Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

PROS: (1) Excellent seating arrangement with cushy seats that are still firm. Even the «cheap seats» have a good view because the venue is pretty small (26 — 30 rows?) (2) Easy to find the restrooms, without much walking, which could be a plus for the elderly. (3) Clean, well-​lit venue. (4) A cash bar with $ 2 water is always a welcome sight. (5) A pleasant walking area awaits you. (6) I love the gift shops at these places, even if they are a bit pricey.
CONS: (1) Parking is the usually unpleasant Scottsdale parking. Street parking was already full at 6:30 p.m. The garage which was very close to the venue was already full at 6:30, also. The next closest garage (according to Google Maps) was Very confusing and difficult to navigate. There were blockades positioned in weird patterns, and someone in our party thought it was only for valet parking. I think it changes to valet parking later in the evening when the clubs start getting busy. (2) Although the seats were pleasant for the bum and moderately pleasant for a short person, there was little elbow room. In fact, my partner and I sat with interlocking arms. (3) They need more signs to identify the entrance if you are not coming from the main road (which you won’t be due to scavenging for parking).

Another summer series begins and we were on the edge of our seats. Acoustics and lighting are good. Seats are comfortable, if not luxurious. First performance for this season was a local home town ensemble. Box office has multiple windows, so there’s no waiting and smiling faces. A large lobby and a great gift shop. Restrooms are relaxing with a rainbow of changing lights. Check the schedule for Friday nights for July & August and head down to the Center for a cool, comfortable and entertaining musical evening.

There was a great event I attended recently but sound system was awful. Hope to see it to get fixed asap.

I was in an event on last Tuesday in this center. It was very terrible sound system. A lot of people were unhappy :(((

The food vendors were all top notch. The only downside was you had to pay an additional $ 20 to get into the beer garden and if you had children with you, it was a total no go. I would go back again next year.

Trying to buy tickets — trying to GIVE them money. Their website sucks so much that I’m now allowed to buy tickets. Supposedly, there are «best seats available for the performance» I want to see. Supposedly, the tickets go into my cart, but then I’m informed the cart is empty! Wow! The disappearing tickets.
Massive fail. Spent over an hour and a half over the week-​end trying to buy tickets. Ridiculous amateurs. Extremely unhappy.

Went to the Scottsdale Center For the Performing Arts & Virginia G Piper Theatre for The Capitol Steps. The center and theatre was nice. The show was also nice.

I only went to the gift shop but it was super cute. Lots of variety. I found the perfect gift for a friend of mine. Plus, the two folks behind the counter were very sweet and extremely helpful.

Been to 2 concerts this year. Can’t understand the artist words when they sing. Ushers are RUDE! Won’t be back again!

Ive seen two classical type concerts here and really enjoyed the venue. It was very beautiful, the acoustics were nice, and there was plenty of seating. What killed it for me was how long it takes to get a student ticket and the ushers. To get a student ticket the had to take my student ID and fill out a ton of information making my friends and I almost miss the first piece. Also the ushers are just AWEFUL. They let people in IN THE MIDDLE OF PIECES. And they talk to people and turn on flashlights in the middle of pieces to guide people to their seats. Now I understand how they are trying to be kind to their patrons, but this is really distracting to the performers. They can simply wait until the end of the piece or movement to seat people. The ushers are also really rude and impatient with people. My friend was playing in the second half of the concert and wanted to watch the first half and they said a snarky remark about needing a ticket. Are you serious?
All the aside the venue itself is beautiful and performances at the center are always enjoyable.

Scottsdale Arts Festival is a really great time. Two stages with rotating live musical acts, lots of food trucks (lineup perhaps borrowed from Food truck Fridays), and of course plety of local artists sharing their work. The grounds provide a perfect setting, lots of grass and shade trees for those sunny days. I’d say I prefer this event of Tempe’s Festival of the Arts mainly because of better food choices and a prime location. We parked at a church for $ 5, and walked less than a block to make it to the fest’s entrance gate. Admission is $ 8 per adult, there are activities for kids (they were making some sort of brimmed hat with paper bags) — so it’s really fun for the entire family.
Yes, alcohol is served on site– and there are festival stewards everywhere to ask questions or get recommendations. Unfortunately, we ate prior to the festival so we only got to smell the food and not taste. Make sure you take time to visit the next go around, you won’t be disappointed.

A beautiful, cozy, arts center in downtown Scottsdale. I’ve seen a reading of short stories and also a concert. If I lived closer, I’d go more often. The box office staff and ushers are professional and friendly. There’s a little shop with books and gifts and jewelry, perfect for pre-​show browsing.
The only downside might be walking down the stairs inside the auditorium if you’re seated down front, but they do have an elevator if you prefer.

Fantastic place to see a show as every seat is a great seat! The parking is convenient, plentiful and free too.

Recently, I was able to take advantage of Unilocal’s generous offer of two free tickets to see Love, Loss & What I Wore on their special «social media night.
Everything went smoothly from the initial picking up of the tickets at will call, browsing the gift shop with many interesting, crafty and unique items, to being seated and watching the performance. The lighting, sound system and climate control are all impressive. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to tweet during the performance, but I probably didn’t have the wifi on my phone set up correctly.
That was my first visit to the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and look forward to returning.

