Riverside Theater

Bill Maher was great. Love him. Theatre is beautiful.
Problems began when the audience was so crass as to constantly interrupt Mr. Maher’s performance to the point where he actually had to ask «the theatre» to intervene. I was so embarrassed for Milwaukee. Worse, I did not see any «theatre people» handling the unruly patrons.
When a person behind us asked the ushers/​safety people to take care of two women behind him who were talking constantly during the show and making all of us around them furious, it was poorly handled and we ended up having four people talking over Mr. Maher instead of the original two as the ushers/​safety people talked and talked and talked to those two patrons. Infuriating.
Reminds me why I seldom go to these type of things as much as I want to. Good manners and civility are so lacking. As is any real ability of ushers to take care of problem people.

Love this venue and saw Aretha Franklin tonight. She is a true professional and we loved every minute of her on stage. We spent extra because we wanted to be up front… love Aretha. My complaint… while Ms. Franklin was performing there was a mix up with seats in the front. It took way too long to straighten out. Too many people standing in the middle of the isle and blocking the view. Not to mention being so disrespectful to the true artist on stage. Should have been handled better. Please… get it together.

Beautiful old theater with great sound. A great place to catch a show.

I saw Garbriel Iglesias on Thursday April 26.2016. His show was very good and funny. He went way beyond his «contractual agreement» Those were his words. He was very interactive with the audience. He was very appreciative of everyone showing up to see his Thursday show. His show ended about 11:30pm. I would gladly see him the next time he comes to Milwaukee. His part of the show was very family friendly. His 3 opening acts were not so family friendly. Great show and great time was had for anyone coming for a good laugh.

They need to give this place a face lift. The inside wall décor was chipping, had holes and white spackel mud on the gold trim on the ceiling. Very unfinished looking. Great beer prices though for a theater.

Watching comedian Gabriel Iglesias perform :) The venue is easily accessible, glamorous, bar to get drinks during intermission and they make them well! Yay!

One of the great things about living in a big (ish) city is having great spaces to see concerts and touring comedians etc. Milwaukee is very fortunate to have the Pabst, Riverside and and turner hall.
All are fantastic places to see a live event. I can’t even count the number of shows I’ve seen here through the years and I can’t believe I’ve never written a review on Unilocal (yet). Historic places without that old and moldy feel.
Going to see Fluffy and Louis black this spring. Saw Nora Jones a few months back. Too many other shows to list but all were memorable.
If you haven’t seen a show here yet, it should be on your «Milwaukee to do» list.

What a beautiful venue (see pictures). If you haven’t been I highly encourage you to see a favorite performer here. The theatre’s capacity is not overwhelming but cozily crowded and intimate to enjoy the performance. We saw The Piano Guys here – both firsts. Caveat to women: the line to the bathroom – and it seems there is only one down in lower level – is long pre performances and during intermissions.

The theatre itself is beautiful of course.
Last night, I went to see the Jeff Foxworthy/​Larry Cable guy show.
First. 90% of the people were not given the option to print out the ticket. everyone had to pick up their tickets at will call desk — 30 mins+ of waiting outside in the cold, line. Absolutely an idiotic plan — I don’t know whose dumb idea this was — whether of the theatre management or of the performer’s team.
Even though these two have done — probably thousands of shows — we could not hear them clearly. The audio system was terrible. I guess if these two were holding the mic closer, we could have heard them better.
The seats are too closely packed. No leg space at all. They were designed years ago, when average american was of average weight. I noticed that so many people were not even fitting in the seats. I am not over weight and i could fit easily but there as almost no leg room. Fortunately, I had the foresight to book an aisle seat.
Over all, it was a terrible experience and I would never go to the Riverside again.

Great classic theater. Ambience is really nice. I’d give it 4 stars for that. Many floors so be prepared for stairs and seating is not ideal. Space between rows is way too small. This is 2 stars. Great location and acoustics.
Overall a good venue for a more intimate concert/​event.

The theater is very nice but if you ever find yourself in the box seats you will not be able to hear. I just came back from seeing Bill Burr and was extremely disappointed with the audio. Not sure how they get off even selling those seats. What a complete rip off.
UPDATE– after emailing the theater to explain what happened, they gave me a full refund. I had just asked for credit for another show. So, while I stand by my original comment, it’s good to know that they are concerned with the experiences of their customers.

Such a gem. It’s the bigger theater in the Pabst family and gets a ton of national acts as a result. Even in the nosebleeds, it’s a great place to see a show. The sound has always been good, and the facilities are constantly being restored and updated.

