The Steve Allen Theater

Located in the Center for Inquiry building, the Steve Allen Theater is a convenient, full-​service performance venue. Unlike other small theaters on Santa Monica, it features a large, free parking lot. The space itself is comfortable and generously sized, with acceptable acoustics, a snack bar and even a lending library.
For those interested in comedy and experimental performance art, the SAT is the longstanding home of Trepany House – an arts nonprofit presenting genres from horror to theological explorations. I recently saw Marc Maron perform an epic two-​hour set in support of the organization. Even from the fourth row, I felt intimately connected to the stage.
Onsite purchases at the box office and concessions stand appear to be cash only. However, many shows offer online ticketing beforehand with other payment methods. Enjoy the décor, celebrating secular thinkers such as Bertrand Russell and Robert Ingersoll!

This tiny, unassuming theatre could earn you some serious cool points on your next date. Both times we attended, it was to see Bill Burr perform. Once in the summer and once on my birthday.
I am amazed at how intimate this theatre is. We sat in the second row both times. There aren’t many seats to begin with, so you are guaranteed a good view. Tickets are purchased online and you check-​in at the will call counter once doors open. One of the things I love about indie theatres is that there’s none of those two drink minimum charges.
Private free parking lot. We didn’t know this the first time and ended up parking on Hollywood. It was late enough that meters weren’t running so that was free, as well. BYOB and concessions sold there. Cans of soda and small bags of popcorn for $ 2, I overheard someone say.
Burr doesn’t advertise his local shows. He will sometimes tweet about it, which was how the boyfriend found out about my birthday show, but it won’t be listed on the events page of his website. He did not disappoint. He tested out new material and embellished on topics he’s touched upon on his podcast. He even did some of his greatest hits. The crowd was awesome and he really played off of that. We had just watched him headline for Delray the night before and didn’t care. I cannot get enough of this man.
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This theater is home to some of the most amazing shows in L.A. Definitely following Steve Allen’s legacy of innovative comedy and great events. One of the best shows here has been running for over a decade: the Tomorrow Show, hosted by Ron Lynch. I’ve seen a LOT of shows here and I’ve enjoyed EVERY SINGLE ONE.

Love, Love, Love this venue! An intimate space with huge talents. This venue is also BYOB with a limited snack bar. I’ve seen a few shows here. Ron Lynch has a great variety show here almost every Saturday. I came here to see Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr. The house was packed yet comfy. Truly an amazing experience. The staff is also very nice. It’s more than worth the underpriced admission.

First off, and you’re going to have to trust me on this if you have not been to the Steve Allen Theater but it has parking… No I am serious a venue in Hollywood, sure it’s east Hollywood but still it has plenty of parking. Now most people wouldn’t expect a review to start with the parking but those people have never tried to see anything in Hollywood.
The theater itself is great they host a variety of shows from science talks to comedians. I’ve seen the tomorrow show a couple of times and recommend it. Definitely sign up for the email list there’s something for everyone to see.
Did I mention the parking?

Nice little theater… I had never been here but it’s a gem if you need to host an event or a screening.
I didn’t host the event I attended, so I’m not sure about rates/​catering, etc… but I will keep this location in mind because it’s a good size for a small to medium sized group, has good tech capabilities and is in a nice location with parking.
An all around good place to put on your list if you plan events in LA.

Great, intimate performance space. Parking lot in the back, nice people = ALL GOOD.
Hope this place sticks around for a very long time.

First, it should be noted that the Steve Allen Theatre is a space that allows artists to experiment. Just based on this mission alone — and seeing the variety of artists they do give a stage/​voice to, I am close to giving this space 5 stars.
But administratively they sell themselves and their presentations short, and as a semi-​regular this is a bit frustrating.
Prior to some shows the email will go out an hour before an event. The result, when an artists has a 2 – 3 month residency, the show can go from having 80 present (yes, then can expand their seating space) to having just 20 present. The same exact artist who had a stellar show less than 30 days prior.
There are also inconsistencies in the lighting and sound. Some shows the lighting is spot on, other times, artists are in the dark and the mic they’re holding is off.
My concern with this lack of consistency in the support they offer artists is that it starts a whole ripple effect of support. 1. it is hard to cultivate new audience members 2. artists get under exposed 3. funding support form regulars might end up in other arts organizations rather than here — which is a shame because again, the Steve Allen Theatre excels at bringing in unique shows and gives a safe, creative environment for artists to experiment in.

