Atlas Performing Arts Center

The show ‘When January feels like Summer’ was well performed and pretty funny at times. It dealt with many issues: global warming, recycling, compassion to neighbors, feeling comfortable in your own skin. Being open and honest also were part of the dialogue of this play. It had a lot of meat and substance and I really enjoyed this production.

I saw the Aura Curiatlas Physical Theatre this past weekend, and had such a delightful time! I highly recommend checking out the group for an awe-​inspiring show and for whimsical choreography. If you enjoy making eye contact with performers and feeling chemistry up close and personal, then you will love the intimate close proximity of the stage to the audience.
I can’t vouch for the parking as I walked here from my house, but there are plenty of good eateries and bars around this part of H-​Street!

I had the opportunity to visit the Atlas Performing Arts Center this past Saturday evening for a show in the Lab Theatre II. The show, Stone Tape Party, by Nu Sass Productions was great-​highly interactive, rowdy, yet thought-​provoking and artistically driven. Big shout out to the amazing cast! Atlas Performing Arts Center was previously a movie theatre and, if you don’t already know the history of the theatre, the large marquee on the front of the building and the classic box office provide telltale hints of the building’s past. Tickets for this particular show were will call and seating was first come first serve with the box office distributing tickets up to an hour prior to the performance time of 7pm. I recommend getting your tickets around the time they start distributing them, go to one of the many H Street bars for a drink, and then come back maybe 20 minutes prior to start time to claim good seats. While they do have a bar in the theatre lobby area (which also opened at intermission), the mark up is as expected. Also, for this particular show, you could bring drinks into the theatre. This particular theatre was more just a room with chairs that could be rearranged, very no frills. Since this particular show first debuted at Fringe Fest in 2014, I expected it to be pretty minimalistic, however, the set design for this show made great use of the space and the lighting changes were very effective for the story. Just a word to the wise, if you are planning to take the metro, be prepared to walk a mile from either NoMa or Union Station or get an über from there to H Street. They do have valet parking but who wants to drive in DC unless you absolutely must; certainly not I! Atlas is a great place to support local arts and see some performances you would not have the pleasure of seeing at a larger, more commercialized venue.

I’ve passed this theatre many times when walking along the H Street Corridor. I finally get to experience it! This is a great stage and set up. Very intimate. The entire theatre has an old feel but clean, modern version of the one flick theatre from back in the day.
Wine and drinks must be consumed outside of the thatre. Typical.
I hope to attend more events here.

I attended a jazz performers for Jamie Baum, and it was just bad. Honestly! It was waste of money and time. That was anything but jazz to me.
And the parking is impossible, I end up with valet parking for 20 $!
Never gonna come again

Saw a fringe play their, theaters are fine, getting in and out in random and no real nice public space. Glad there are places like this but have been to much better.

Saw a show on Saturday night with the Welders group. Small intimate theatre and fantastic performance. I appreciated the warning that there’s no intermission for the 90 min show and they won’t let you back in for a pee break!
Looking forward to seeing what other shows will be available in the upcoming months!

There are lots of great performances here. Tickets are reasonable and sometimes free. The venue is cozy and comfortable. I attend more church services than shows. Street parking is available but more challenging in the evening. Parking is easier to find and free on weekends.

I recently attended two performances at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Once during the Intersections Festival which was very impressive. The quality of the performance was excellent, creative and interesting. I recommend checking out Intersections if you’ve never been. It runs over three weeks with many different types of shows. Plus they even have trivia contests during the festival where I won a free pair of tickets to any Atlas performance. I promptly cashed that in and hope to see another show soon.
As for the actual facilities, the place is clean and modern. Will call was fast. The Lang theatre has many seats, but has a cozy feel. There’s also stadium seating which results in excellent visibility throughout.

I love this place. I love: the variety of performances, the quality of artists, and Intersections Festival. The Atlas Theater is what drew me to what just a few years ago was known as «The Atlas District». Atlas has blossomed into The Atlas Performing Arts Center, and though my fave H Street hangouts are gone, I continue to offer my patronage to this wonderful DC gem of live performance art.
I have had soooo much fun at The Atlas. I look forward to many more years of discovering new artists, enjoying fave performers, and being awed by new works.

The venue was cozy, and my sis and I had a great night here. Atlas booked a decent gig, so kudos.
Transportation to here is an issue; using public transit would be a pain, and that is the main reason I’d hesitate before coming back. I bought a $ 12 parking spot ahead of time from their website (on IE, website doesn’t work on Chrome) — the lot is a couple blocks down the street. This place is 1.8 mi from Union Station. Parking is limited. So are buses. I looked up the bus situation online (3 buses, from 3 different spots outside Union Station) and quickly figured out that it wasn’t worth it.
I wouldn’t come again unless it was for a specific gig, or because I expected to check out a local place afterwards. The transportation thing isn’t yet sorted out.

