There's always a difficulty in rating local theatre, as the obvious inclination is to base your review on the show you saw there and their utilization of the theatre as an environment, (which is the only reason this place has such a high rating), when we should be judging the environment on its own merits, the structure, the stage, etc., and often, as in this case, there is a great disparity between the two.
Ex : In this case, Barclay's young actors troupe put on a great rendition of The Addams Family, easily worth 4-1/2, maybe 5 stars, great singing, well choreographed dancing, comedy, and even audience interaction, but none of that matters when reviewing a theater because the building itself was not nearly as good.
A non descript building on Federal Highway tucks this theatre space in among tanning salons and furniture stores, if you don't know it's here, you'll likely not find it.
Entry through the single glass door brings you into the "lobby". A cozy space with a curtained off doorway leading to the stage and seating. Again, Barclay's trouble did a wonderful job utilizing this space as best they could, but they were hobbled with the limitations imposed on them by the space itself.
Seats are not bad per se', just not particularly comfortable, especially when you consider that as theater seats, they were selected with the express purpose of sitting in for over an hour at a time, but the biggest issue with this space is the stage space itself.
The stage is long, probably 30' I'd guess(?), with a very shallow area for seating, plus there is only a couple feet between row 1 and the stage / curtain, which means yes anyone in the front few rows will have an incredible and up close view of the performers in front of them but will also have their head and neck turned to the side just to see center stage, anything on the far end of the stage will be invisible past the row of slanted heads and necks now blocking your sight line.
Lighting is good here , sound works well, and having the box along one wall works great for directors, producers, and tech to keep their eye on the production as it happens, but the long stage design does not work well with close up seating. read more