I love coming to this theatre. They have some great shows here. It’s a small theatre, but some of the artists are very good. I especially like coming here to see Andy Prieboy! I can’t wait to see him perform again.

My boyfriend took me to a comedy show at The Steve Allen Theater. This review is of the theater, not of the show itself, because the show was not that great.
First of all, there is parking. This is always very nice. And it’s free!
When I walked inside, I felt like I was in a bookstore, it was just a few people talking behind a counter and it had a very intimate to it. But then you see the rest of the lobby and it’s pretty big. It’s also very cold inside.
The actual theater where they do the show is very small. I think it could fit 50 at most. No matter where you sit, you will get a good view of the show. We sat in the second row and the sound clarity is ridiculous in that place. I’m surprised I didn’t hear the comedians breathing.
The building isn’t the most fancy or the most beautiful, but it does it’s job: it provides a place where people can entertain you by turning their tragic stories into comedy.

Thank god for atheism! I got to watch a really controversial and interesting documentary at this theatre called ‘Contradiction’ by Jeremiah Camara that was hosted at the Center for Inquiry.
Atheists United screened this film on Sunday morning at 11am — an ‘atheist church’ meeting. The film was about how Christianity was historically enforced in the American black community to focus on individual salvation rather than more community and ritual-​focused forms of animism. Even the act of kneeling down and praying looks like shackled hands that plead to a slave master and is a method of enforcing control of slaves. Laws were even enacted that granted slaves that practiced religion more rights than those who didn’t. It went into a humanist focus, comparing the rudimentary understanding that most people have with religion, a ‘5^th grade understanding’, to the amazing knowledge we have about the history of the universe that isn’t preached in churches. It’s basically ended with the comparison of the possibilities of monotheistic mythology vs stardust.
The theatre itself seems perfect for small movie screenings. There were perhaps room for 100 people. It was clean, seats were ample and the quality of the projection was pretty good. It’s a great outlet for critical documentaries to be shown. There was also a question-​and-​answer session afterwards, which came with it a lot of verbose responses. There is a projected screening at the front of the theatre for those who wanted to eat pizza and minestrone soup at the front tables.
There is a smaller group in another part of the building for atheist kids! I kind of wonder what they learn and if they have a coloring book.
All in all, it was a great place to watch a critical documentary. It felt more educational than entertaining, and I look forward to seeing more documentaries here. My friend asked me why such a place exists when you can have discussions about atheism or watch videos on Reddit, and other sites. I said they weren’t showing this documentary online and I believe you learn more when you’re with others than just reading or watching stuff in an isolated space on the internet.
Thank you for funding this place Steve Allen!

I came here last year to watch «Fellowship! The Musical Parody of The Fellowship of the Ring» and it was amazing. And I am so grateful to the Steve Allen Theater for giving them the space to perform it.
I was only able to come once, but this theater is great. It has its own large parking lot, so you don’t need to worry about searching for street parking. The theater is a decent size but still cozy and intimate and every seat has a good view of the stage. The chairs are not comfortable theater chairs but you will be so entertained by the shows here that it won’t bother you. The bathrooms are small but clean. The only downside is that they don’t really have a lobby area inside the building, so if you come early you’re forced to wait outside in a line. Which is not so great if it’s really cold outside (don’t worry about rain though; it’s a covered area). While it’s probably a good idea to eat and drink before coming here, they do have a small snack bar inside. Definitely interested in coming back to seeing some more shows here.

Just saw Andy Prieboy here last Thursday and I’m coming back to see him again in October. This is a COOL little theater. First of all, it’s SMALL, which means every seat is good… and they are good, and comfy, too! I’ve only seen the one show so far, so in this case, the parking in the lot was free and seemed like plenty for the number of seats here. Then, we kind of milled about outside the building entry doors until they opened and we gave our name and was marked off the ticket list and then milled about outside the actual theater doors inside, until those opened. Then we walked in and up to the front row. yea! Small stage, but perfect for the only three people that comprised this particular show. Good lighting and decent sound.
Inside the building, but outside the theater is a small snack bar with sodas and candy bars. There is no booze, so get your drink on before you come! Also small but clean restroom s are available, but it’s one of those small theaters that you don’t really want to get up in front of everyone unless you really gotta, so hit the ladies before the show starts!
I had an amazing time, of course that was mostly due to the artist and not the venue, but I loved the venue, too… mostly because I love a small intimate venue and this fits the bill. I would be into seeing other shows here even though I live far, far away…

