Wife got two free tickets to this performance by Rhiannon Giddens. Who? Checked on the internet…read moreand thought she sounded decent on YouTube videos. Only problem was that it was Friday at 730pm at the Louis B Mayer theater, as in Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Wife bought the tickets expecting me to drive all that way in rush hour traffic, and find the theater at night in unfamiliar surroundings? Yes. Why do you think she married me? Left our house in Sunnyvale at 6:15pm, and 7 miles, 40 minutes and 30+ traffic signals on El Camino Real reached Santa Clara University. LBM theater address is 500 El Camino Real, but that's the address for the whole Santa Clara University. The theater is on the opposite end of the campus, at least a half mile from El Camino Real. All nearby street parking taken, with on campus street parking restricted to vehicles with SCU parking permits. The central parking garage is located near the stadium, but that was completely across campus. Closer parking garage at the corner of Alviso and Franklin St. Take El Camino Real, right on Lafayette, left on Franklin. Took 10 minutes of DWA to find it, at night. Only spaces near the garage entrance are compact spots. Backed into a compact spot, so named as next to a concrete wall. So you are pulling out blind. $5 to park, with you having to enter your license plate number on the receipt. Guess this is to prevent cheapskates from loaning the ticket to a friend for reuse. Parking free after 8pm, but wouldn't you know it, but the show starts at 7:30pm. 5 minute walk from the 4 story parking garage to the theater, the entrance of which is not visible from the street. The usual bag check at the entrance, with hand searches, just like at Disneyland. Sign says no food nor drinks permitted in theater. Ticket electronically scanned. Wife wisely goes to the bathroom before the play starts. Inside a very modern theater, full house, with seating 395-525 depending on configuration, with movable seats up front. 20 rows of seats, two aisles, with stairs going down, and hand railings on the side. Stadium seating at the bleacher area, with your knees at head height of the people in front of you. Great panoramic viewing. Got to stand up to let people get by. One poor dude gets stuck behind a lady wearing a fedora hat the entire show. Francesco Turrisi plays the piano, drums and accordian, while Rhiannon Giddens plays the violin and the banjo. Bluegrass music, Irish ballad music, folk music, instrumentals, and Rhiannon singing. Rhiannon featured on Ken Burns country music, and performed for the Obamas at the White House. Her songs tell stories of historic black womanhood and survival. If it's good enough for Obama, it's good enough for me. Intermission the wife races to the bathrooms, while I take my time. Men's bathroom has 5 urinals and 2 toilets, with line backed up a dozen deep in no time. Women's restrooms have even longer lines. Assume 7 stalls for the women, or at 3 minutes per use, 49 women can be accommodated in the 20 minute intermission. The other 150 women are just going to have to hold it for the 2 hour performance, as the theater was designed for university students age 18-21 with strong bladders. Get back to my seat, just as the college age ladies behind me, remove their bare feet off the top of my seatback. Some people are still learning proper manners. End of the show, get back to the parking garage. Drive out just as the person next to me is backing out, hidden behind a concrete wall between us. Just did avoid meeting by accident, and no it was not an Asian woman driver!

Great small auditorium venue for comedy shows, drama and public speaking engagements. You can hear…read morethe stage and see well from pretty much any seating location in the place and it's a good venue as well for family events. Really nice!

Came here for a comedy show--Max Amini…read more Can't speak about parking because we took an Uber to the venue nor did we purchase food. The ushers were friendly and helped get us to our seats. The theater is clean, a good size though its architecture isn't particularly striking or memorable.

We decided at the last minute to go see the Neil Diamond show. It was our first time and we had a…read morefantastic time. We were amazed at the size and the production. We were so impressed that we signed up for three more plays. The only major negative was the suggested parking. It was a garage in Almaden that was about 3 blocks away at an exorbitant price. Since we will be back, we will find other parking.

I honestly had no idea this theater even existed, but apparently it's attached to Wilcox high…read moreschool. It comes up really fast on your GPS so be careful when you go through the light but you basically turn right into the parking lot. There was not much parking, considering the show was sold out to see the descendants, so I heard some people had to park farther away in the neighborhood and walk in. Once you walk in, there's an open auditorium theater or open area where you could buy snacks and get candid pictures with the cast. As I walked further down the hallway to my seat, I noticed how lit everything was and organized and clean. Everything was set up. The rose were pretty so I'm glad I'm only 5'2" tall, but a 6 foot tall person would probably have some issues sitting in these chairs. This particular production had an issue with their in the second half of the show, but I was sitting close enough. I could still actually hear them sing without their mics on. I'm not too sure how many people this theater seats, but there were a lot and somebody's told me they were sitting in the back yesterday and that's why they got tickets for today's show. They wanted to sit up close! Lol. Production can't wait to see my niece perform next year as they do Alice in Wonderland!

I attended a musical performance here and the acoustics here are wonderful. The 300+ seats are…read morecomfy and slightly elevated so that everyone can get a look at the stage. There is also room for overflow on each side as well as in the back. They have ample parking as well as street parking available.

