Attended the Bhangra competition which was 10+ stars and the venue worked for this event but it is needing some love. Parking here is nightmare and so try use a ride share or public transportation if you can. We were part of the first crowd to arrive so perhaps that is why we saw a little bit of disorganization and people unsure of what they needed to do and confusion with seats, which the usher blamed the event organizer. Intimate space which is great for this type of event but needs some TLC and after an hour and a half I was shifting in my seat. Not comfy so we left at half time. Brilliant experience to see these high energy and fun performances and support young people. read more

Strand Theatre - Bhangra 20 year competition - Performing Arts Near Me - Dorchester, Massachusetts

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Went to the Strand for the "Imagine Van Gogh" exhibit. Parking was a bit difficult to find, but we managed to get a nice spot about a block away. There are a few pay lots nearby and some street parking. Just be patient and creative. The staff was helpful and friendly. The exhibit itself was really nice, well done, well lit and well prepared. My pics are just a taste of it. You will learn a lot about the painter. read more

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Visited the Van Gogh Immersive Experience at the Strand Theater. My experience was not good. While the visuals were beautiful the event organization was awful. I waited 40 minutes after my allotted time to enter the room with the immersive experience. During the whole wait people were packed like sardines. No social distancing whatsoever! Due to the large amount of people packed into the theater it was impossible to get close to the exhibits while waiting for access to the immersion. read more

Thoroughly enjoyed the Van Gogh exhibit, and learned so much. The pinnacle is definitely the immersive experience - which we saved for last. Looking at the photos and videos leading up to that were really nice too. We got lucky with parking and were a short distance from the theater. read more

Strand Theatre - Really though? - Performing Arts Near Me - Dorchester, Massachusetts

Great experience. Definitely loved the immerse experience. Also kids friendly so feel free to take your little ones (my kids 1.5 and 4 enjoyed it as much as the adults). Minus one star because getting hold/ purchasing the tickets was a little bit difficult. Also when I bought the tickets the address listed was different and was glad I doubled checked the address. Overall great family experience and would recommend doing it. read more

Strand Theatre - Van Gogh immersive experience - Performing Arts Near Me - Dorchester, Massachusetts

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Imagine Van Gogh Immersive @ Strand Theatre , Boston Loved the experience! I took my time walking through the exhibit and reading every piece of literature made available with lively digitally immersive displays of his paintings attached. Amazing if you are a Van Gogh enthusiast or newcomer. ( as this is something for everyone with interest in great master artists) Found it interesting learning about the fact that Van Gogh was a color-blind artist and they make that fact very lively as they display what color factually looked like in the eyes of Van Gogh digitally. ( opening up fascinating new perceptions of the artist) The exhibitors created the exact painting replication of his actual housing room in the mental asylum in France. It was interactive ( meaning you can enter the room and be a part of the painting. Even wearing his hat etc. I did enter and only pictured myself wearing the top of his hat in the room as I did not want to take my Covid - 19 mask protection off) Very cool! I would have loved a deeper photoshoot in this atmosphere if Covid -19 was not existing. The optional virtual reality experience for an additional $5 was very worth it to me, as I noticed a lot of people skipping it. (If you have not tried VR before, I would say try it and if you don't like it, just take the goggles off.) It was fascinating and at first, I thought I would fall over, as the experience carries you through the old town in France on a pathway and meshing his paintings with the live scenery, and a verbal tour. ( such as Starry Night, the French Cafe, and additional famous paintings ) Lastly, the digitally immersive displays of Van Goghs famous oil paintings morphing into each other ( flowers, and all, etc )throughout the entire exhibit were visuals I could have sat and watched for hours. I'm glad I caught a few videos on my iPhone because it is hard to describe beauty with words. ( if I could post videos on Yelp I would ) . I loved it! read more

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I would review Fever, the event organizer if I could. After hearing about the event and purchasing tickets, I found out that the location was a mystery, and remained so for a long time. They finally announced a theater, which seemed like an entirely inappropriate place to have an art exhibition. My wife and I were eventually (due to a schedule conflict) unable to make the scheduled ticket time. Worse, I discovered that this company created a rip-off of the actual original VG experience and played off consumer ignorance to sell tickets. I also saw pictures of the venue with the experience going, which looked awful with the strewn about seating - and especially with COVID, the idea of sitting in a room with a lot of people and worse, going to put on shared VR goggles, seemed nuts. I asked for a refund, and Fever flat out refused even though the tickets were never used. I should have picked up on the scam when they hadn't actually listed a location when tickets were sold. I'll never purchase anything again from this company. read more

