Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts — Attraction in Raleigh

I attended the NCMA's Jazz Concert Series with performances from Grammy winners Samara Joy & Robert Glasper this evening. The show was moved from the NCMA park amphitheater to the Martin Marietta Center due to threats of a thunderstorm. I was grateful and in awe at how quickly the NCMA and Martin Marietta Center put this together for us. I really enjoyed this venue, the comfortable seating and the staff. The only thing this venue is missing is new railing for all the stairs throughout the theater. Older folks had a hard time climbing and going down the stairs without any support. Young women in heels as well. Street Parking is available along E. South St near the signs that are marked 2 hour. If you have money to burn, the Municipal parking lots are available as well at a cost.

My friend and I purchased lawn seating with low expectations and were blessed with great seats inside the theater tonight for the show. Samara Joy was truly a joy to watch tonight. This young lady has a stage presence and talent for putting on a entertaining show. As a daughter of a late jazz musician, Jazz music is all about storytelling. Samara gets that. I anticipate more from her. Her range and enthusiasm for commanding an audience will always be memorable to me. Robert Glasper is an experience. His music is not for everyone. He fuses Jazz and Hip Hop into a unique one of a kind sound that commands the attention of whoever his audience is. Robert is an entertainer who brings all the fun and games and then some to the stage. The acoustics were great in this theater.

I visited again 2 years later this evening and the staff was phenomenal during the Orchestra Noir show. The hospitality was unmatched. My favorite performaning arts venue by...

This is one of my favourite venues! I come here to see the shows that don’t come to Virginia (or at least to Chrysler Hall) such as all the wonderful Mexican 🇲🇽 acts like Ana Barbara, Los Tigres del Norte, Pedro Fernandez, Intocable, and others! I find both venues to be beautiful, but if I had to pick, I like this venue better than Chrysler Hall to be honest.

The view of the stage is better, you don’t have to worry about climbing up stairs to balconies or taking elevators, sound quality is decent, and parking is fairly convenient (no parking garages!). Sure, the drive there is a pain in the butt (almost three hours for me), but I would rather come here than to miss out on the wonderful shows that the Martin Marietta Center has!

I will add that the house staff are extremely hospitable, the security do everything they can to assure everything goes smoothly and do so respectfully (the Mexican shows can get a bit out of hand), the bathrooms are always clean, and even though the merch may not always be a lot (that’s probably more of an event organiser type of thing), but it’s easily accessible right by the entrance. If I have one thing that I could suggest, I would suggest hiring more Spanish-speaking staff so there won’t be any miscommunication with the show goers.

Thank you so much for having good shows and I can’t wait to to see more...

First Frankenstein was awesome. Nutcracker was bad. Great venue, beautiful building, clean facilities, easy to find access points, minimal waiting, nice helpful staff. Saw Frankenstein in the left most auditorium called Fletcher. Even in the back seat on second upper floor, views were great. Some parts of the play, such as written screens toward the back top, were cut off, but otherwise was lovely seeing the ballet dancers and the orchestra. They also have coffee, snacks, and alcoholic drinks for sale. Also saw Nutcracker in the larger middle auditorium. Again, acoustics were great. However the play was full of children, so I was disappointed at how little actual ballet there was and in short spurts. Ballet pieces did not match the music in intensity, style, or difficulty. I will say the sugar plum fairy herself was a solid ballerina. The seating was up close on the middle front near the orchestra but it wasn't staggered enough for you to be able to see clearly above the head of the person in front of you. Consider that when purchasing tickets. Parking options include a paid lot across the street $10 or so, garages that are $10, and my preferred, free street parking all around...