If you’re looking for indie, offbeat shows, this will be your jam. I’ve been to a few shows here (Nevermore, Janet Klein and Her Parlor Boys, Tomorrow! show…) and they have all been great.
The theatre is small (and a tad on the «quaint» side. aka uncomfortable chairs.) and has a very intimate feel to it, which works well for most of the shows that they have here. The prices are always affordable too. Keep your eye out for their programming. every once and a while they have a bigger act like Eddie Izzard do a show here too.
Perhaps the best part… free parking lot! A miracle in this city.

Where all the hipsters hang.
Thus far I’ve watched two shows here Reanimator & a magic show by Rob Zabrecky. Both shows were excellent and I would totally recommend them.
The venue is like a small auditorium with actual chairs for seats nothing fancy. The sound is not bad, but nothing mind blowing. This place is appropriate and functional for the type of art it represents, parking is also free.

LOVE this theater! A long time ago a friend and I happened to be at Skylight and we saw an ad for An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe for $ 10, one-​man show. We figured great, we can’t lose. The show was fantastic. Who doesn’t love Edgar Allan Poe’s short fiction and poetry? Especially when the man portraying Poe gets progressively drunker over of the course of the evening (which becomes, by the end, quite sad). It was so well acted and planned that they extended the show’s run and raised the price (and rightfully so).
Since then I’ve seen a tribute to the late great Mitch Hedberg and Re-​Animator! Mitch Hedberg’s tribute had footage of Hedberg and sets by other comedians, which were amazing. Then a friend made the mistake of telling me that she wanted to see a musical for her birthday. I told her we could see Les Mis OR we could go see Re-​Animator, sit in the front rows, and have blood splattered on us. She agreed to Re-​Animator! and it was so much fun.
Most fervently recommend.

A really basic venue, but it features some excellent productions. The staff here are generally very helpful and the amenities, as stated are neighborhood theater, but what it lacks in wow, it makes up in heart.

What a great little theatre space! My friend is currently performing in Re-​Animator the musical (which is awesome and a must-​see, but that’s another post altogether).
I actually drove past the place several times without remembering that it’s part of the CFI and there’s no real signage for the Steve Allen Theatre itself… certainly nothing that would be apparent when cruising on Hollywood trying not to piss off the drivers behind you. Once I got over that minor hump it was smooth sailing for the rest of the evening.
Parking is free, which is awesome and the gate stays open until 2 am, so you can even go grab a drink or quick bite to eat after the show without having to move your car.
As noted, the space is pretty small, so if you’re picky about where you sit then get there early. Having said that though, I can’t imagine that there’s really a bad seat in the house. The staff were very nice and all in all it was a lovely night out… I plan on going back again.

‘Twas the stage where I saw ‘Nevermore’;
Also lectures by skeptics galore…
A quaint little space
Part of CFI’s place,
Check their schedule to see what’s in store.

I had no idea that this place existed…
Thanks Unilocalers for letting me know about the BYOB! Came here last week to see Akron/​Family (
) and did they rocked out! The theater reminded me a lot like a 70s/​80s school. It could be because most of the patrons look like they’re locals, recycling their pa and ma’s clothes. You have the smokers outside looking cool. To the right you have the kitchen where they sell candy bars and soda pops. The bathrooms are down the hall in the back (there’s only one hallway). The space where the bands play is intimate, and to be honest, the space was too small for the Akron/​Family (psychedelic alternative rock music –best description) but perfect for smaller or quieter bands/​musicians like the Hollywood Hotshots (a great band that plays 30s & 40s music) and the funny, awkward Charlene Yi.
I’m happy to discover this place. The Steve Allen Theater offers a bunch of not-​your-​norm events like «Cartoon Dump» and «Love Can Be Scary.» They had «Kids in the Hall» here before… And if you’re like me and wondering who the hell is Steve Allen? Here you go:
There’s a parking lot (believe it’s free), and if it’s full you can find parking on Hollywood Blvd or take the subway to there.