Broadway at the Hobby Center

I liked the covered walkway in between the parking garage and the theater, and was relatively pleased with the amount of stalls in the women’s restroom. I did not like how painfully bad the view the boxed seats offered (stay away from box eight), the three dollar upcharge to bring beverages into the theater for a souvenir sippy cup, nor the ticketing practice of having sold the majority of the seats before they were available online. In general, I think the venue in Austin is better. I wish Beautiful: the Carole King Story had toured there.

Houston really does theatre well. The Hobby Center is a great layout and has a good amount of bars laid out throughout the facility and a super selection of food at the start of each performance.

Saw Motown this afternoon. Outstanding music. Great show. The best to come to the hobby center.

Obsessed! I love this theatre because it has broadway :) I’ve seen the rockettes here :) they sell drinks before the show and I saw valet parking in front
A little Broadway in downtown houston

I wouldn’t say that I’m the biggest theater buff but I do love my musicals and this is the best place for it. This is right next to the aquarium, hard rock, the blue fish and all kinds of other places since it in downtown. The traffic can get pretty congested whenever there is a show so make sure that you get there early. If you would like to get there when the doors open get there at night.
There are plenty of accommodations when you get inside. They have full bars and an area where you can eat. The selections are generally salads, pastas, paninis, and plantain chips. My favorite are the salads. You get to choose between a lunch or dinner size. The selection for toppings are too many to list. Plantain chips are delicious too.
Around 7:30pm is when the shows start and opening nights land on Tuesdays. The bars do get packed before the show so come early. Also, no open drinks allowed in the theaters but the loophole is that they sell «sippy cups» that you can take your drinks into the theater.
The productions are always so grand but so far my favorite musical I have seen is The Book of Mormon. My least favorite is… And I will keep that to myself. They always have ushers there in order for you to find your seats. Fun fact: don’t be that person that shows up late. They let you in but it always seems to be the person in the middle of the row. It’s disruptive and rude. Plus I do not want your ass in my face while you say excuse me or sorry (even though I know you’re not).
So after a show, like any show, the traffic is atrocious. You might as just lay back and socialize. Or you can look rude and desperate excusing themselves right before the actors took their bows. This place is always accommodating and professional. You would definitely be getting your money’s worth.

Broadway Across America seasin virgin! I had TUTS last year. They are both very good, just depend on the line-​up which one I go with. They both perform at the Hobby Center, a great theatre. I have sat in several areas of the theatre and there is not really a bad section, though my favorite «spoiled» section is the mezzanine. The ligting, sound and productions are very good.
They now allow you to bring snacks and drinks into the theatre. Even adult beverages if you purchase one of their adult sippie cups can be taken into the theatre.

Broadway Across America brought me two performances last year — Catch Me If You Can and Les Miserables.
I don’t know whether to blame the Hobby Center for the Arts or BAA for Les Miserables but the technical crew was really off the mark. I could see house lights coming on and off as well as horrible sound mixing the entire first act. This is a big deal for theater buffs because we love the harrowing moments and songs that Jean Valjean and Fantine introduce the musical with. SO DISTRACTING!
Catch Me If You Can. Couldn’t complain about this performance in terms of lighting, sound mixing, ticket handling. Obviously, this isn’t a review of the show itself (which I find fun but mediocre…)

Doesn’t get much better than BAA. I’ve seen many off broadway shows and they just don’t compare. The talent that is show cased and the sets that are designed are amazing. I never leave a show disappointed. The only thing I’ll knock on them about is the number of under studies that perform due to actors not being able to. Rarely is there ever a show that doesn’t have a substitute.

Nice theater.

Just over 2 years ago, I went to my first Broadway show in New York. It was an amazing experience, and I kept thinking about it, and wanting more! I actually made it back to New York one more time and got to catch yet another Broadway show, and it just confirmed that I was hooked!
Since then, I’ve purchased season tickets to both Austin and Houston shows, and I have never left disappointed. I’ve seen Avenue Q, Spring Awakening (TWICE!), Spamalot, Grease, and the list goes on… and tomorrow I will be seeing Billy Elliott!
The prices are reasonable — especially compared to what you would pay in New York. There are lots of dining establishments in the area to make a night of it as well!
Please make sure you check out these shows! You will not be disappointed. :)

I just finished my first season in Houston and New Orleans (simultaneously) and I was blown away. I’ve always loved theater, particularly Broadway and off Broadway, and was floored by how good the road shows are.
Some of the shows actually have the original Broadway cast – like Young Frankenstein.
As a season ticket holder, you get to go to all the shows and you get first dibs on tickets for special engagements. Wicked-​tickets-​first-​row kind of dibs. No bribes or other «favors» need be exchanged.
The only downside is that you have tickets to *every* show with a season ticket. I like going to every show, but I could tell that not everyone around me does. I ended up trading for tickets to Avenue Q in NOLA and was in the upper-​crust-​stodgy-​old-​money section. And let me tell you, they did not crack a smile for the whole performance! They were almost as funny as the puppets on stage.

