A Quick Note About

CenterStage is a theater house which can be found in the heart of Baltimore city in the Mt. Vernon district (look for the George Washington monument, go east two blocks and you'll be close by). I just want to say a few words about the establishment there and nothing in particular about any performances. I've patronized this establish twice so far and have found it to be fairly amiable.

There are two different stages, The Pearlstone and The Head theaters, which are both fairly small but comfortable. Their size yields a decent amount of intimacy between the audience and the performers, as well as it serves to carry the acoustics (which is adequate). They've got cheaper seats in the mezzanine which aren't much worse than the better seats (seats differ from C through A Preferred and usually different by a $40 range). From what I have sampled in the way of entertainment was quite enjoyable; I believe they employ good talent.

Their online ticket purchasing is fair and odd but seems to lack security. Where many online credit purchases check the card holder's appropriate billing address, CenterStage simply allows the purchase. Their purchasing process is also a bit odd. While timed purchases are not uncommon online, being timed while signing of for a required online account after the ticket selection has been made is a bit strange and, I feel, unnecessary. Furthermore, their online diagram of approximate seating locations sucks. It's essential to either know the theater from first hand experience or to bring up a detailed map of the seating details which is wonderfully hidden in a hyperlink at the end of some easily overlooked web page.

Outside of their theaters they have some pretty comfortable lounge areas both downstairs and upstairs to enjoy a drink from the bar which is close by. The bar area, while small itself, is warm and alluring. The selection, I'm afraid, is not. I purchased both their "Premium" house red (a Shiraz!) initially for $7 and then later a glass of their plain old "House" red (a Merlot) for $5. And though the bar tenders were friendly and prompt the quality of drink wasn't what I think it should have been. Bad drinks within the vicinity of a theater are not uncommon by my experience but I think this is not a good detail of the common experience.

I've not yet poked in for some of their special offers of backstage discussions with the casts or anything like that but I do find the possibility to be intriguing. Were I a rich man I believe I'd invest in CenterStage. I might invest more if I could make the stipulation of getting better booze, a better website, and more Sondheim in the line up. Otherwise, CenterStage is a nice place to enjoy a show.