I have gone to a couple of shows here and they always have me laughing, crying, really just all the feelings. The cast and crew is always a pleasure and I think it's great to have this artform thriving in Merced, I definitely recommend checking out what they're showing and supporting the arts! read more

Awesome staff. The programs they have for the kids last summer were amazing! We highly recommend this theater group for your kids! The shows brought tears of joy. read more

Playhouse Merced - Summer Camp performance was amazing! My kids had such a great time! - Performing Arts Near Me - Merced, California

I was extremely impressed with the little mermaid performance. This was my first time here. I honestly didn't have high hopes but they really surprised me. They put a lot of effort into the show and the stage decorations. I recommend watching a play here. It was clean and they have a little snack area as well. Restrooms were clean and the staff were all friendly. I loved that all the characters come out to greet you at the end and allowed the kids to take photos with them. read more

I am a total theatre geek. I performed, directed, built sets, made costumes, created and executed lighting design, and lots more. I've been to shows at famous theaters in major cities all over the world, including many broadway shows. I am always BLOWN AWAY by the caliber, creativity, and community at our humble Merced Playhouse Theatre. If you sign up for the email newsletter, you can learn about shows months in advance and plan ahead. We love to see the line up and pick our favorites from the season. Tickets are easy to buy, and from experience I would suggest ONLY getting seats in the first two sections. Section 3 IS cheaper, but not worth the 5 bucks you save. Go big or go home here in Merced! The theatre is great in that the seats are steep, so no matter where you see you have an amazing view. The acting company is top notch and they consistently put up an amazing show. I love that they serve fun themed drinks sometimes that you can bring into the theatre and enjoy during the show. Yay candy and alcohol! The set design is so impressive (not sure what that other review was about). The set pieces are huge, creative in their transitions, and always hand made! RC and the theatre team pride themselves in their handmade touches in Merced, and the playhouse benefits the most from that. The costumes and makeup are on point! The casting is great! As another reviewer mentioned, the performers come out to say hi at then end of the show which is great fun! My husband and I always do a high-five train. The staff are super friendly, all neighborhood vibes. I know I'm raving, but this is really a great group doing great things in Merced. It's not broadway, but it's the closest thing to it in our Central Valley home. Thank you to the playhouse for bringing your game to every show! Talented AF! read more

I came here for a play for my best friend's birthday. 5 friends and I drove from the bay area and had bought tickets months in advance to see Jane Eyre's 2pm showing. The show was canceled and there was no sign outside saying so. we waited outside and called and there was no answer. we finally figured out on the website that the dates had been changed. we wish the theater had been kind enough to let us know and had made different plans. we will be asking for refunds. please care about your theater goers. we were really excited about seeing this play. Maybe change your policy and ask for phone numbers or a contact information so you can communicate change of dates to them. read more

Small town, must suck. Small town with almost no artistic vibe or culture. Must suck. Good theory. Wrong theory. Excellent place. I need to go more. Been to 4 plays in past two years and two school plays. Small theater, but do alot with the space. Seating is elevated so I don't think a bad view from anywhere. If you are up in one of the corners, though you may hear the sound guys working. Still. Not too bad, fairly professional. Again I should go more. The plays they put on range from classics like Importance of Being Earnest to high profile currents like Chicago to names I don't recognize but are funny. Watched Noises Off a while back there, funnier then what I saw in a big city and better performed then a movie I saw with stars from teh 80's. Very good group. I think they have classes to train kids too. Awesome. read more

qeen d is spot on. The playhouse is small enough to be cozy but large enough to fit a good-sized audience and most of the seats get filled - for good reason! Actors are talented and you can tell that they really love doing what they do. Most of the people that come here are regulars - they probably watch every play that they catch. There's a raffle for a money pot (half of ticket sales goes to the playhouse, half goes to the raffle winner) but it's customary for the winner to let the playhouse keep all the profits. That's how much people like this place. read more

What a wonderful community playhouse! We are from San Diego and visit my son in Merced. We have seen two musicals here. We've seen Evil Dead the Musical and Little Shop of Horrors. There's a lot of talent here! Incredible voices and acting. So professional for such a small theater. We've attended a lot of musicals in San Diego and your productions have been top notch. read more

