State Theatre Center for the Arts — Attraction in Easton

While this is a beautiful old theatre, and the musicians performing (Joe Bonnamasa) were absolutely amazing there are a few reasons I likely won't ever return to the State Theatre.

Firstly, parking. We did find a public pay lot on 4th Street? (one block east) that allowed us to park for free (nice surprise), however, it was so packed we ended up on the very top tier (5 stories high). We got there an hour before the show thinking we'd find better parking but no luck.

It also was unclear that parking would be free. Had we known, we probably wouldn't have driven around for 15 minutes searching for parking. If it was somewhere in their website I didn't see it. (It may be there, I am not sure)

If you are handicapped, you should know that access to the venue from the parking garage requires a rather steep uphill incline to climb from the parking structure to the front doors. The parking structure does have elevators, but the sidewalk and street are both long and very steep.

The venue: A LOT of stairs. If you decide to get seats here, be aware that anything above the main floor requires a significant climb upstairs. If they have an elevator, I didn't see it. The line for the drinks/bar were fairly long, but moved quickly. (About a 15 minute wait). They do however let you buy whatever drink you'd like and as much as you can carry. They have beer, wine, cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages for surprisingly reasonable prices overall. The Bartender was terrific (5 Stars) made me 2- double Vodka Tonics and I bought my buddy 2-beers, all in it was under $40 including the $10 tip I gave him!

The Show: Great band! (5 stars), Great sound (4 Stars), OK view of the stage from anywhere really (3 Stars). It's a fairly intimate venue similar to venues like the Beacon Theatre or Irving Plaza, just steeper and perhaps smaller by a few hundred seats.

Biggest complaint: VERY cramped seats. I'm a fairly average sized guy (5'11-200lbs) as is my buddy, the arms of the chairs do not move and the seats are maybe 14"-15" wide so if you're a "plus sized person" you'll need a can opener to get yourself in and out of the seat. Very snug. Uncomfortably so. The seats behind and in front of you are extremely close. The guy behind me kept accidently kicking the back of my seat but turning around to ask him to please stop required me to stand up because my head was basically right by his shins / knees while seated. Again Very steep seating and very tight. You'll want an aisle seat if you're planning on coming here. Getting out to go to the bathroom from anywhere else than the aisle would have been a really tough tight squeeze (requires everyone to stand up to pass them)

Overall I would love to recommend this place, but for me, the steep grade from the parking garage, The expensive tickets, The rather unpleasant seating, etc. Make this my last concert here sadly.

Tickets: (I'm not sure if the State Theatre has anything to do with this problem*) My friend bought the tickets online through Live Nation/Ticketmaster and paid $250/ea (even though the face value was only $99.

Apparently Ticketmaster only had "Certified Pre-Owned" seats (the day they went on sale) and were seeking them for 2.5x their face value. (With a disclaimer at the bottom of the ticket that read "Do not purchase this ticket for more than it's face value" ,🤣🤬)

This is and has been an ongoing theme with the monopoly known as Ticketmaster IMHO as I've experienced this same phenomenon at other venues and concerts as well, especially these days, so whether or not the State Theatre was allowing this to go on knowingly or unwittingly is unclear.

Overall: I want to say that everyone working there was very nice, professional, and diligent. The staff did their very best to help accommodate us. The merch vendors were superb, the bathrooms very clean and well maintained, the theatre was very clean. If not for the logistical and seating...

I was recently a guest with my wife at the theater for Rock of Ages, a musical of 80's rock songs. This was my first (and last) time at the theater.

The urge to let out a few lines of these classic songs during the show shouldn’t be unexpected. This particular show is more a rock concert than a theatrical masterpiece.

During the show I casually made a few comments to my wife and occasionally sang along, but didn't once believe or get the impression my conduct was a disruption.

In the second act I noticed a staff member, who I'd find out was the house manager Frank Kutch, standing directly over my shoulder, maybe as intimidation. Later in the act he suddenly bent down to yell "be quiet" followed by threats of ejection. My attempts to respond were futile. He seemed determined to instigate a confrontation. He stated that no noise is permitted within the theater for a former Broadway show. While I can appreciate that, this isn't your typical Broadway musical either and that seems a bit extreme in any case. It was falsely claimed I was previously warned and they went so far as to place blame on my wife.

I must have caught the ire of the staff for not being completely subdued and I was told by other guests they too were scolded by the staff to keep quiet during the show. I now realize that the theater expects a comatose audience, with little consideration for the type of performance.

I understand enforcing a certain etiquette, or having to address complaints, but it should be done with decency and discretion, not by intimidation and bullying. Based on my experience, they choose the latter in dealing with guests they interpret to have violated the sanctity of their theater and are willing to forego integrity in justifying their actions. There may be courteous staff at the theater, but the house manager is a poor example.

If you do choose to attend a show at the theater you could be confronted for relatively innocuous behavior. You may want to clarify beforehand what behavior is acceptable at your particular show.

There are positive experiences in other reviews, and perhaps they do relax some rules for other performances, but that wasn't the case on this night, and I believe staff were ill-prepared.

The head of the theater Shelley Brown did agree to a refund after multiple requests, but refused to accept responsibility.

The show itself is fun and entertaining, that is, if you're allowed...

In July of 2013 our community newspaper ran a full page ad on the State Theater and the shows available till spring of 2014. What a wonderful ad and so many great performances for the coming fall. winter and spring seasons. I was anxious to join your organization and buy tickets and have the availability to purchase front row seats. I am a senior citizen living on a fixed income and for gifts for my family I purchased tickets. We are lovers of the music arts. I saw the 50's Rock and Roll Party, and ABBA Mania. What a wonderful time we had. I had tickets for the Wizards of Winter but to my dismay I was unable to use them. Although I paid less than $75.00 for them. On the day of the performance the weather in the Philadelphia area was inclement with hazardous driving. I called the theater and also sent an E-mail once the snow storm started at noontime, to find out what provisions are made for these weather conditions. I was told, NONE. No refunds. If the performers make it, the show must go on. Sure, the performers will make it. They are probably staying in a local hotel with an escort by the police dept. or fire dept. or any other dept. that can make sure the performers will arrive. What about the patrons who have to travel 2 hours from their homes? I have to depend on someone to bring me and I was not about to ask someone to travel in hazardous weather and road conditions to take me to a show, which I feel in all honesty should have been cancelled. Put yourselves in our position. The person who was going to drive me would have been on the road till probably 10:00 PM on Sunday evening. Would you want someone in your family riding around in snow and ice? I do not think so. I, and I am sure you and your organization would not like to put someone's life in jeopardy for $75.00. You request for patrons, but yet you have no provisions for them when it comes to inclement weather. I honestly feel your theater/organization should rethink the provisions for patrons once the winter comes and the weather becomes UNSAFE. I will give plenty of thought about rejoining your organization in the summer of 2014. For a non-profit organization, how much money was made by your organization by people who did not show on Sunday, December 8, 2013. It would not surprise me if people that had an hour or two drive were unable to maneuver the road conditions in order to see the...