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    Hattiloo Theatre

    4.8 (18 reviews)
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    Catrina T.

    What an awesome place!!! I came to see "Blues In The Night" with sorority sisters! The host for the evening was hilarious and made us feel right at home. The musical was entertaining! We had a blast and welcome more opportunities to come visit!

    Enjoying a Sunday performance of "The Color Purple"
    Lori E.

    Hattiloo Theater - Season 17 - I can't wait to this live performance of The Color Purple, which is one of my favorite movies! Ekundayo'a leadership is to be commended as Hattiloo is celebrating 19 years of existence. This adaptation of The Color Purple exceeded my expectations. The music really touched my soul. I highly encourage people to go see it. I also can't wait for "A Raisin in the Sun" next month!

    Bobby J.

    Went to see "Tumbling Down" written by Ekundayo Bandele Great play. Enjoyed it. Nice theater experience.

    The front lobby space was utilized for our event.
    Haley H.

    Love the Hattiloo! Our work just hosted a reception here. It was an amazing space for our event and it looked so elegant and classy. The staff is so helpful and friendly.

    Caprice F.

    I went over the river and through the woods to visit the Hattiloo Theatre this past weekend to see August Wilson's "Gem of the Ocean", and it was so worth it! The theater and its staff are lovely. There were beautiful paintings of black playwrites and authors in the lobby. The set was really well done and the seating in the theater was very intimate and the front row is right on the stage! The sound quality was great and you can't beat the price! The costuming could have been a bit more in line with the time period of the play and a few lines were flubbed here and there, but still not a bad production at all. Nonetheless, the acting was still very good.

    Semaria S.

    Such a well needed staple in the community. They also host such wonderful events. The new design is beautiful.

    Band named "Reach."
    Kontji A.

    I had the distinct pleasure of witnessing the ground breaking and grand opening performance at the new Hattiloo Theatre! The venue is not only used for Hattiloo's custom-made plays and children's theatre, it's also a prime spot for receptions and community forums. The 11,041 square foot space is centrally located in midtown Memphis' Overton Square. It has an open, wall-to-wall-window reception area. According to the building engineering firm's website, the main stage setup can be reconfigured depending on need and can seat up to 180 people. The other black box theatre stage, that can seat as many as 58 people, is a cool setup where the seats circle the stage. It gives you an incredibly intimate feel that I haven't experienced in other theatre venues. The actual plays can range from the Anansi the Spider children's play to Hattiloo's own rendition of A Christmas Carol: If Scrooge was a Brother. Parking is usually not a problem, as three of the theatre's walls are surrounded by a parking lot and nearby paid parking garage. The theatre founder, Ekundayo Bandele, is a transplant from Brooklyn, New York who established Memphis' first black repertory company years back, but the theatre relocated to Overton Square in 2013 and opened in 2014, after a $4.3 million capital campaign. Locals feel very strongly about the success of the theatre and put a lot of private money into it. The theatre recently unveiled its H.Y.P.E. (Hattiloo Young Professionals Experience) program to encourage young people to become stakeholders in the theatre. The original theatre had an educational component: Classes for young playwrites, actors, and directors. Fun tidbit: The theatre's name is a combination of the founder's two daughters' nicknames: Hatshepsut Bandele (Hatti) and Oluremi Bandele (Loo.) The theatre's original mission statement: "Our mission is to develop a Black theatre that is accessible to, relevant to, and reflective of a multicultural community." Your Memphis experience wouldn't be complete without a visit to Hattiloo.

    Front Lobby
    Paulette B.

    Sweet, Sophisticated and Just Right! This theater is just right for the location and atmosphere of The Overton area. Parking is communal and there is extra fee after 6pm in the garage.

    Wonderful play, great music! The cast was awesome!
    Tammy S.

    Wonderful experience again. I recently attended the play"A House that Stands" it was great. I love the small theater or playhouse feel. The actors are top rate and very professional. The atmosphere is very nice and the pictures in the entrance way or beautiful. I can't wait to go back.

    1st time

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    6 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Very good we love the theater and will be coming back in fact we are going too see dream girls on February 7th at 2.00pm

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    Review Highlights - Hattiloo Theatre

    Went to see "Tumbling Down" written by Ekundayo Bandele Great play.