Boston Opera Collaborative presented Jacques Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld at the Strand Theatre. It was general seating, and I had arrived early enough, so I selected an aisle seat... ummm, my knees knocked against the back of the chair in front of me. No good, and I'm not tall. But I found the spacing more comfy at the next seat I tried a few rows away, and noticed that the folks in the row behind me had no such knee issues. The theater is on the smaller side, so we could see the facial features of the actors, which was nice, because I was even able to recognize the one of them as having been in a recent OperaHub production of 'Midsummer Night's Dream.' Refreshments were available for purchase out in the foyer. Bathrooms were across the ways, off a separate orangey room. Their toilet paper was way too thin, causing a slow turnover of stalls. Some lovely parking info I located on the internet: "There is plenty of on street parking on Columbia Road in the evenings. Free off-street parking is available in the Ramsey Street Municipal lot. Ramsey Street is located at the intersection of Dudley Street and Columbia Road behind CVS Pharmacy and Payless Shoes. Free parking is available for evening and Sunday shows in the Citizen's Bank and Sovereign Bank parking lots. The Citizen's Bank lot is located at the corner of Columbia Road and Cushing Avenue, next to Bank of America. The Sovereign Bank lot is located in the rear of the bank at 585 Columbia Rd." read more

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I just visited the Van Gogh exhibit and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is very user friendly. You have access to all the information printed on the walls, or you can scan a bar code with your phone. The Immersive Experience was amazing. You sit in comfortable chairs or on rugs and pillows on the floor. The walls are constantly changing , but not too quickly. You get a wonderful feeling for Van Gogh the man and the artist. I loved all the quotes from him. It helped immensely to understand him and his art. I have been to other Van Gogh exhibits, but I never felt I truly knew him. Yesterday, I finally met the man and the artist. Thank you Strand Theater! Latoya W , at the Strand ticket entry , was especially helpful to us. She contributed greatly to our wonderful experience. I found parking on a side street. No problem. read more

Pretty. Needs a lot of TLC. They could do without selling booze during the whole concert. Security was good about throwing out the drunk and disorderly but it shouldn't have happened in the first place. It's hard to enjoy a concert when people are climbing over you every five minutes for more beer or needing to use the bathroom after drinking all that beer. read more

We had a 5:30 time and showed up 10 minutes early. We were let right in and enjoyed the first part of the exhibition then we were guided into a corn maze type hallway and sat in line for about 15 minutes and moved 10 feet. It became too obvious that it was going to be an hour wait....no way, we left. We were extremely disappointed as we had been looking forward to the Exhibit. The set up needs a makeover! read more

Visited the Strand when Boston hosted the Boston Baroque Concert to the public. Have never been to this theater, but have read good reviews. Family and guest (3 teenagers and 2 adults) enjoyed the performance. Theater shows its age, some chipping paint on the ceiling, worn paint on the cement flooring and seats that need new cushions, but otherwise it was warm (surprising for January temps), very inviting and acoustics were magnificent. Staff were very friendly, and at the exit a couple were standing with baskets by the door - I thought they were asking for donations, but instead were distributing Hershey chocolate kisses for the holidays. Parking was a hassle - off-street lot next door which we were fortunate to find a space, otherwise it was street parking and with snow piles on the street that made it very difficult, at least to keep your side mirror. MBTA stops right in front of the theater and many guests came via bus. Will definitely consider visiting the Strand again in the future. read more

We saw the Van Gogh Immersive experience at the Strand today and it was SUCH a great exhibit. The staff were wonderful, friendly, kind and some of them had quite the sense of humor. The theater was mostly covered by the exhibits drapery so it was hard to see but under some spots you could see the beautiful architecture. Parking was NOT fun but we made it work! read more

I recently came here for the New Year's Concert by Boston Baroque. The theater itself was old but I can see that they have kept it clean and made some upgrades in the infrastructure like the the seats and Lighting. Moreover, bathroom floors and what have you. For the community, I really think that this theater is pretty decent. read more

Strand Theatre - Performing Arts Near Me - Dorchester, Massachusetts

This is really a review about the event company that the Strand engaged to book it's Van Gogh experience. Will never ever use this company again. read more