I’m impressed with the number and variety of bands that come through Milwaukee and it seems like almost everyone of them plays at the Riverside, Turner, or Pabst. (Sidenote: For this reason a Riverside gift card is a GREAT gift idea for anyone in Milwaukee who loves music because they’ll easily find one or five shows to use it towards.)
I’ve been to the Riverside twice in the past few months, first for The Decemberists and recently for Glass Animals. The two bands I’ve seen attracted completely different crowds: at the Decemberists we were pulling the average age down while for the Glass Animals we were pulling it well up, I was literally the only female in the entire theater not wearing jogger pants. Fun to see a venue transcend styles and ages like that. Riverside has great drink options including Lakefront cans, draft beers, and a full bar. One thing I was not aware of was the standing room down in the pit fills up for some shows (they give out a certain number of wristbands) so don’t show up ten minutes before the opener if you want to be down front. The second time we went we got there a little later so we only had seating area access but it wasn’t terrible because we were able to stand near the front corner of the section without blocking anyone’s view. I prefer a venue without the seating because sitting at a indoor show just feels weird to me, I prefer the energy of everyone standing and I gotta get my knee bounce on.
My advice is to get there early to grab a beer, snag a wristband, and check out the beautiful theater. Then, enjoy getting your dance, your sit, or your knee bounce on to the night’s entertainment, whatever it may be.

I’ve seen several shows at the Riverside from energetic rock bands, to more tame acoustic singers, to Dancing With the Stars and I’ve never left disappointed. The ornate, classical detailing of the theatre is incredible and pair that with the amazing acoustics all around the Riverside will provide the best live experience. For general admission concerts you have the option to sit in one of the comfy velvet seats or stand in the pit (my go-​to). If people are standing in the pit, the best seats to get a good view of the stage are in the balcony, but the theatre does have stadium-​style seating, so you should be able to see anywhere (aside from maybe the first few rows on the first floor right behind the pit).
I have yet to see a show at the Pabst, which is a smaller more intimate version of the Riverside, so from my experience this is the best place to see a show.

Saw Kevin Hart here on Friday ⁴⁄₃. Great venue lots of fun very organized and cleaned

I recently saw the Decemberists at Riverside and it was amazing. I haven’t listened to a lot of their music, but it was still an amazing show. But this is a review of the theater, not the band. The theater is absolutely beautiful. I would say its like the Pabst Theater on steroids. Bigger and better! We got there 30 minutes before the show started and got a great spot standing in the pit. I was worried it would take forever to leave the pit in order to get drinks, but it wasnt bad at all. All around it was a great experience. The only complaint would be the location of the restrooms, as they are not super easily accessible.

I saw Neil deGrasse Tyson here (two sold out shows) and it was also my first time to the Riverside. We purchased tickets online, printed them out, and walked right in. There was an incredibly long line hours before for people picking up their tickets, so if that’s the route you’re taking, go early.
The staff was very courteous and knowledgeable. We purchased the left box seats, which I was nervous about because I didn’t know if they would have a good view. When we were shown to our seats, I was pleasantly surprised. The view was pretty awesome! It was closer than I expected, lots of elbow room, a table for beverages, and we weren’t crammed in next to tons of people like much of the floor was. It appeared from up above that the seating on the floor was very tight, no room to cross your legs or squeeze out for a restroom break. I would definitely buy the box seats again before the floor.
The theatre is very cozy, well designed (architecturally) and a little on the old side, but I enjoyed the atmosphere. The drinks are a bit more expensive than I expected, however.

The Riverside just makes me *feel* cool (I am decidedly not cool). It’s a shame my inner NPR geek only lets me come here for public radio related events.
Surprisingly decent acoustics, an incredible capacity for different special effects in the venue, and a friendly staff. The bar has some of the pricier booze out there, but what can you do?
The seats are worse than being on the world’s smallest airplane, though. I’m not a super tall guy – I’m right around six feet and I spend the entire show with my knees pressed into the back of the seat in front of me.
Next time I’ll bring kneepads. (No, I’m not kidding. Again, decidedly uncool.)

As far as beauty this place has it all, but for comfort and space, not at all.
The seats are so tight and so close to the chairs in front of you that you cannot even cross your legs. And forget about sneaking out for a bathroom break or drink during a show because the entire row would have to stand up and get out of the isle to let you through.
if you are ok with that thou, it truly is a beautiful theater!

Love this older theater!
A nice short and sweet review after being here the other day for Amy Schumer. We were sitting in the balcony and had a great view of the stage and a less crowded bar.
The seats are a bit small and does get crowded with the feet for an average size man so make sure you don’t have too many bulky things since it is already a tight fit.
They have a great bar section upstairs for a reasonable price. Really nice staff and overall it is a good venue to view a comedian or musical act.