Hippodrome At France-Merrick Performing Arts Center

We walked from the Holiday inn inner harbor in 5 – 10 minutes. The five blocks we felt safe on Eutaw st.
The building had an incredible restoration.
We are up in the Cubal row T but it is like a large screen TV!
I can’t wait for Beauty and the Beast to begin.

Parking sucked but everything else was good… the seats weren’t even super crowded and there was leg room. :D

Beautiful theater. I read in a review that the leg room was minimal so I got an end seat but there was plenty of leg room. I was in the bottom orchestra so maybe there is more leg room down there? I recommend getting there earlier as it can take some time to get into the parking garage. I only saw the parking garage caddy corner to the theater so am not sure what the Unilocaler meant when they said there was one connected to the theater. Otherwise, great place and you can bring you beverages you buy into the show, yay!

This is a really beautiful theater and it’s great to see a show here! I came here back in late October 2015 to see John Cleese and Eric Idle and my family and I had a wonderful time. The staff are very kind and it was very easy to get in and out of the theater. As I mentioned earlier, the theater is gorgeous and the acoustics are wonderful. The only downside is that the area around the theater is not the nicest (it’s Baltimore after all), but you’d be fine parking at the parking garage right near here. It’s definitely a nice venue in which to see a show!

I subscribed this year to be a season ticket holder and I must admit I am very disappointed with the management and management customer service. I recently bought two tickets as a gift for my mother, who is in her 70s, and my 9 year old daughter. When they arrived to the theatre, two people were in their seats. Instead of insisting that the two people move, they put my poor mother and daughter in obstructed view seats. They then had to «claim» their rightful seats at the intermission. My poor mom returned to the house flustered. The usher and the manager did nothing to help them. Needless to say, it is unlikely I will renew my season tickets. I may simply drive down to the Kennedy Center where I have always been treated well in the past.
On a good note however, the theatre is beautiful and I have enjoyed the performances and the have found the service staff friendly and helpful.
I just wish management was equally attentive to the needs of their customers.

I went to see The Book of Mormon at the Hippodrome for the first time. It’s a lovely old theatre and they’ve done a great job with maintaining it.
PARKING — Do not fret, park in their parking garage and you take the elevator straight into the lobby without having to walk outside. How awesome is that! $ 10 prepay for shows.
TICKETS — I bought on stub hub. This is a smaller theatre and there is no bad section, but I would definitely say buy seats closer to the stage! For example «center concert, seats DD» are way in the back, 4 rows from the back of the theatre wall and I had to fight to see between other heads. You’ll want about mid alphabet so you’re in the open and don’t have the upper level hanging over you. The upper seats are the same — buy closer to front.
I recommend arriving an hour before your show. You can park, use the bathroom, grab a drink at the bar before it gets busy and then wait until they open the doors for the ushers to seat you. Once it gets busy, the bar lines will be madness and you can forget about your drink. The seats are tight but back in day, people were actually 4 inches shorter in height than they are now. We looked it up. haha.

Yeah, it’s old. And yeah, it’s a little rundown. But it’s also beautiful! This is what great theaters used to look like. This is the first time I’ve visited the Hippodrome. Saw the Steve Miller Band here, and it was great! The seats were soft and comfortable, and I don’t think there’s a bad view of the stage in the entire place. Loved the great acoustics, too. The friendly staff made the experience even better — a big difference from the treatment we got up the street at the Royal Farms Arena.

What a wonderful old structure. It is elegant and «rundown» in equal charming parts. The old fashioned colors and carpet are really special. The place just oozes old money and the heyday of how the better half lived and entertained themselves. The seats are comfortable enough but a real upgrade to actual theater seating, with a little space between and around them would really make the place a perfect 10 to see a show in. It would be worth an extra $ 10 per ticket for me to have a place at least as nice as the average screen movie theater. The sound was really good-​but I still think an upgrade would be a nice move. I know nothing about funding requirements or rasining that money for that sort of thing but a facility upgrade would get that last star for me.
We saw KINKY BOOTS 1 October. Excellent show. I had seen the movie back in 2006 or so and thought it was a really neat story. Seeing it set to music was different-​and spectacular. Cyndi Lauper knows music, there were a few songs where you really «felt» her best work and themes. Our Lola (Kyle Taylor Parker) was excellent! A member of the original Broadway cast. While everyone was really talented and a joy to behold– Kyle stood out. There was a «stealing of the show» though; Lauren (Lindsay Nicole Chambers). Her comedy timing and physical acting… outstanding.
We will definitely go to Hippodrome again.

I saw Wicked here back in April and I loved it! The show was amazing and we had great seats. We parked in a garage that was right across the street and wasn’t too expensive, so it was nice and easy when leaving the show. Unfortunately we did attend on a weeknight during school so our show audience was populated with middle school youth, but other than them crowding the halls and running around a bit too much (in my opinion) once we sat down it wasn’t a problem. The theater is beautiful and gives you nice views of the streets surrounding. Drinks are a tad pricey as well as the play memorabilia but hey I fully expected that so no harm done in my opinion. Overall an amazing experience!