I sent my niece to Robert jones junior theater so that she could make friends. Though they were a…read morelot of kids, most of them were hostile and mean. The casting is biased, most kids lack the basic talent and singing ability for the roles they were given. My niece came home crying multiple times. Not all of the kids had a fair chance and many felt left out. Jen is an awful director, she clearly hates children. As for the rest of them, had niece had good things to say. But the program is crooked, unfair, and clearly biased.

This review is for the Imagine Me class by the city of Santa Clara. The class was the quality of a…read morepreschool drop in. Barely any props and they only acted in the last 3 minutes. The plays were simple like goldilocks. Most of the class was the teacher telling the kids to be quite and to sit down and reading the play out twice. I may have had bad luck because it was apparent some parents used this class to drop off their very loud and misbehaving kids and run off. Mine was the youngest but was very serious about acting. Even if it were not for the kids who didn't really want to be there, the class itself was just very basic and disappointing. I also could not get a refund we ended up just not going as it was not worth it. My message to the theatre. some youngers kids are really passionate about this and if given the opportunity will shine. You can start with a selection process or a more advanced class for younger kids

My family and I frequently visit this theatre for all different plays and school events. We love…read morethe energy of the staff and how the plays are organized. The enthusiasm is just mind blowing. Very clean and well maintained theatre for the young students and parents to enjoy . A big shout out to all the staff and sponsors for this theater in San jose .

Had both of my kids participate in season 58, and both my husband and I could not be happier with…read morethe community and experience that our children had. I cannot stop singing praises for CMT.

Got the makeup kit for my first musical performance from this place. Did not know what to expect…read moresince I had never touched makeup. The girl at the front helped me pick out the color that matches my skin tone and what a great and easy experience! Thanks Musson Theatrical!

Went to Musson because my theater makeup color had been discontinued. The salesperson at the front…read more(I forgot to get her name, 0375) spent a lot of time helping me find the closest shade to it - quite a challenge given that a lot of the brown skin tones are no longer available from any company. We were able to find something that'll work! Will definitely go back for future makeup needs instead of ordering online. Please support local theater and stores!

Although I can't speak for the plays and musicals, I love Broadway San Jose's film concerts! So…read morefar, I've seen the film concert productions for Across the Spiderverse Spiderverse and Avatar: The Last Airbender. They were both FANTASTIC. The audience is always very enthusiastic, cheering on their favorite characters and scenes. The orchestras are also very passionate about the films as well, earning their standing ovation at the end of the show. My favorite seats are in the orchestra section. Only issue would be parking, but there's a garage about a 5-min walk from the venue that I usually go to. I'll definitely be back again!

Been watching Broadway shows for years from New York to Los Angeles to San Francisco and now San…read moreJose. Love it. Great performances. Can't wait to see a more shows. If you can watch moulin rouge it was simply amazing.

This is a lovely local theater that I have come back to many times over the years, and I have…read morealways enjoyed their productions. They operate in portable buildings behind the Triton Museum. It is a casual setting with plenty of parking. They always have an intermission and offer complimentary beverages and cookies. It is a great choice for an evening out; an opportunity to see a live performance at a reasonable price and support your local arts! Most recently we saw an entertaining rendition of "The Hound of the Baskervilles"!

Cute little community theater showcasing some really good talent. Performing arts as being kept…read morealive in places like this little hidden gem and we have to support them. I've been to multiple shows and the performances have always been top notch. They are clever with few props and simple stage setup. Keep going Santa Clara players!

California Theater is a gorgeous old historical theater with distinguishing beauty and exquisite…read moredetails. It's the type of place you go to where you spend just as much time ogling over the venue as you do the show itself! I went there for a film festival and loved it. The location is also pure perfection because it is within the same block as several restaurants and bars for those who want to grab a bite or drink before or after their show. The only (small) downside is finding parking. We parked in an outdoor lot 2 blocks away for $20. It is about the average rate for the area but still seems steep to me for a 2 hour show. *breathe* Trying to not sweat the small stuff, so I say pay for the steep parking and enjoy the gorgeous theater and watch a nice show! It will be worth the experience.

Gorgeous theatre, nicely preserved, and a great place to see some theatre, music, opera, et al. I…read morevisited one night to see an opera, and really had a great time. Sure, it was nice that the opera was NOT nine hours long, but that's me. Your mileage may vary. The outside of the building blends in so well to its surroundings, you may not notice it at first. But, the California Theatre is easy to find, and perfect to walk to from parking or a restaurant. Even in the entrance way before you walk in (where there's the Box Office for will-call or day-of tickets), you see the elegance and grandeur that awaits. Still, there's nothing stuff about it at all. Every staff member or volunteer I encountered was helpful, friendly, and welcoming. There happened to be live music in the Lobby before and after the performance. Refreshments are found on each floor. We had Orchestra Seats. The opera looked and sounded crisp. The singing, the set, the orchestra, the costumes all radiated excitement and serious fun. This particular opera, by Bela Bartok, is rarely done and having some familiarity with the composer, I was excited to check it out. Very much enjoyed the opera, and the venue. If you are an SJSU student, ask about tickets and/or big discounts available at the Box Office.