Came to see Love, Loss and What I Wore. My first time seeing a show here — what a beautiful venue! I was impressed with everything from the lobby, to the service at the bar, and even the bathrooms!
Our seats were in the special «social media» rows where we could tweet during the show. What a cool concept! Not sure if it was the idea of the show producers or the theater, but I thought it was a fun thing to do and hope they do it for future shows as well.
Definitely looking forward to coming back for future shows & events here!

A friend and I went here last night to watch the special Q&A night performance of Love, Loss & What I Wore. It was my first time ever coming to this theatre despite all the many, many, many times I’ve walked past it and admired it from the outside.
The Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts is a gorgeous venue. The lobby it self is incredibly contemporary and modern looking with plenty of spots to sit and lounge before you head in to your show. And the theatre itself is a very nice one with lots of wood panels and a great view of the stage, no matter where you sit.
I was actually sitting in the Unilocal section, as they were the event’s media sponsor. Thanks for brining me along Mary! Our row, along with 2 others, were the Tweet Seats, which means we were allowed to tweet during the performance using a special hash tag and their wifi password. They asked us to post questions for the Q&A session after the performance. It was pretty neat… especially since one of my questions was chosen!

We had the pleasure of visiting last night to watch Love, Loss & What I Wore. This was my first visit to this theatre and I was impressed. The main entrance is actually off the street and very nice. The lobby is contemporary with plenty of seating and a cute little gift shop. They were extremely well organized at the ticket booth and the refreshment area. I liked the fact that we could take our wine into the show with us as long as it had a lid on that they provided. As for our seats even though we were up toward the top we had a great view. This is definitely the type of place where you can say there is not a bad seat in the house.

The last time I was here was about a decade ago to see Baryshnikov perform with a friend of mine which was cool because we got to go backstage after the show. And while the performance was amazing, the space left something to be desired.
That’s why I was so impressed when I returned recently and saw how they have renovated the space. The formerly sterile walls have been covered with natural wood acoustic panels and the formerly boring seats have been replaced as well. The atmosphere is now inviting and warm and the acoustics have been improved greatly.
It’s great to see that the Valley has another quality location to see a show or a concert and with all the choices in the area for dining and drinks, the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts is a prime location for a great evening out.

We came here last evening to listen to that great voice which is Mandy Patinkin. Wow it was even better than we could have imagined.
His vocal range is incredible. He started with some old old Broadway tunes from the 40s and 50s. Then moves on and starts softly speaking these words without music:
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see
So you say to yourself. No! He’s not going to sing it. And, he doesn’t. He just leads into the middle of another old Broadway tune. So you think, what was that? Well, it was a tease.
He starts having a dialogue with the audience about his marriage and wife. But then comes back to it. Now accompanied by Paul Ford on the piano. He sings the entire song. Bohemian Rhapsody. All the parts. Wow! Freddie Mercury would have been proud!
That’s how the evening went. Interspacing old show tunes with some more recent melodies. He sang a few from Steven Sondheim’s «Sundays in the Park with George». It was a show he was nominated for a Tony. The best of the night, was his singing of Oh Shenandoah. What made it special was his stopping midway to recite the first part of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. He goes back to Oh Shenandoah, then finishes the second half of Gettysburg Address and the last verse of Oh Shenandoah. Absolutely beautiful.
Surprisingly no tunes from Evita. A show he won the Tony for his role of Che, and made famous with Patti Lepone. He finished the evening with a tune from the movie Ragtime and the music of Randy Newman.
There were two curtain calls. He and his pianist Paul Ford looked exhausted after a non-​stop ninety minutes. We left feeling as if we had just enjoyed something special. This was our first time to the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and we were very impressed.

Thanks to Unilocal and Lindsey F., I was able to attend Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts’ Talk Cinema series and watch the thought-​provoking film «Melancholia,» starring Kirsten Dunst, Kiefer Sutherland, and Charlotte Gainsbourg (and an impressive supporting cast, as well!). I will admit that I LIKED the film, even though people around me didn’t. (In fact, the more I think about the film, the more I’m enamored w/​the story.)
Last night was my first visit to the venue, and I’m impressed! Loved the stadium seating; open-​air feel; and its excellent video and sound systems. The lobby was very spacious, which I love, and seems to be a nice area to relax and socialize while waiting for a show/​event to start. Since I’d already eaten before joining up w/​other Unilocalers for this event, I do not know if the venue offers refreshments, but I’m assuming it does, since other art theaters do; I will investigate further into the matter on my next visit, which I hope will be very soon!
Te Vaka or Late-​Nite Catechism, anyone?
One complaint: Leg space is a bit cramped. Thank goodness the older couple in front of us left (about ¾ into the movie), because I then could stretch my legs in front of me. I’m sorry they felt they had to leave, but I’m grateful for the extra space! LOL
FYI: The opening sequences (specifically the planet scenes and the music score) hailed similarities to Terence Malick’s «Tree of Life,» which I felt was too indulgent– liked a few scenes, but overall did not enjoy the film– perhaps my opinions will change if I give it another chance, but truth be told, the movie was so long and left me feeling so distanced, I doubt I want to spend any more of my time on Earth watching it again!). I think Lars von Trier, the cast, and crew did fantastic work on «Melancholia.» If you like deep and though-​provoking films, make sure to search for this!