Straz Center for the Performing Arts Review

Florida orchestra plays Duke Ellington was the best!! Young man who sang was excellent!!

Great place to see a show. Very clean. But the sound was a little off.

Ticket office personnel are so nice and helpful! I have been a Broadway Series patron for 8 yrs now and enjoy my nights out with my husband and now daughter.

Very much enjoyed the show though wish we had been closer. The sets were absolutely amazing.

Beautiful location, parking could be better. Staff friendly and helpful.

Beautiful venue from a city with a true love for the arts.

Went to see The Barber of Seville, great production.

My family is new to the Tampa area having just moved from Charlotte. One of the throngs we enjoyed about Charlotte is the theater scene. Blumenthal in Charlotte is phenomenal. While the Straz isn t as great as Blumnethal, we re really happy with the center overall. My son and I went to see the Book of Mormon, and my wife and I recently saw the Bodyguard. Both shows were impressive.

A few observations:

1. Parking is poor (compared to Charlotte). You really have to use valet at Straz. Oddly enough, parking only accepts or, get his, CHECKS!

2. Straz doesn t permit you to purchase two seats online if the two are in a group of three remaining seats. For one of our shows, I couldn t purchase seats in a row that were 10 rows ahead of the next available at the same price because of that restriction.

3. The assortment of dining, refreshments, and snacks is fairly impressive. Thumbs up!

4. Straz s line up of Broadway shows seems to be pretty good. We re considering purchasing season tickets.

Absolutely fell in love with theater here! It is beautiful and classy and every seat gets a great view.

The Sound of Music & Maestros was a nice evening.

Come From Away was a pleasant look at a different 911 passenger perspective.

Love a live performance and the lady at the box office was very helpful 5

Uncomfortable seats in the Gallery, and I am a Member. Phantom of opera changed scenes from long standing originals play. Valet parking excellent.

I would like to give this place 5 stars because I actually enjoyed the program. However when the place is few of kids on a field trip and they are all quiet enough that I can hear the sound guy opening a candy bar wrapper, it kind of ruins the mood. I don't believe the musicians would appreciate those type of interruptions from the audience. It may only be a children's program but I don't think it sets a good example for them in the future.

Beautiful venue, one of the prettier places on town

The facility is beautiful. The staff is outstanding. But...I was there with my 2 y/o and needed to change him. The bathroom on mezzanine level, that is designated for family/handicap individuals(and has a sign on the door that specifically states that parents w little ones, or those with handicaps have first priority) did not have a changing area/table?!?!? I was not about to use the floor. The restroom on the other side did not have one either according to who I was with so I had to change my son on a bench in front of everyone. Fortunately i have and used a changing pad, but i mean, really Straz Center?

Beautiful venue! We are excited to return in April for a comedy show.

I like the straz center and elementary,middle, and high school can do dancing, singing, ballerina, and much more you can do.

Epic fail trying to buy Hamilton tickets. After finally finding some to buy got website error code 42 that states Javascript must be enabled. By the time I could remedy the problem there 48,241 users in line in front of me. Need to clearly state the technical requirements for first time users.

Love their outside bar setup. But havent been inside yet!

I've only been to the center one other time when I was a child. My visit was to see the Harry Potter Orchestra play during the movie The Sorcerer's Stone. The venue was amazing in the seats were comfortable enough for 3 hours of sitting but they did have an intermission Midway through. There were concessions if you needed them in the bathrooms were nice and clean. We very much enjoyed our time at the Straz Center and when another event comes along were interested in I'm sure we'll jump on the opportunity to go back.

Elevators for handicapped very, very crowded and have a long wait.

Clean, great seating, and on the water. I have seen several productions here in various seat locations. Always happy!

Love this place ..always have , always will xoxo Been going here for a very long time. Always feels amazing.

We have seen a ton of shows here. All great stuff. Now that the parking has been sorted out, it is a lot better.

Phenomenal acoustics. Sit mezzanine mid center of you can. It's an experience you won't forget. Staff are great, restrooms were very clean. Seats are narrow, however. But that's done so they can accommodate many guests.

Toured a show through, the venue is awesome! Great staff, wonderful location, bars and food options nearby!

Beautiful setting. Love the free music performances

Fun place to go but was disarmed at the front door via metal detectors. Won't go back

Very nice place. Best performance " Fiddler on the roof "

Car pooled there, so glad I didn't have to drive there that was awesome, parking was a little bit of problem

Great place to go to see all sorts of musicals and performances

I performed here a couple of years ago and the stage was great. It was a fantastic show, and the staff were great! It was good to be home!

Great theater, if you park in the garage expect to stay an hour past the show.

We attended a performance today in the Shimberg Playhouse. My Mom needed wheel chair access. The staff went way out of their way to accommodate us. It was a great experience. Thank you!

Wonderful venue for many different types of live theater.

Out dated seating, decor and terrible location. Concession stands are always overloaded during intermission. The performances I've attended have been worth the hassle and they have a monopoly on these types of performances in this area. If you have the option of attending elsewhere, go.

Amazing! I thought I was on Broadway. The cast of Newsies was terrific. To bad there's no tour. Best bargain in Tampa

Nice and clean very cozy for a evening destination

Great acoustics! Wonderful line up of great shows!

Wonderful theater venue in a lovely setting along Tampa's River Walk and Hillsborough River. Several dining options.

The shows and theater players and staff are great. The overall design and placement... City center and adjacent water front makes this a horrible place to park and drive thru - once you're able to make it thru stand still traffic or come at least 1 hour ahead. It's very pleasant. The water front becomes a feature instead of an obstacle. The food nearby as quick bites or Maestro is over priced for the quantity and quality. Many alcoholic drink stations are available, at least one per floor if you like. The restrooms are adequate unless you are on a higher floor. The seats are comfortable and not overly narrow.

I want to the Straz Center to see Tyler Perry the show was great and I was very impressed with the stress Center all the seats appear to be comfortable seating for the audience to be able to see the stage I have poor vision so I was a little concerned about being back quite so far but it was a great experience for me and I will go to many more shows at the Straz Center because of the seating arrangements and how they are placed however make sure you get there early because parking is always the worst case scenario almost missed the show due to the lack of assistance to get in and out of the parking garage.

Aladdin was amazing. The Straz center is such a lovely place.

this is literally a crossroads of culture where fine arts meets performances in concerts. It's a phenomenal place a phenomenal organization and a lot of fun if you get invited to a private party. I really love the stress on her from plays the concerts to gluten-free food. It really is a blast five stars!

Absolutely awful location. In addition, all I could smell was steak leading up to the entrance. Bathrooms not large enough during peak time.

This is one of the Premier Arts Centers in the entire country. The Morsani Hall is a rival to any other top venue in the country as well and going to events there is always a pleasure. The selection of performances within all the various theaters on-site is extensive. It is truly a treasure in Tampa.

Thank goodness for the Straz! Amazing shows. Valet can be full so arrive early:)

A great venue with a large variety of shows. Was very well kept and is right in downtown Tampa so there's great food close by for after the show.