Atlas is fantastic. We’ve been there for plays, art, music in the atrium, and now live comedy. We like that the space is so versatile and they seem to take their commitment to the neighborhood seriously. It is easy to buy tickets (though I would probably not advise will call), and the staff is friendly, which is no small feat for management in DC. Parking has gotten more difficult over the years, so plan accordingly. And the good restaurants in the area are PACKED on the weekends, so keep that in mind too.

The Atlas is a wonderful venue. Truly a great place to appreciate the arts.
My favorite time to visit is late February/​early March during the Intersections Festival when it hosts diverse performances (many of them being free) for about 2 weeks straight.
There is a little café that serves drinks (including beer and wine! woowoo) and snacks like chips and candy. Though you will have to chug your beverage before heading into the theater because there is no food or drink allowed. Plus the drinks and snacks were definitely overpriced… but you can consider the extra $ 1.50 for that drink as «support for the arts» hah.
Also a great addition to any date in this area because you can head over after dinner at Granville Moore’s or before drinks at H Street Country Club.

I came here to see the Deaf Monologues show last weekend. This is a nice venue. Doesn’t really look as nice as it really is from the outside. But once you go in, you’ll see it’s been remodeled and they do a good job with the upkeeping of this place. We were in the smaller auditorium close to the snacks and bar service. It seated about 200 people or so. I thought the visual and audio capabilities were good. Only downfall is that the mics needed to be turned up. It was hard to hear at some points but really something that could have been adjusted easily. Something they should have done with testing but… overall great.
The snacks and bar service is a little pricey like any other bar at a theater. They actually carried some unique liquors and beers which I liked. They had a good amount of options compared to other places I have been to. The staff in the building were all very nice and courteous.
I would definitely come back for another show/​event.

My first time there was for a comedy show and the space is amazing! It was so much nicer and modern on the inside than it seems from the outside. The place has a lot of character and multiple theater spaces. They also serve snacks, wine and brews that are normally priced for the venue.

I went and saw the DC Shorts Film Festival here. The space is very nice. It’s very modern and clean. It definitely seemed like you could see from any seat in the auditorium. The show we saw had some sound and picture issues. It made three of the shorts pretty much unwatchable. I’m not sure if it was a venue problem or an event problem though (so I’m not marking the venue down too much for that).
Drinks were a little pricey (which was expected) and they didn’t let us take them into the theater (which I think is lame considering they’re selling them).
I would consider seeing something else here if I found the right event.

My first time at APAC last night was for a Unilocal elite and speakeasyDC event. Really cool venue. I didn’t know what they did, so I picked up a flyer and I’ll definitely be going back.
They have musical performances, art exhibits, dance, film, spoken words, it’s a place for performing arts! How fitting!
The staff was super cool, the lights in the Sprenger theater are a little hot when they’re on full. I guess that’s the case with the most theater lighting though.
From the outside, you’d guess that it’s some retro theater and is a dilapidated, but on the inside it is totally neat. It’s clean, there are some awesome gates on the wall (for show).
It’s definitely a great venue, and I’ll have to try out the other theaters there for other performances!

I came here for Unilocal’s Speakeasy event and must say, what a great event that was! The staff was excellent especially under the hectic conditions of a Unilocal event. The theatre itself was lovely and the show– hilarious. I would definitely come back here for another show.

Super cool venue in one of my favorite DC neighborhoods! The Atlas opened as a 1930s movie theater and now looks much the same from the outside. Sweet, right? Walk inside and it gets even sweeter! Beautiful, modern and expansive with two original air conditioning grates restored and mounted on one wall. They’re about the size of cathedral organ pipes. Now that’s cool! (Get it?)
The Atlas has preserved its history while growing its offerings to include multiple theaters (including black box theaters), arts education programs, dance studio space, and who knows what else. They rotate in a wide variety of shows, and I had the pleasure of seeing one recently in the Lang Theater, the more formal performance space with traditional stadium seating. (Note that I said «more formal,» not «formal» — it’s not fancy, but it is comfortable and intimate!) The best part? A bar/​café counter thing! Right there in the lobby! None of that rolly-​one-​man-​bar-​with-​the-​row-​of-​soda-​cans-​on-​top for the Atlas!
I’m definitely going to be keeping my eye on their calendar, and probably sending my future kids to afterschool programs.

A real gem — we’ve gone to the Atlas a few times this summer to enjoy their summer film series (which has to be one of the great DC secrets– this summer, you could see a different Spike Lee film every Sunday at 4PM for $ 2/​ticket) and it’s a remarkable, beautiful space with amazingly friendly staff (the only downside is that they keep it very, very cold in there).
The Atlas folks make a big hoopla about parking (in fact, they’ll email you a few times to discuss the parking issue) — maybe we’ve always gotten lucky but we’ve found street parking in a few minutes, and it’s never been an issue.
I’d absolutely encourage people to check out the summer films next summer — it’s a great, economical outing — and a fun way to see older films on the big screen.