San Diego Civic Theatre — Attraction in San Diego

Upon 1st arriving in the parking lot one feels as if they are in NYC paying a man cash directly instead of getting a ticket from a machine. Then opting to take the stairs instead of the elevator one must step over urine or vomit a couple times. The building from the outside has a future/retro look of the 1960s, and the chandeliers inside are just as chic.

Entering the venue to go see MGMT they have tables to empty pockets/purses (no real alarm detector to walk through) as they ask if you have 'this or that' on you, but you can easily get by with anything that can be possibly harmful to a large crowd.

Even buying the best tickets available, we waited over 10 minutes for an usher to finally get around to helping us get seated, only to wait for them to move a group of people out of our section.

Then once we were seated, some kids next to us started cursing (I get it, I'm at a public concert). But then one continually smokes cigarettes without any employee saying a word. During the middle of the set I see a guy 3 seats to my left vomiting on the floor.

So as we left we had to hop over vomit, the walls seemed to be decaying and the paint chipping off. In all honesty it reminded me of old concert buildings off Broadway or Colfax in Denver, and that's nothing to brag about.

Thank you MGMT for being such a nice set of performers for your audience. But as far as the Civic Theatre is concerned; either start from scratch and rebuild or just close shop and leave it as a memory of yesteryear....

I'm a huge musical theater fan so I come here a lot. For some shows the acoustics are not very good, but overall most of my experiences with this theater are okay. But one thing that consistently annoys me every single time I see a show here is that there will ALWAYS be people talking during the show, either offering their comments on how the performances are, or singing along with the performers. This happens to every show I've seen here. For some, they will stop talking after you communicate with them during intermission, so you can still enjoy the second half, but most people will just continue talking throughout the show. My first time seeing Hamilton here this lady sitting next to me sang through the entire thing even after multiple people have shushed her. While I understand the theater can't control the audience's behaviors, I do wish they can put up more signs or make it clear this is not tolerable behavior. I think some people seriously think it's okay to talk or sing along. They have staff members circle around the theater with signs saying "no photographs no phones" so why not also remind people no talking and no singing? It is a HUGE distraction and it really ruins the experience. I have been to shows in other theaters and in other cities and I've not noticed the talking issue to be as serious as this theater, so I really hope something could be done because I love musicals and this is the only theater in San Diego where the musicals come...

We have been here twice now (Six & Hamilton) and love it! We really enjoyed our seats in the LLOGL1 level. It is a much smaller area, so there are fewer crowds during intermission, which makes it easier to get in and out of your seats. There is also both a women's and men's restroom right outside the door of the LLOGL1 entrance. Drinks and food are also just around the corner. Our specific seats were: LLOGL1 ROW H Seats 1, 3, 5, & 7. The photo with the hearts shows my view (camera was at my eye level) from the farthest seat away from the balcony ledge (Sorry, I can't remember the specific seat number). I'm short (4'11), so your view may be slightly better depending on height and the people in front of you. The photo without the hearts is me raising the camera slightly to see an unobstructed view. The seats are very comfortable and the parking is pretty easy. I paid for parking at the Evan V. Jones Parkade upon arrival, and if I remember correctly, the parking fee was around $18 both times. It is a very short walk from the parking garage to the theater. There is no need to even cross a street since it is all connected. We arrived about 30 minutes before showtime and had no trouble getting through security and picking up snacks before heading to our seats. I would recommend being even earlier if you want time to mingle with friends and a more relaxed shopping experience. A lot of the seats at this theater do require stairs, and children under 5 are...