Visited the Van Gogh Immersive experience yesterday and loved it! Overall it took us a little over an hour to walk through. We waited outside until our entrance time, then they let us in and you walk through the exhibit on your own pace. The first half is similar to a museum, his paintings and descriptions about his life. Then you get to the immersive screen part where you can watch the visuals. It's a huge space with seats and some carpeted sections to lay on. They monitor it and let you know when there's an opening. They also have a mini bar before where you can grab a drink to have during it. The experience itself was really nice and I highly recommend, it was just very expensive for being such a short outing. Also I believe they were a separate vendor but the ticketing service wasn't great with communication and weren't helpful when our first tickets were changed because the show wasn't ready on time. read more

Strand Theatre - Performing Arts Near Me - Dorchester, Massachusetts

I was robbed! FEVER oversell tickets and don't add extra shows! $180. 4 /adult's tickets and they offered $40 voucher! BEWARE!

Bought tickets to see the Van Gogh Immersive Experience. Drove an hour, 45 minutes to get there only to find there was no parking anywhere! We drove around about 1/2 hour trying to find a spot...nothing, so we drove another 1 hour 40 minutes home! There was no phone number to call, and our emails go unanswered to Fever (the organizer). DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME! read more

Bought these tickets months ago and did not really know what to expect. Heard many good things about the exhibit so we went. It was a great time. Spring for the VIP tickets it is well worth the extra expense. The exhibit is in three major parts. The first is a walk down a hall with reproductions of the most famous paintings and discussions about Van Gogh and his different periods-typical museum type stuff, but very well done. This part tends to be quite crowded as it is the first place everyone goes. Fortunately for us one of the staff tipped us off by telling us it would be a much better experience to go upstairs and do the VR experience. This is the main thing the VIP ticket gets for you in addition to not having to wait on a long line if purchased when you are at the exhibit. This virtual reality experience is very well done. It is a 10 minute walk through the towns and country side where Van Gogh did much of his last work. It is beautifully done especially when the stop at a location that became one of his paintings. You experience the reality and then how Van Gogh saw the same scene. The third part is the immersive part. You enter a large room with huge screens on all four walls and watch a 40 minute collage of Van Gogh images merge and meld into one another. Beautiful. Now you go back to the first part which completely empty and casually view the exhibit. read more

Could not attend. The venue did not offer the return option, even they were notified a month in advance. They keep location secretive for no reason. Strange company. read more

Staff was rude to us and we left without enjoying the immersive program. What a shame and waste of money. I love Van Gogh and they ruined it for me read more

No one has reviewed the Strand?? I took my partner here for a surprise date to see the Urban Nutcracker (best surprise date ever, if I say so myself) in '05. It was a great show, and the Strand was gorgeous, plus I kinda love that it's in Dorchester. I think they've since moved where they show the Urban Nutcracker, and I can't really comment on the other programs they hold at the Strand, but they've got to be good. Here's what I found on google: The Strand is probably the only remaining vintage neighborhood theatre in Boston [it opened in 1918]. After a mid-century decline, a massive restoration effort brought the Strand back as a cultural and entertainment center and a landmark of the Upham's Corner neighborhood. Now managed by the M. Harriet McCormack Center for the Arts, the Strand provides a wide variety of programming for a new generation. read more

I *AM* a fan, because I love historic old buildings. In Dorchester, you don't get more historic than the Strand (except Pilgrim Church, but that's another matter). I've seen this space rented out for party events and street fairs. It's a really good location in terms of reaching the urban residents of North Dorchester and Upham's Corner since it runs right on Columbia Ave. Parking is a bit of a pain, and public transportation can be trying to get there but when I saw "Ragtime" there last year, I really enjoyed it (I also drove, and work in the area). The bathrooms are stunning - they received some kind of grant to restore them - they are fancy! The main theater area is gorgeous, but in a ruined beauty sort of way. It's an old theatre, and still much in need to funds to repair some of the plaster and other historical touches. I would hate to see this treasure taken down, and will absolutely go see other productions there. read more

Sadly we had a horrible experience with Fever- the organization running this event. My daughter tested positive with COVID and we tried to do the right thing and cancel. They were totally rude- only offered to cancel all or none of the tickets, only willing to give a voucher for 50% of the cost and only usable for this event which is only running for a few more weeks. As a comparison, the Boston Pops gave a full refund for my daughter's ticket. Get a grip Fever- customer service is everything today and we will never ever go to another event sponsored by Fever. You kept our small $$ but lost a customer forever. Well done. Happy Holidays read more

