Lansburgh Theatre

Lansbugh Theatre is one of two primary theatre venues for the Shakespeare Theatre Company, and the original. (The second, Sidney Harmon Hall, opened in 2007.)
The Lansburgh Theatre is slightly smaller — it seats about 450 people vs. 775 at Sidney Harmon Hall. The slightly smaller size makes it incredibly intimate and charming — you almost feel more like you’re at a private dinner than a play. It does also mean it has fewer bathrooms (always a pain at intermission), and a smaller lobby that feels even smaller during intermission — which has caused me to strike up sudden conversations with total strangers that I doubt I would have done at Sidney Harmon. One caution: I went to a winter production that was absolutely *freezing* — we wore our coats and actually put on our gloves. I’m hoping it was a rare one-​off and won’t happen again. Don’t let the newer glamour of Sidney Harmon distract you from Lansburgh’s charm — just don’t forget to bring a sweater (in case) and you might want to re-​consider that happy hour beer right before the play…
About Shakespeare Theatre Company…
Shakespeare Theatre Company is an award-​winning, critically acclaimed theater that consistenly puts on amazing productions at both their venues. In the 2014 – 2015 season I’ve seen five productions that ranged from the boldly staged musical to no frills readings, well known favorites to the nearly and almost forgotten.
What makes STC a true national treasure is not their fantastic venues, talented performers or brilliant staging and costumes (costuming for Tartuffe gave the play a new and completely unexpected interpretation). It’s the access. STC has the most accessable theater program I’ve ever seen, with so many opportunities for cheap or free tickets that you have no excuse to not take advantage.
Programs include discounts for those under 35 (look for Young Prose Night’s that include a free pre– or post-​play reception!), seniors 60+ and the military. Not eligible for any of those? No worries — there’s more! Anyone can get $ 25 rush seats for any play (if available). The ReDiscovery Readings Series is entirely free. Free (yup — that means $ 0) tickets for their annual «Free for All» play are open to all too, although they are a little harder to come by. (The 2015 – 2016 season’s free for all play will be Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sept. 1 – 13, 2015; all other discounts and prices listed are as of June 2015.)
I don’t know how they manage to keep up all these discounted programs and still keep the quality — but I’m glad they do. My donations are small now, but they’ll be bigger someday I promise!

Friday, 8:30PM.
Film: «The Importance of Being Ernest».
Quickie:
+Nice layout
+Affable service
+Good performance
And then???
Entertaining interpretation of the play. Clean, spacious, and a solid view from the balcony. Took the Metro here this time and will avoid the traffic jam next time as well.

We came here to see «the Importance of Being Ernest» last weekend. We both liked the show.
About the theater.
We purchased our tickets online and we arrived about 20min before the show. There was only a short line for «Will Call» at the time, so we got in right away.
The theater hall was rather small with several round dining tables. The hall was well lit and quite cozy.
Our seats were in row O, and the view was great. I assume that the rows in front of us would have even better view of the stage. The theater seats are smaller than typical movie theater seats, but it’s not a big problem that would stop you from enjoying the show.
If you are under 35, you should definitely take advantage of the Under35 tickets. The tickets to several selected shows for the week are on sale starting every Tuesday at noon, so make sure you check the website and grab some awesome seats with an affordable price! The good seats go fast, so if you want good tickets for the prime weekend time, make sure you set an alarm for Tuesday 12pm and get on them immediately.
We’ll be back for future shows!

