UC Davis Health Pavilion — Attraction in Sacramento

This theater is the home of Broadway at Music Circus. It is a fantastic venue for a relatively intimate theater experience. It is theater in the round, which is a unique experience but very well executed here. The directors have the actors constantly moving so they face different directions, and when that's not possible, the entire stage spins to face different directions. They use minimal stage dressing so that props will not block anyone's line of sight. Instead of a typical backdrop, they will sometimes project images on 4 big screens around the theater. Many props like doorways are raised and lowered from the ceiling. Things like beds are rolled down one aisle by stage hands dressed in black in the dark, while a short transition scene takes place under a spotlight on another aisle to draw your attention away. It all happens seamlessly with no break in the flow of the play. There are live musicians in the orchestra pit, and the music is always great. There really isn't a bad seat in the house as it is only 20 rows deep. You may wonder why it's called a "Circus." Up until 2002, the productions were presented under a large canvas Circus tent. There were 2 poles which obscured views from some seats. The seats were canvas directors chairs, and the canvas did not block light well enough to allow afternoon shows. The air conditioning was via "swap cooler," but the house was packed most nights. Now, we have a beautiful state of the...

Music Circus ticket buyers should be aware that scaffolding and ladders have recently been installed around the stage at UC Davis Health Pavilion, obscuring the view of the stage for many seats. When my husband and I arrived at our season ticket seats for West Side Story, we were shocked to see that the new scaffolding and ladders obscured much of our view of the stage. We hoped it was a temporary prop, but it was still up for the performance of In the Heights we attended today.Terribly disappointed we've lost our view of the stage, particularly since the tickets are costly, and we really enjoyed this venue in the past. I'd advise checking with the ticket office before making a purchase to make sure you don't get obscured-view seats. I will not be renewing these seats for...

The venue itself is clean and well air-conditioned. The dynamic stage really helps to set the scene. We took a group of kids to see SpongeBob and they really enjoyed their experience. Outside of the Pavilion are various vendors for food and drink. However, there isn't much shade apart from the Donors area which has misters and artificial shade options with ample seating. Food and drink are a bit on the pricier side however, if it's a hot day as when we attended the option of a Gunther's fruit freezes are too good to pass up even at the $9 price point! Overall it was a great experience with accommodating staff...