My experience with The Strand is limited. The organization I work for rented it for a performance with over 400 kids. I can review the venue itself, not the programming it has. From that perspective, I'm not sure it worked for us- not all the kids were onstage at once and the areas where they can wait off stage are very limited. There are also no doors to close off the house from the lobby, so if there's a lot of noise in the lobby, it can be heard inside the theatre. We only had access to the bathrooms on the second level and they were abysmal. Just gross. It's also not handicap-accessible, which I know is an ongoing issue for older venues. There's absolutely no signage inside to tell you where anything is or how to get to the different levels. I'm not sure who owns The Strand, but I think the city is trying to invest in it. If they do, I'm sure it would be a beautiful space. The bones are there, but I get the feeling it's been neglected for a long time. It needs some TLC, Boston!!! read more

The Strand is a lovely little theater. I've visited a few times this past year to see a friend of mine perform in some plays (Aida and recently Jesus Christ Superstar). The employees and ushers are always friendly and helpful in helping you find your seat or the restroom. The space is clean. My only real issue is the seating. It's a small theater and the seats are very cramped. I'm 5'10" and my knees are always smashed against the back of the seat in front of me. But I understand there isn't much that can be done about this problem. Just know that if you're tall you might have some problems sitting comfortably. read more

I am a huge fan of fine arts. I took my girlfriend to the Strand Theatre to enjoy a night with Jose Mateo's rendition of The Nutcracker. The performance was spectacular, the dancers were stupendous, but what spoiled a great performance was the raucous audience and the disrespectful staff at the Strand Theatre. What ever happened to the standards and courteousy in the fine arts? Shouldn't we be respectful to the dancers who work tirelessly in striving for perfection? Noisy would be an understatement. The youth groups were rambuntious, and when we tried to move to the balcony, the staff forbade us from moving. Never happened to me before, especially moving from the mezzanine to the balcony. Wow. Well, come on, at least do something to quell the bad behavior from the circus clowns! Not helpful, not friendly, and not the least accommodating, at least they gave me a program to read and let me use the bathroom. I wonder what the dancers were feeling. Probably suffering from headaches, night blindness, and weakened proprioception from all those iPhones flashing pictures. I felt bad. I still feel bad. Like that chinese food I had the other night. Crap. How is it that everyone was allowed to bring food and drink into the theatre? The guy on the overhead said we couldn't? The last time I brought food into any theater was at the movies. This isn't Star Wars kids, it's a ballet. Parking was NOT easy. Period. If you have an appreciation for fine arts, do not go here to enjoy it. I would have loved to see this at the Opera House. I dropped the ball on this one. Ouch, and it hurt. I won't go back. Do something to control the atmosphere. Have some decency, Strand Theatre. read more

Today, I visited the Strand for the first time in years! It is a small theatre, but since they restored it, it is a lovely place to see a show. Due to the size of the stage, you won't see the big productions that you will see downtown in the Theatre District, but every once in a while they do book something special. This weekend, it happens to be 'Aint Misbehavin'... If you go, you should be able to find parking on the street in the surrounding neighborhood. It is also accessible by public transportation. read more

If you are mobility impaired in any way, give this venue and the Van Gogh show a hard pass. There is no commercial parking available, and on a Friday afternoon it took well over a half hour to find an on-street parking space. That turned out to be three quarter of a mile from the venue, more than I can walk at the moment, and if I could, I would have made only about the last five minutes of the show. The entrance is not handicapped accessible, so even if I'd made it, I would not have made it inside. The ads are deceptive, to be charitable, and the public transport time isn't given - Google maps shows it as more than an hour from the T station nearest to us. I blame myself for assuming, and not doing full research in advance, but I think the theatre is being deliberately deceptive. I just blew sixty bucks on nothing. It's not much for me, but given the puffery for this show, I'm sure there are others who've paid and can't afford the loss. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND VENUE OR SHOW. I gave one star because Yelp doesn't allow zero. It should be -1. read more

The recently renovated Strand Theater was originally built as a vaudeville theater, it reminds the Cutler Majestic, only the acoustics is better (significantly). In a couple of years when the MBTA is done with Indigo Line this could become a major venue for musicals/operas. read more