This is a late review being that our visit was in December 2019. Needless to say our experience bothered me enough to take the time to write a review. This was not our first visit to Merced Playhouse. Our children have enjoyed their experiences with school and our family in the past. Saturday December, 21st we purchased 10 tickets for the Christmas Carol 7:30 play time. These tickets were a birthday treat for our daughters 16 birthday. We were a bit apprehensive about purchasing the tickets to begin with for a number of reasons; 1- Price (over $260.00) 2-unsure of how our seven year old autistic son would do being this was his first time during the evening and it was a full house. When we arrived (3 cars), the parking lot was very dark and the ticket box location was hard to find. We traveled from out of town and were a few minutes late (no more than 10). What really bothered me was the way we were greeted (or not). A lady with short curly hair rudely gestured us to come through the door and scolded us for being late. She became even more upset as our special needs son needed to use the bathroom before urgently ushering us to our seats. While we did enjoy the play and the amazing talent, we were amazed when that same lady (this time with a BIG SMILE and enthusiastic voice) went on stage and thanked the donors and everyone for visiting..... Did I mention the amazing acting? read more

i must admit, one doesn't expect much when travelling to a town that has adopted a motto fully acknowledging to travellers that they are to zoom on through to a place of greater importance (motto being: "gateway to yosemite!") however, i am estactic to declare that merced actually has some redeeming qualities -- one being the fantastic playhouse merced! located smack dab in the center of downtown, this unsuspecting local playhouse is bursting with culture and talent. we attended the friday night performance of the musical "jekyll & hyde" and enjoyed a fantastic night of live theater. now this wasn't any run-of-the-mill amateur show, mind you. the performance contained a "pre-show", in which the cast welcomed the audience upon entering the theater in full character (think: 1880's london) and added to the ambiance in creating and experiencing this time period. the sets were fantastic, the costumes were dead-on, and the entire experience felt like being transported in a time machine. the theater itself was cozy, which added even more to the ensemble musical pieces, in which the cast used every square INCH of the place -- true stereo effect!! it was exciting to see local talent, and for a quaint non-profit small-town theater to pull off such a larger-than-life production. BRAVO! read more

Watched a few of their productions and its sadly not as great as it was. They lost the black box allowing a bar full of drunks to get placed right next to their place full of kids, Its sound system is terrible and distracting, Not to mention their use of set pieces, they used literally two boxes put together and placed a blanket over them and called it a bed. Terribly tacky productions and not worth the price. Too bad, they used to be something too. read more

First time seeing "Rent"; first time visit to Merced. However, if Miss Katy Uyeno is ever in another production there, we'll be back! OMG, can't take your eyes off of her when she is on stage as "Maureen". That said, the entire cast did a great job - Sergio as "Mark", Uriah as "Tom Collins"...well, I can't remember them all, but they were wonderful! Also highly recommend Pinocchio's just next door to the main street entrance of the theatre (better entrance in back off the parking lot - goes directly into the lobby) for meal before or after the show. Family-oriented, bar seating as well, great portions (you'll take home plenty of leftovers) and friendly service for a very affordable price! read more

My first time ever in a theater like this to watch a play. It's small, but it gets its use out of it. 9-5 was a good play to watch. Definitely recommend this play for people to see. read more

I could not have been more disappointed at the 2019 -2020 Season Preview. My husband and I have seen some fabulous plays such as Sweeney Todd, Rock of Ages, and Big Fish at the Playhouse but we will not be seeing any this time around. The $50 preview consisted mostly of children singing a song from the upcoming shows or a "live" reading from their Christmas show. I miss the talented actors and Director from past seasons. It seems the focus has become more about money then community. The only bright light was the young man who was the teapot in Beauty and the Beast and killed it as Danny in the Shining. Merced Playhouse should be thankful he's returning. read more

Let me put the disclaimers right up front. I was at one time President of the Board of Directors of Playhouse Merced. I served as a member of the Board of Directors for almost a decade, I directed plays there, I was in plays there, and I did a ton of other things to support the theater. That all ended when I moved overseas in 2005 and then definitely after I settled in San Francisco 8 years ago. I left Merced for employment and culture. So.... when I return every now and then (family and friends in the area) I do try to catch a play. Like anyone I want to go back and see how the "child" has grown up or changed... better... worse? I can say - it definitely is better. Kudos to the Artistic Director Rob Hypes and the PM Board for the programming. I live in a land of plenty of theater opportunities in San Francisco but I can honestly say that the programming, production quality, and entertainment and edification value are more than worth the price of admission. I'm basing this on my recent visit May 23 to see Monty Python's Spamalot. Casting was spot on with a strong primary cast - the dancing female chorus looked community theater quality but did not detract from the overall high quality vocal and acting performances of the primarily male lead cast. The set was well crafted singular piece with roll on and roll off enhancements that were "wow" factor given the wing space of the theater. Nothing looked cheap. I'll end with a comment about the programming. This theater is stretching the local community by not only programming standards (Shakespeare and old chestnuts like West Side Story) but is also bringing some of the best and freshest theater to the Central Valley (next season's line-up: Evita, Importance of Being Earnest, Night of the Living Dead, Mary Poppies, Charlie Brown, hairspray, Big Fish, 1776 and To Kill a Mockingbird..... all shows I would go see). Okay.. enough said. read more