Merrill Auditorium

Merrill Auditorium is the granddaddy of venues in Portland. It’s dignified and refined. It sits around in its smoking jacket reading the style section of the New York Times and huffs at hooligans to get off its lawn.
In reality, Merrill Auditorium doesn’t look like much from the outside. It’s on the backside of City Hall and has an unassuming façade. Once you go inside, you realize that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The interior is beautiful. The seats are comfy with plenty of legroom and the stage is always beautifully decorated. They are catering to an elevated class of attendees and that’s very much reflected in who they bring in for acts and how much they charge for tickets. I’ve always thought very carefully before buying tickets because if you don’t like what you’re going to see, the hurt is going to hit your wallet hard.
I’ve seen a variety of shows at Merrill including Louis C.K.‘s comedy act, Christmas with Cornils, the opera Faust and a variety of modern dance companies. Each offered a completely different experience. For Louis C.K. I was sitting up in the balcony but I didn’t feel that far away. Even though Merrill holds almost 2,000 people, it doesn’t ever feel that big. This past holiday season, I went to see Christmas with Cornils which involved a lot of Christmas music involving singers, bell ringers and one jazzy man playing the pipe organ. For those who don’t know, the back wall of the Merrill stage is a giant Kotzschmar organ with almost 6,900 individual pipes. It is a sight to behold and hear. The low notes will vibrate your seat and you’ll be amazed at the variety of sounds that it can make. It was spectacular. I would like to say that there are no bad seats in the auditorium but that just isn’t true. For the opera, I was seated on the side seats in the balcony which means I had to constantly be craning my neck around to see the translation screen. We were at such an angle to the stage actually seeing the performers if they came close to our side was difficult. I’ve also been one of the unlucky people to be sitting in the terrace downstairs and be so far in the back that the balcony overhang cuts off a bit of the view or being behind one of the many poles. Try to be lucky and avoid those seats!
It’s always worth at least one visit to Merrill Auditorium because they bring in some amazing shows and every year you can expect multiple shows of the Magic of Christmas, The Nutcracker and Bob Marley.

I have been here 4 times and all times have been great! First time was to see Stephen King talk — now that was an awesome event. He had everyone leave viabthe back entrance and a long dark hallway… and since he is a story teller, I’m sure everyone checked their backseats, before getting into our cars. Second event was Tim Conway and Harvey Korman. Great seats and very nice set up. Next was our sons graduation. We could see just fine. The audio was a little off, but it was still nice. Then just recently to see Alton Brown and we sat balcony, center seats… again awesome!!! I like this auditorium and look forward to attending events there.

This well restored icon of a prior time is great to see a performance in. Small enough that there are no bad seats, yet large enough that the audience can make some noise.
We will watch what is coming to this theater in the hopes of having another great experience.

Husband and I saw Celtic Woman sat March 28. Beautiful venue. I don’t think there is really a bad seat in the house. We chose grand tier seating as I am 5′ and on floor level my view is almost always obstructed. The only complaint was the temp inside the theatre. However, in defense of the building… it’s old and that’s just the way it is. Ladies room was boiling. Go figure.

Great ushers. Great views. Beautiful space. SLOW bartender. Tons of street parking

