher and they said of course, I have 2 tickets! Once I finally made in in the theater, I was siting on a perfectly nice isle seat, but then a a family was sitting on either side of me and talking loudly across me during the mediocre performance. Ruined an expensive night. Toledo symphony/ ballet, not a fan. read more

This is a world class venue, great acoustics and not a bad seat in the house. Grab a little culture an enjoy a show

Beautiful space, lovely event space. Would definitely return. We visited today for an exhibition event and it piqued my interest in this performing arts space. The parking was spacious, facilities clean, and the decor was pretty. Would definitely return for a show or concert. read more

We are extremely disappointed in the theater leagues lack of coordination with the Holidaze venue. We purchased tickets in the orchestra (row XB) for the December 1st show. Two hours prior to curtain we received a call informing us that due to placement of lighting our seats had been moved to row F. We were told that these were better seats. They were not and the performance was ruined thinking about how much better the seats we had purchased were. As well as having our view obstructed by the patrons in front of us. What a poor start to the Holiday season. read more

The Stranahan is promoting the Get the Led Out concert at the Centennial Terrace, and is refusing to postpone the concert even though it is flooding and blowing down trees. They even removed everyone's facebook posts requesting a postponement. So much for their concern about our thoughts and safety. Will never purchase another ticket from them. read more