I’ve been to Sidney Harman a few times but my first trip to the Lansburgh wasn’t until last week to see my my absolute favorite play in the whole wide world, The Importance of Being Earnest.
Harman Hall is undoubtedly beautiful but this theatre is much more my speed because it’s smaller, intimate, and has character. It’s impossible to have a bad view of the stage. And you’re allowed to bring your drinks into the theatre, provided you have a lid!
Seating is tight and there’s not a lot of leg room, this coming from someone who’s 5’1″. But one thing I love about the seating map is that there are a couple of rows that only feature 1 – 3 seats so that’s great if you have a bit of anxiety like me and don’t want to feel trapped during a performance!
If you are eligible, take advantage of the Under 35 promotion STC runs. Every Tuesday at noon, they release the unsold tickets for the current week online for $ 18 to encourage young people to come in. My ticket was Tier A pricing and would’ve cost me $ 85 but I paid $ 21 after the $ 3 handling charge. You have no excuse for not checking out the Lansburgh when ticket prices are less than a Forever 21 dress!

The Lansburgh is quite a venue. I love the intimacy and flexibility of performance space. The theatre is really easy to get to from the Gallery Place metro station (and from Archives station) and is within easy walking distance of lots of great shops and restaurants, including Jaleo, the great tapas restaurant. The Lansburgh is near the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC)‘s main venue, the Sidney Harman Hall.
We have seen a few plays here, including the Importance of Being Earnest, Synetic’s Taming of the Shrew and the STC’s Two Gentlemen of Verona (with a dog!). There is no bad seat in this house. Even the distance from the very last row to the stage is still really excellent. You can see everything. Love the amphitheatre style seating.
The ladies’ room is easy to find and is OK (though floor in the stall was slippery! Yak), but it gets crowded easily — too crowded in fact for such a short intermission. The line winded from the restroom past the gift shop and into the center of the lobby, intertwining with the line at the bar.

We were lucky enough to be given tickets to a Shakespeare play at the Lansburgh Theatre a couple weeks ago, and we had a great time. It’s a small theater so believe the reviews when they say there really isn’t a bad seat. The intimate setting is a nice change from the bigger theaters throughout DC. You can see everything on stage without having to squint or move around in your seat for a good view.
We got there early to enjoy the pre-​show cabaret (it was Measure for Measure, so it went with the play) and we got drinks just so we could feel like true mature adults (we’d normally be at the Caps game rather than a play). The bartender was very nice and put a lot of liquor in the drinks. I got the special to fit the show — the Nun’s Habit — which was really tasty! We also ordered drinks and a snack to have ready for intermission, which I highly suggest. Rather than having to wait in line at intermission, you just go off to the side and pick up what you ordered. You can take your drink into the theater (although I thought you couldn’t originally) — you just have to get a lid for your drink. Just ask!
Other logistics: The bathrooms are pretty big for such a small theater, but they still get filled up right before the show and during intermission, so plan accordingly. There’s a coat room if you need it. They have some tables and chairs outside the theater but they do fill up, so get there early if you really hate standing while waiting for the doors to open (but you wouldn’t really have to stand for very long).
Overall, I’d highly suggest Lansburgh Theatre — it’s a great intimate theatre that makes for a fun night out.

I like this theater the best. It may be older and smaller but it It is my favorite because of both of those features. If visiting DC be sure to check out what’s playing at the Shakespeare
and see if you can make a show. It’s usually Shakespeare with a twist not the version acted out in English class.

My favorite theatre in DC. The Shakespeare Theatre Company has two main venues, but Lansburgh is my favorite. (I also saw a STC performance of Love’s Labour’s Lost in another venue, where they do rehearsals. Even that venue was decent compared to some theatres I’ve been to).
Lansburgh is smaller, but it doesn’t have the issues that Harman does. Lansburgh doesn’t have any obstructed views. Personally, my favorite seats are in the AAs, as they’re loose chairs and not bolted down. You have more space and no one directly in front of you. Since it’s a smaller theatre, you’re never too far from the stage. It seats 451, as opposed to Harman’s 775. There isn’t much difference in pricing between the two theatres.

This was my first visit to the Lansburgh. It’s a very nice, modest-​sized venue.

