Eccles Theater — Attraction in Salt Lake City

We came here to see Shrek the Musical.

Pros: *Unlike a few reviews have said, there are elevators on every floor and there are bathrooms on multiple floors. You just need to look harder or ask.

*Eccles has their own parking lot across from the street where you can pay for parking ahead of time.

Also, unlike some reviews have said Eccles has a restaurant on the outside corner of the theater by the stage door. There are also multiple restaurants across the street if you don't want to eat there. Concessions is not your only option. Some people need to do more research before they post complaints in reviews.

Temperature was fine.

Sound was fine during performance.

Cons: I'm not sure why this theater has such freaking high security. I wonder what happened here. They have a bag size limit (which I knew about from reading their site). They do a bag search at every entrance. (I've never had any other professional theater in SLC do this and I've been to PTC, Capitol, and Hale.) They have a prohibited items you can't bring in. This is not listed on their site and I read other reviews complaining about it. I think it includes:

Concealed carry Pocket knives Mace Pepper Spray Taser Any weapons or the like

Don't be stupid and try to bring it in then complain about it.

The woman searching my purse seemed overly suspicious about benign things in my purse. Like ooh, what's this? My sunglasses in a case. Take that thing out! It's glasses cleaning spray. Says so on the label. Forced me to open a small zipper pocket and take my makeup out of it. ( With how harsh she was during my bag search I wondered if she had been in the KGB.)

Once we got in the auditorium itself, there were two security guards standing in front of the stage looking for suspicious activity. They were there before the performance, went back during intermission, and right after the performance ended as well. Reminded me of the lyric from POTO: " We are certain the doors are barred. We are certain the police are there. We are certain they're armed."

There were no printed or digital programs for the performance whatsoever. To find a program, I had to google Shrek the Musical tour the next day and pull up their website. I have no idea why Eccles didn't have a link or QR code to this page. Lazy and unprofessional.

The chairs lean so far back and high off the ground that I couldn't sit comfortably as a petite person (5 ft) and my knee started hurting during the performance. I overheard a petite woman complaining about the same thing in the row behind me.

I thought the performance was meh. It was a reimanged version of the show and I didn't know about that beforehand (not Eccles fault). I was expecting the original redition and was disappointed. They cut at least 3 of the songs and made the language more politically correct. (The original version is a family friendly show.) The singing and dancing were ok but the set design and costumes were barely above community theater standard. Not Broadway tour level material. Certainly not the $50 a seat we paid to be there. The orchestra was onstage and only partially obstructed and not in the pit. Not professional quality level performance.

If you do your research about the venue and your show, then you...

We truly enjoyed tonight’s performance—it was beautifully done and filled us with Christmas spirit. After the show, we were waiting for our Uber and, like many others, decided to take photos by the Christmas tree displays. We were carefully taking photos of each other on my phone, making the focus on ourselves and the Christmas trees.

Unfortunately, our experience was interrupted by an older male security guard who approached us aggressively and unwelcomingly. He questioned us about whether any of our photos included security staff or their desk. I assured him they didn’t, adding that if anyone—including security—happened to be in the background, I could easily edit them out. Despite this, he glared at us as though he didn’t believe me and insisted on seeing the photos. I complied, showing him several pictures, which clearly showed we’d made an effort to crop out bystanders and focus on the trees.

Once he realized we weren’t doing anything wrong, his tone softened slightly, but instead of leaving it at that, he began venting to us. He complained about the placement of the trees, saying he wished they were against the wall to make his job easier. While this might be a valid frustration for him, it was inappropriate and unprofessional to take it out on us—guests who have no control over such decisions.

What made matters worse was how he and two other security staff members continued glaring at us for the rest of the time we waited inside for our Uber. It was uncomfortable and unnecessary. The venue was still busy, with many other guests buying merchandise or hanging out, so we weren’t loitering or causing a disruption. We were simply waiting for our Uber inside to stay warm, taking harmless photos of ourselves by the decorations, and even helping other guests take their own pictures.

It felt unfair to be singled out, especially since we saw many others taking photos in the exact same spot without any issues. This behavior made us feel unwelcome and singled out for reasons we couldn’t understand.

Aside from this negative interaction, we appreciated the venue. It was beautifully maintained, and the performance itself has been our favorite of the three Christmas shows we’ve attended this season. However, the attitude of the security staff left a sour note on an otherwise lovely evening.

We suggest improving the approach of the security team to better align with a welcoming and festive atmosphere. Guests shouldn’t feel like they’re being treated as criminals for engaging in normal, harmless activities like taking photos of holiday decorations on their phones. If there are specific concerns about security staff or their desks being captured in photos, clear signage would be helpful to address this. While we weren’t doing that in the first place, a simple sign might have prevented this uncomfortable encounter.

We hope this feedback helps improve the guest experience at...

Update the venue reached out and rectified the issue. They Wil make sure the proper training will be taught.

Disappointing and Inconsiderate Experience - ADA Request Denied. Teir 1 seats 130-132.

I am writing this review to express my extreme disappointment with my recent experience at your theater.

As a patron with severe, service-connected PTSD, I require accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to fully enjoy events.

Unfortunately, my request was not only ignored but seemingly resulted in a worse experience.

Prior to the show, I politely requested an usher not stand in my peripheral vision, as this triggers my disability. During intermission, I reiterated this ADA request to an assistant manager, explaining that the usher's position was preventing me from enjoying the performance. The assistant manager offered us seats in Box F as an alternative. Upon returning to our originally purchased, ADA-designated seats after intermission, the same usher, Robert, whom I had specifically spoken to about my accommodation needs, was back in the exact same position. It was incredibly disheartening to have my request so clearly disregarded.

Following the assistant manager's suggestion, we moved to Box F, only to discover that the view of the stage was nearly completely obstructed. This felt like a punishment for simply requesting a reasonable accommodation to enjoy the show.

As a result of the denied ADA request and the subsequent unusable seating, I was unable to experience the performance. I request either a full refund for my tickets or a complimentary set of tickets to a future show.

My experience at your theater was deeply upsetting. I hope you will take this feedback seriously and ensure that all staff members are properly trained to understand and respect the needs of patrons with disabilities.

Feeling punished for requesting a legally protected accommodation is unacceptable, especially when I was already seated in...