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    Playhouse on the Square - PARADE 2025

    Playhouse on the Square

    4.5(30 reviews)
    0.1 miMidtown

    Well, I wish there was a way to review individual shows, but I guess that doesn't make sense since…read morethe productions are temporary. So, I will comment on the venue itself up here and place a block below for specific shows and will update that block whenever I see a new one! I'll put the run dates in the title line so you know whether or not to pay attention to it. Venue Review My wife and I absolutely love live theater and I think we've been to most of the theater venues in Memphis. We've seen many productions at the Playhouse on the Square and it is just a fabulous place to see a play, or even the ballet. It is not a huge venue so when I say, "There isn't a bad seat in the house." that is dead on. The seating is comfortable. The facilities are clean. The staff is always nice. And the productions are always top-notch! One thing about Playhouse and its surrounding theaters is the pricing for their shows is usually very reasonable compared to the competing theater across town. We always come in from the North, down Central and usually, we park in the parking garage near the square itself. This last time it was raining and we noticed there is actually a parking lot on the East side of the building! It is a nice parking lot and it is, of course, a much shorter walk than the walk from the garage! However, if you plan to eat before or after a show, the garage might be a better choice. Production Reviews Below Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - 1/19-2/18/2024 I am a HUGE fan of the 1971 film, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder (who isn't, right?). I think we all would like to forget the 2005 remake of the story with J. Depp, so to say I'm dubious when it comes to the treatment of this story is probably an understatement. Knowing I am such a fan of this story, my wife surprised me with tickets to this show. I've never seen it done live and I was excited but trepidatious because some of the stuff I loved about the 1971 movie, the special effects, the sets, just couldn't be duplicated on a live stage. That said, because I knew that going, in I was a bit forgiving and might have been a little excited to see how they adapted it. I was not disappointed one bit! Of course, the main storyline was the same, but there were nuances of modernization. The names of the children were the same and the core of their bad behavior too. However, their backstories and the style of their ultimate demises were slightly different. I won't give critical details away as I don't want to spoil it for you, but just as an example, Mike Teevee's problem is still sitting in front of a screen too much, but his addiction is to the Internet and video games rather than classic television. Clever. The young star of the show, Drake Shehan, was incredible and an absolute delight to watch! The young man could sing, and dance, and his acting quality was that of someone 10 years his senior! The rest of the cast was great as well, just a super ensemble. This was one of the best shows we've seen at Playhouse and they did a fantastic job of adapting this to the stage. You have a little more than a week to catch this and you should before it is gone!

    I had no idea that places like this existed in Memphis outside of the Orpheum, but I was pleasantly…read moresurprised. My wife and I enjoyed the performance of "Your Arms Too Short To Box With God", last night. This will be the first of many performances that we will enjoy here! I highly recommend a trip for a performance. You will not be disappointed.

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    Playhouse on the Square - WIZARD OF OZ 2024

    WIZARD OF OZ 2024

    Playhouse on the Square - SEUSSICAL 2025

    SEUSSICAL 2025

    Playhouse on the Square - CAROLINE, OR CHANGE 2025

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    CAROLINE, OR CHANGE 2025

    Theatreworks

    Theatreworks

    4.5(11 reviews)
    0.1 miMidtown

    I visited Theater Works on an extremely wet Saturday night, when it was raining down buckets and…read moresubsequently for a magical 2+ hours, the play I saw there wafted me away to a Stately Home in the British countryside and then during the 2nd Act to a basement apartment in Earl's Court, London! The play absolutely lived up to one of the lines spoken by a character in the play that I saw: "Fiction fills in the void when facts are not enough!" The theater's location is great and there's a parking garage right across the street, so parking is a total breeze. However the sidewalk is really beat up and broken, so if wearing heels or slippers, just be careful when walking across. We had "Will Call" tickets for a production of "Lettice & Lovage" but our name wasn't on the list, but luckily I could show the confirmation email to the ticket-office (which was basically a gentleman sitting behind a desk). I thought the production values of the show I saw were brilliant and really also enjoyed the intimate setting of the theater - only 5 rows and so every seat is a good one! Speaking of seats, this show was general admission, so would recommend getting to the theater around 15mins early if you want middle row/ central spot. Price was also fairly reasonable ($20) and all of us had an enjoyable time, plus learnt how marmalade got its name (google if you want to know more- it's a neat story and hint - if you speak French, there's a clue in the second part of the word!) They have some wine and drinks you can buy at intermission, but I am not a fan of the "Barefoot" brand, so didn't get any - also its just your basic Cab Sav Red/ and Semillon white, so if you want Shiraz or a Riesling, they don't have that available. Oh also - coupons for places to eat in the playbill, so have a flick thru that. There are some upcoming plays coming up that sound good - so will definitely be returning back to this Theater. Note: #51 of Yelp 100 challenge for 2016

    Just finished enjoying The New Moon Theatre Company's production of William Shakespeare's Twelfth…read moreNight. It was absolutely fantastic! I didn't even know this theater existed and just happened to stumble across a playbill posting in Starbucks. My family was asking for birthday gift ideas so I sent them a picture of the playbill, since I enjoy live theater AND Shakespeare! EVERYONE needs to catch this before they close it out! The talent in TNMTC is boundless. Acting. Singing. Musicianship. They do it all. It was a non-stop laugh fest. Thanks y'all for putting on such a great show and thanks to my wife and two girls for such a great gift!

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    Theatreworks
    Theatreworks - The box office

    The box office

    Theatreworks - Love theatre. Lets go

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    Love theatre. Lets go

    Hattiloo Theatre - theater - Updated May 2026

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