Since the new Sidney Harmon Theater opened up across from the Verizon Center, all gleaming and radiating posh modernity, I’ve neglected my dear old favorite, the Landsburg.
Right around the corner from the aforementioned Sidney Harmon, the Landsburg Theater is also the home of the Shakespeare Theater Company. Although both theaters are owned by the Shakespeare Theater Company, the Sidney Harmon has become the theater where all of their major productions are housed and so it is the theater where we normally have tickets to.
But as much as I love the new Sidney Harmon, the Lansburg is still one of my favorite theaters. It was the theater where my husband and I saw our first play together (this is when we were first dating 10+ years ago, and we still had «firsts» to discover with each other). It is small and intimate, without being claustrophobic. It’s like the sweet, simple sister to Sidney Harmon’s powerful ambition. This is the theater where you won’t feel gauche if you showed up in jeans instead of cocktail attire (although I warn you, if my mother is with me, she will still call you to task for not being properly attired). Where you can have a drink at intermission and chat up some of your fellow patrons. It just doesn’t seem quite so glamourous or quite so polished as Sidney Harmon, and that’s just the way I love it.
After seeing a dress rehearsal here this weekend, I’ve been reminded by how much I love this theater, and I’m going to make an effort to catch at least one show each season from the Landsburg. I recommend that you do too — it’s a fun little theater, not fancy, not pretentious, but oh so welcoming.
Plus, the bathrooms are easy to get to — no convoluted maps needed to find them (yeah, you don’t think this is important until you realize that you had three glasses of wine, two glasses of water, and a coffee with dinner before the show).

Great by community theater standards. But mundane for a professional venue. I’ve been in much nicer college theaters.
Great space to see (and hear) a show, but hardly a theater-​going «experience.» Especially given the high ticket prices.

I’ve been here twice recently– once for Avenue Q and one for Alls Well That Ends Well. I think I’m in love with this small, quaint theater. The seats are very comfortable and I’m certain there isn’t a bad seat in the house, which is especially important because we bought our tickets from Groupon and they pick our seats for us.
The ladies room is big enough that the line goes by quickly during intermission and there is a stocked-​enough bar to visit during the break.
The ushers are always very helpful and friendly and I always walk out of the theater so glad that I chose this theater for a night of culture (or lack of culture in Ave Q’s case? :))

Saw Avenue Q here this week, in terms of the building, it’s a cool little space. It is super convenient in downtown to all metro lines and restaurants.
There is not a bad seat in the house. It is small but cozy, I’d come back to see something again here. I’d love to get one of those quaint little loge type boxes along the side. Lighting and sound were well crafted as well.
I should mention how friendly and helpful the ticket takers and ushers are here, I’m not sureif they are volunteers but there is a small army of them and they were all amazing.

Going to see a play is like punishment for me. If you hate me, you’ll buy me tickets to something that’s Shakespearean in nature, so that I’ll struggle with understanding the dialogue and the plot. The frustration will mount until, eventually, I let out a very audible exhale, roll my eyes, and say, «Look, I gotta make pee pee, I’ll be back later.»
But all that has nothing to do with this theater. This place is sweet and has certain amenities that I appreciate. Namely, it has a lobby where you can buy a drink or a snack or both. There are also TV’s in the lobby, which show the play that is happening inside. This is a nice touch, so that if you just need to leave the room for a breather, you can keep abreast of the situation on the stage – nope, nothing’s changed, still a boring play. Meanwhile, none of the guys with the fancy sport blazers join me in the lobby. Sell outs.
So, maybe my «friend» hates me, because she knows I’m not cultured and refined and yet she takes me here. I mean, I eat sushi. And I know how to tie my shoelaces, but that’s the limit! I can’t get more cultured than that. C’mon! Hmm. I’ll confront her about this later.

This is a review for the Lansburgh Theater, the original home of the DC Shakespeare theater company befor they moved to their glamorous new digs at Harman Hall.
It is a lovely theater in a great location. There is a large lobby where there is a lot of room for coffee, drinks and to stretch your legs between performances. It is one of those theaters where there are no bad seats and there are several boxes along the sides which would be a lot of fun to go there with friends.