It was GaGREAAATTTTTTTTT!!!
The Ga is silent!
I came here in February for Cirque Dreams: illumination but came back again now for Wicked.
This company brings great acts to Houston. It’s nice to be able to have such great culture along with food, and many other things is such a diverse city.
Wicked itself made for a wonderful «Broadway» experience. I had heard so much about this show and was wondering if it would live up to the hype. It did indeed and surpass it in every way possible. The most fun I’ve had in a LONG time.
The show itself was comical in the dialog, the special effects were memorizing, but the thing that stood out the most was the set. It was so cool to see how the stage was transformed in between scenes with such intricate backgrounds.
I want to come back for Billy Elliot or Mamma Mia!

This is by far my favorite thing about Houston. Moving from NYC, I figured I would never see a Broadway show ever again. SO happy that I found this! I’m pleasantly suprised at the quality of shows that have come through. Spring Awakening, Wicked, In the Heights, Phantom of the Opera, Jersey Boys, to name a few! I am a season subscriber, and with that it allows you to switch tickets if you are unable to make your alloted day, and you get to purchase tickets to upcoming *special* events before they go on sale to the general public. As with all Broadway shows, they always start on time, only problem I have is I wish they would begin at 7, rather than 8 pm, but they did recently send a survey out about that.

I went here with my wife the other night for the first time. We went to see «A Bronx Tale», with Chazz Palminteri. It was fantastic. The entire theater was very classy. Me and my wife wore jeans and a casual shirt, but we think next time we are really going to «dress up». Unfortunately there arent many places to really dress up and go in Houston.
The show was excellent. The staff was exceptionally nice. We cant wait to catch some other performances there.

I’m with Farrah A on this one. While I generally do not hit up the theatre as much as I would like, this was a great show! While I did not expect much from «Spring Awakening» I was plesently surprised. Broadway Across America is awesome because they bring this show and others to Houston… helping to make the art scene down here that much greater.
I defiantly hope to make another show this season or next! With tickets starting in the $ 20 – 30 range I can actually afford to go. I defiantly recommend parking on the side streets for free rather than shelling out the money to park in the garage at the Hobby Center. There is plenty, you just have to look for a few minutes.

I’m not much the theatre buff as I’d like to be – and oh, how I love going to the theatre — but I know what I like, and I know an entertaining, inspiring and jaw-​dropping show when I see it.
I had the opportunity of screening «Spring Awakening» this evening, and I have to say it was a spectacular show. (And I think I’m going to come back for a second viewing.) Broadway Across America did a fabulous and tasteful job pumping up the city for this stellar show. I can’t tell you how many friends of mine were excited to catch this musical tonight and in the coming days.
Broadway Across America brings Broadway to more than 40 different cities, thankfully including Houston. Shame on me for missing «The Lion King,» «Avenue Q» and «The Color Purple,» but I do look forward to catching the next few shows: «A Bronx Tale» (with — in my opinion — badboy older man hottie Chazz Palminteri), «Legally Blond» (in Austin), «Wicked» and «Avenue Q» (in Austin) and «The Wizard of Oz.» YES! My favorite childhood movie! Look forward to taking my folks to that one — as if I don’t play that movie enough reminiscing with them at their home.
Whoa. Now that I’m checking out Austin’s page and bookmarking every show to buy tickets, I’m getting a little offended. But that’s probably because most of these musicals already toured Houston and I just missed them. Blah.
Tickets are reasonably priced at the mid 20s and higher, and seating at the Hobby Center leaves no bad seat in the house … unless you happen to sit by a typical Texan madam with large hair. Parking can be done street side or in the lots along infront and behind the Hobby Center at $ 7 a vehicle.
If you make any resolution this year, I’d say it’d be to get more involved in theatre companies in the city, either by becoming a member, or just relaxing and enjoying fabulous entertainment with your family. Happy New Year, Houston.