| rev:text
| - The Herberger Theater Center is one of Phoenix's cultural gems. It's located in the heart of the city, and offers a home to live performance productions of all sizes and types. While there are at least two other theaters in the greater Phoenix metro that I refuse to go to unless it's an absolute must-see, when I learn that a production I'm interested in is at the Herberger, I never hesitate!
I've been a patron of HTC for many years, and seen a lot of great performances. HTC doesn't produce many shows itself (with a notable exception being last year's dual productions of Julius Caesar and X, in collaboration with The Acting Company and ASU's Herberger school), so this review won't be about productions, but instead about the facility.
I'll get the negative out first - parking! You can try to find street parking, or park in one of the nearby garages, but there's no parking within the center itself. You can prepay for parking at the garage across the street via their website though. It's normally not a problem, but can be confusing for first time attendees who don't know where to park.
The building is very nice. It has a modern look without being brutal. The grand staircase in the lobby/atrium is a great photo spot. There is a gallery upstairs that's always worth a look, and some quiet spaces for waiting before the production.
The HTC has expanded its concessions over the years, and kept the prices reasonable. Bottles of water are $3, which isn't bad compared to most venues. There are plenty of beer and wine options, and they also offer a limited amount of warm meals, snacks and desserts. You can't bring food into the theaters, but you can bring drinks in.
One of the other minor negatives about the facility is that some people are not aware of the fact that there are three separate theaters within the HTC. For instance, the tickets I had to a recent performance didn't say which theater the production was in (center stage vs. stage west). There were signs and plenty of ushers to help, but every time I'm there I see someone who appears confused/lost - especially if more than one production is happening at the same time.
I've been to productions in both stage west and center stage, but I haven't been to shows on the Kax stage. Stage west is smaller, but comfortable. Center stage's expanded space allows for broader productions but is still intimate. Both theaters are much more comfortable than most theaters in town, and have excellent acoustics and lighting.
The HTC staff are helpful and efficient. They don't force the ushers to take you to your seats - I hate being escorted if I know where I'm going - but they are plenty of people available to answer questions or point you in the right direction. The box office is efficient, and concessions are usually quick. Adding in more food options does seem to have slowed the line down a bit though.
One important note: while the building may look "stuffy" from the outside, you'll find that there's no expectation of the audiences. You can attend in shorts and a t-shirt or dress up for the night -- all are welcome. While most patrons tend to be of a certain leisure age and class, I've seen more diversity and youth added to the mix lately. So don't be too intimidated to attend the theater in Phoenix!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)