This is always such a great venue to come and see a show. It has an underground free parking…read moregarage. It's easily accessible if you have any mobility issues. The theater itself is very intimate and allows you a good seat no matter where you are. The staff is friendly and helpful. All shows from my experience, have been reasonably priced. Before the show grab something to eat, a cup of coffee, or even a glass of wine at the Bean Scene Cafe which is linked to the theater.

Excellent location on Castro Street in downtown Mountain View. I come here for specific…read moreperformances each year. Spacious theater with plenty of spots to practice or do rehearsals before showtime. Staffs are great communicators and are always helpful. This place has been around forever and City Hall is a great place to gather or use public restrooms as well. Cafe is easily accessible next door. If you come here in December during the annual Christmas Tree Lighting event, you won't be disappointed. Colorful Christmas vibes everywhere. There's a good sized local park behind it and you can easily park on the streets which are all walking distance. Besides ballerinas and dancers, you get to watch singers, group choirs, and many more colorful entertainments on the outdoor stage area. Inside stage is usually reserved for larger popular shows. Yes, dressing room and areas for practicing before performance time is well set and they're usually on time moving groups in and out as scheduled. Love the backstage area and scenes. Good feeling inside and outside.

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.

To be honest, it's not the best in terms of sound for a venue if you sit near or close to the…read morespeakers on the balcony. So we recently went to see "A Beautiful Noise" and sat in the orchestra Row 21 Seat 27 basically right of center and I could see the balcony speakers a few rows in front of me. The balance and loudness in those speakers are off and can be really loud and jarring. When we saw &Juliet and sat center second row from the stage, the sound was so much better. So perhaps it's just those speakers that are off when they do tests and it can be horrifying or great. Each side of the theater do have bathrooms but it does take a while to get to the right side of the theater. I still wish they had a center aisle as people were having to climb over chairs when they missed their row by one. We're now parking a couple blocks away for free after 6:30pm which is nice but it's definitely a gamble. Worse case we park at the nearby open lot across the street and pay a fair amount for a downtown city parking lot. Definitely cheaper than SF. Also if you check out seating before a show you want and there's plenty of seats available, go a a couple hours before the show and buy it for only $40 for rush seats. You can choose where to sit and all the seats left are $40. If a show has digital lottery, if you win, the seats are only $35 and I learned this year that the seats are basically the first few rows right in front of the stage. So well worth it if you win. Recently the ushers have been better about giving out the pamphlets which has been lovely. Overall, will I still come here to see shows? Yes cause it's much easier to get to than SF. Is it the best venue? Hit or miss depending on how the soundcheck goes (if they even do a soundcheck).

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.

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.

The Pear has gone through a lot of change past few years, needless to say COVID was a tough time…read more They have a new artistic Director, the new season looks promising. The 2025 Annual production of Pear Slices (short original plays written by local playwrights) was fantastic. The upcoming season looks really interesting. The theater is just off of 101 / Shoreline, plenty of free parking. Thepear.org

It's incredible how much things can change. I used to love this theater -- in fact, I gave it a…read more5-star review six years ago. Unfortunately, my recent experience was a real disappointment. While the actors were talented and delivered strong performances, they didn't seem well-matched to the roles they were cast in, which made it harder to connect with the story. More importantly, I came to see a Shakespeare play, but was disheartened by the insertion of modern political messaging that felt out of place and unnecessarily polarizing. Sadly, this no longer feels like the theater I once enjoyed. I won't be returning.

I remember when this was part of the Camera Cinema family. Movies are my Hobby and it saddens me to…read moresee another theatre close. I love to sit in the Privacy of a Dark theatre and being taken away by the Various artist who make films. For those who sit at home and Stream films and other programming. You are the downfall of what made Cinema Great. I realize that Movies have become expensive and the Quality of the product has not been that great since the Virus. But, I still go to support the Special films that Stand out. I recently saw THE MANDALRIAN AND GROGU and THE GARDENER. Both, not the greatest films made but they still took me to somewhere away from day to day life and entertained me. Even if your not like me. I go to two to three films a week. Take the time a few times a year and get out of the House and support your nearest Cinema and/ or Theatre and Drive-In. In Memory of My Mother, who introduced me to Films. In Memory of the Garden theatre (Willow Glen), The Fox and the Studio (Downtown San Jose. The Saratoga theatre (Saratoga) and the Old Los Gatos cinema (Los Gatos). Many Memories. The Art of the Interiors of these Auditoriums were Amazing. A great mention to the Jose Theatre in San Jose which was turned in a Comedy Playhouse. Here is looking at you. Jackie SS.

So lucky to have one of the few indie theaters in the Bay Area, in San Jose…read more 3Below has excellent indie film curation. The customer service is superb. And the snack bar has reasonably priced goodies! The cherry on top? FREE VALIDATED PARKING FOR UP TO 3HRS!! I'll be seeing 3Below soon, again!

Great theatre. Different from different venues in the bay. Terrific staff poor security. Who…read morecontracted these people? Poor traffic directions given. Very poor.

Small but wonderful theater with very friendly and courteous staff. Please go and support the local…read moretheater and art scene.

We saw "Come From Away" on 5/9/2026 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Not only…read morewas the performance fantastic, parking was easy to find and free. The staff was extremely helpful in finding options for a comfortable, accessible set for me. Thank you! We are looking forward to seeing upcoming shows.

I recently looked online for tickets to a show at the Mountain View Center. I didn't purchase the…read moretickets at the time since I had questions that I needed answered from the box office. In the 2 days that I delayed purchasing, the price of tickets changed from $69 to $79. For me this represented paying an extra $40 since I was buying 4 tickets! There was no advance warning that this was going to happen and when I spoke to the box office they were not interested in honoring the original price I'd seen. Very disappointing.