I know that buildings aren’t people.
But… if they were… the Merrill Auditorium would be the older sister to the State Theatre. To me, the State is all about staying out past curfew, rock and roll, beer, getting away with more than should be allowed, sex, epic comebacks, and being sociable. The Merrill, on the other hand, is much more classy. It’s atmosphere oozes confidence, perhaps because of it’s superior ability to host elevated levels of performers (thereby «overachieving» compared to other local venues) in an exceptional capacity.
I think somewhere my Psych 101 professor is cringing at this analogy.
For the most part, though, it’s true. You’re not going to find just any two-​bit band playing on the stage of the Merrill, which also means the people in attendance are definitely of a certain type of socioeconomic status (read: tickets here are not cheap, attendees can be «rich person rude»). I’ve been a couple times now, and I’ve LOVED it both times. The first was to see Nickel Creek perform one of their very last shows as a band. We were sat in the middle «orchestra» section just a few rows away from the stage. Our experience felt very intimate because of how up-​close-​and-​personal to the performers we were, and it was nearly impossible to imagine that there was a giant auditorium behind us. The second time I came here was to see The Nutcracker. We were sat in section one of the terrace — despite being further away, they may have actually been better seats than the orchestra ones, because we were elevated slightly. (Side note: when you see The Nutcracker, be completely prepared to be surrounded by little girls in Christmas dresses that will talk through the ENTIRE performance — that’s just a part of the adventure). In both instances the acoustics and lighting were spot on, and the physical space (temperature, chair, etc.) was comfortable — not once was I pulled out of the magic of what was happening before me.
While I love the Merrill and highly suggest it (as long as you go into each performance with a certain mindset of swankness), I definitely don’t think it’s perfect. I’m not a fan of their lobby. Because of how small it is and the way it’s designed, it gets VERY crowded VERY fast. Even without being claustrophobic, at 5’2″ it makes for a very uncomfortable, unpleasant, and overwhelming experience. Once you’ve broken through the crowd, though, all is well!
The bathrooms are clean and plentiful (meaning it’s easy to get in and out during intermissions); there’s wine and fresh baked cookies (I don’t know if the cookies are an every-​performance-​thing, but how can you not be sold on the promise of that alone?!); and the staff — after having been a part of their emergency evacuation procedure, I can tell you firsthand — is calm, cool, and collected.
If I could afford it, I would come to shows here all the time. As it is, I’m delighted when I get here once a year or so (and will probably make it a holiday tradition to see The Nutcracker now, too!).

I very much enjoyed my trip to the Merrill to see the Nutcracker for their opening show in 2013. While I am not particularly a fan of ballet, I did find great appreciation for the orchestra and the hard work of the performers.
Initially we had seats on the second floor balcony. The seats didn’t face the stage and required you to look hard to your left hand side. The seats are a little small and very close together (people must have been smaller when the theater was built).
My wife and I grew frustrated with the children around us talking a lot during the show and someone in our midst habitually «gassing» the place up. I politely asked one of the ushers if they could see if there were any other seats open to which we could move. I was delighted to see that he had moved us to Row B downstairs near the orchestra!
While the ballet wasn’t my cup of tea. I very much liked the venue and am eager to go back for another performance.

I love how this humble auditorium is filled with energy every time I come by for a show, no matter who is performing!
I did a bit of digging, and it turns out Merrill Auditorium was built in 1912 (no surprise, right? Maine is super old) and the seating capacity is 1900. Is that number right? That’s more than some small towns! It’s also seen the likes of SUPER FAMOUS people such as John Philip Sousa and George Gershwin. I don’t remember what they’ve composed, but they were a BIG DEAL back when I took a introductory music course.
More recently, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Rock of Ages, Potted Potter, and my new all-​time favorite – Blue Man Group! It’s amazing to find such big name shows here, and it’s even more amazing because it’s a relatively small space, which means I get to be even closer to the stage, no matter where I’m seated!
I have no complaints, and I look forward to seeing more great shows here in the future. :)

Just saw ‘Mamma Mia’ here this past weekend — wow, what a show! The seating was pleasantly comfortable and the ushers were more than helpful! Even the bathroom break during the intermission was exceptionally coordinated to minimize wait time in line. Thank you to the staff for being ever so courteous! Great place, Great shows, Great parking nearby so you don’t have to walk far… superb place to visit!

Lovely auditorium, intimate setting, comfortable seating, abundant surround parking, nice sound, tons of helpful staff. All around, a great place to see a talk or show.

It is a lovely 1,900 seat auditorium with abundant and inexpensive parking ($ 6 or so in any lot) that is within walking distance of the Old Port. The staff is very friendly and accomodating, the sight lines are good, and the acts that come through are very impressive.
A show here and dinner at one of the city’s wonderful restaurants and you have a great night on your hands.

I saw Ray Lamontagne at the Merrill Auditorium last weekend. It was an amazing show! The sound was so good and the size, though small, was great for his performance.
I was able to purchase tickets through their box office, which did not tack on huge fees like some other ticket sites. Awesome! Their concession prices were reasonable and everyone that was working the show was really nice. I will have to come back next time he’s in town.