The Showroom — Local services in Washington

We held our wedding reception at the Showroom in March 2023. There don’t seem to be a lot of reviews on here from people who have actually hosted events (especially weddings) at the venue, so we wanted to provide some detail for those who may be considering it.

Pros: The space is really great and flexible enough to accommodate a range of event layouts. There aren’t a lot of venues that can comfortably fit 200+ guests in the DC area, especially if hotel ballrooms aren’t your thing. We were able to fit lots of seating, a large dance floor, bar etc. and the space still didn’t feel too crowded. It truly is a blank canvas that can be transformed however you want with decorations, lighting, etc. The Showroom also allows for parties to go late (a lot of venues we looked at required music to be off by 10 or 11 pm), which is a huge plus. Also, the location is very central and convenient - it’s easy for guests to take a cab from anywhere in the area, or even walk over if you get a wedding block at any of the many hotels that are within a few blocks of the venue. They do have restrictions on vendors you can use (more on that below), but unlike a lot of other venues, they don’t have an in-house caterer, and we were ultimately able to work with the catering team we wanted, which was another big plus. Our event went really well - everything went smoothly on the day itself and people had a great time.

Cons: Working with the team can be a challenge. Over the course of planning our event, it became pretty clear to us they are more geared toward professionally-produced and corporate events. Once we had signed a contract, we essentially felt like we were always low on their priority list since we weren’t likely to be repeat customers. Communication was somewhat challenging throughout - it was hard to get straightforward answers to some of our questions, and on some things, we would get responses that contradicted what we had been told earlier. As a result, it felt like a struggle to get the catering team we wanted to work with approved (although as noted above, we ultimately did work things out and if we had a better understanding in advance it would have been a pretty painless process). It sometimes took us multiple emails over several days to get a response to simple questions, even as we got pretty close to the date of our event. At one point, while we were waiting for responses, we did get a series of automated cutesy/condescending emails from the venue with long lists of rules and regulations, which was a little frustrating. Other aspects of their set-up make it a challenge for weddings as well. Unlike many venues that are more specific to weddings, they don’t allow for simple things that can make your day much smoother - like the ability to come back the next morning to pick up your guestbook, any leftover decorations etc - and there are extra charges for things like internet access for a DJ. There is no dedicated event loading area, so you have to deal with reserving the street parking outside for your vendors (and though apparently the building has some kind of loading dock and a parking garage attached, we weren’t given any info on it until just before our event).

TLDR: They advertise that they provide “excellent customer service and guidance from start to finish” but we honestly received no guidance at all. At every turn, we were the ones reaching out and it felt like we only discovered some pretty important information almost by accident. Perhaps if we had a wedding planner (and thus offered the prospect of repeat business), we would have had a different experience working with the venue, and a professional also may not have had some of the questions that we did.

Once again, it is a great space with a lot of pros, and if you have an experienced wedding planner, all of these cons may be irrelevant. Even if you don’t, the venue might be a great fit. This is not to discourage people from using the venue, but just intended to help others go into this with accurate...

Like many other recent reviews I was recently at the Showroom for the Empire Strips Back showing. My rating here is for the venue itself, not the show.

All stars I have given are for the venue staff. They were wonderful, kind, friendly, organized. Security was on top of things and quick. No complaints about the lovely staff.

However I do feel the physical venue was a pretty awful place to host a performance. The stage was very small with a long seating area meaning anyone in Zones B or C (50% back or more) can’t see anything waist down and generally struggled to see the stage. Some seats are on a slope but most seats are on the same level as the seat in front of them so you can’t see past the person in front of you. The seats were also very tightly packed and probably rather uncomfortable to anyone weighing more than 150 lbs due to their small size. My husband also wanted me to add he felt the warehouse had a sketchy feel on the inside and could be cleaned up to look more elegant.

I understand The Showroom is an event space and I’m sure they do a great job with weddings etc where simply having a flat floor is preferable, but I don’t feel they are an adequate venue to take on performance/audience...

Excellent show! The Empire Strips Back clearly has amassed top-tier creative experts on presenting a well conceived experience. From music selection to lighting, everything was minutely crafted and on point. The dancers were strong, skillful and stunningly beautiful. All clearly professionally trained making the show authentic and deeply entrancing. Our host for the evening was funny, engaging and drew the audience into the experience with wit, charm and skillful interaction. The Star Wars theme was sincerely woven into the show through clever music choices, creative costuming and a deep appreciation for source material. The show was simply overflowing with humor, seduction and class. It’s a must see for Star Wars fans, burlesque fans and anyone else looking to be whisked away into a genuinely...