I saw Wicked here last night… well, most of it anyway. It was like a sauna in the upper balcony and the heat was so stifling that we had to escape. For a long drive, and an almost as long wait to get into the parking garage, it just is not worth it to me. The venue is lovely. I did not find the seating to be uncomfortable, but the air was so filled with heat and scent that I just couldn’t, so I asked my friend if we could leave. A shame because I have been wanting to see Wicked for just about ever and I bought tickets MONTHS ago! Thankfully, my friend had seen it before and was just grateful I was willing to forgo the experience in favor of not passing out. Oh, and the view from the rafters is pretty wretched. I had opera glasses, and even that was a little tricky because of all the heads I had to dodge. IF, and this probably not going to happen, I had to go again, I would absolutely have to see the show from the lower levels.

Looking forward to seeing WICKED for my first time and after making several attempts the short time I was in NYC, I thought it was perfect that while I was in Baltimore for a week of work, surely I’d get a chance to see this amazing show.
I went to the box off 2 separate times and was told by Darlene that the lottery to win a chance at purchasing discount tickets was anytime between 2 hrs prior to the show starting and the drawing being 1 hr prior to showtime. The friend I planned to see the show with arrived just before 2 hrs prior to showtime also greeted by Darlene to be given the same false information. So when my friend returned during the time Darlene suggested, she was greeted by the box office manager, Karen, who informed her the lottery was already over.
Our complaint is that we went by a combined 3 times to verify the time frame of the lottery and all 3 times Darlene gave inaccurate information, one of those times, even after making a phone call to verify. She didn’t mention that the lottery would’ve been starting when my friend arrived if the time was as she claimed.
Fortunately when I got there, Karen didn’t offer much help except an apology. She proposed limited view seats from the balcony for $ 10 more than we would’ve paid if we would’ve won the lottery seats so we purchased those directly.
I give the experience 2 stars ONLY because when I suggested it, Karen offered up 2 free drink vouchers. I guess the $ 10 drink vouchers helped make up for the $ 10 price increase. Also the theatre is very nice inside and although it was difficult to see from our «limited view» seats, we did thoroughly enjoy the musical.

Entered the lottery for Wicked and it was a great experience. (Helped by the fact that we won tickets) it was well organized and fairly conducted. A great way to see shows at an affordable price. Hope they continue to do this for future shows!

Two stars is the MAX. It doesn’t matter how great the show is. It doesn’t matter how beautifully the theatre was restored. It doesn’t matter how lovely the staff. All these get 5 stars. BUT… If you cannot be comfortable while you are seeing the show, what’s the point. The seats are at most 18″ wide. They are crammed together and you have about 4″ of leg room. So as an averaged framed man, I was left thinking I was in King Henry’s basement. Just think about that when you think of a nice dinner and a show. Cheers.

I come here every once in a while for a show or an event. The Best of Baltimore party is held here every summer, and it’s always a really well put together event, but yesterday I brought some clients of mine to a performance of the Nutcracker and I was underwhelmed. Sure the place is gorgeous, with convenient parking in the attached garage, and the Great Russian Nutcracker Ballet performance was flawless and stunning in every way. But that’s kind of where it ends for me.
When I arrived (before my clients), I went into the actual theater to check my seats, and was almost immediately ambushed by 3 employees rudely telling me I needed to get out and was not allowed in. I totally understand rules like that, however their delivery left much to be desired and no one was blocking the door, no signs, nothing.
I went to the bar after that incident to grab a glass of wine, and the bartender was very frazzled, cursing under his breath, rushing to get me my drink… it was a little off-​putting.
As I waited in the theater for my clients/​guests to arrive, I noticed NONE of the ushers knew much about the seating chart. I helplessly watched as 2 of the folks I was with were directed all over the theater before I could get out of my aisle to find them and bring them to their seats myself.
On top of all this, the theater was extremely cold. I enjoyed the performance, and will be back for other shows, but I’m a little annoyed with the quality of service at this place.

Beautifully updated theater in the heart of Baltimore. I was thrilled to find comfortable seats with plenty of leg room! I am almost 6′ tall and am mostly leg – my knees didn’t even touch the seat in front of me! Really enjoyed the show we saw and the staff was friendly. Tons of reasonable parking in the area and several restaurants. As with any city, once most business close, some interesting people come out. Just be aware of the people around you and walk on the lit side of the street. Generally seemed like a safe area though.

Nice, cozy theater. The seats and steps are very steep. They must go up at a 40 degree angle as the least. It allowed for a good view of the stage. The hostesses came around and told people to stop recording and taking pictures during the performance.

The Hippodrome is a decent venue, near the University of Maryland Medical Center and across from Alewife. Both street parking and garage parking is available. It’s not always considered a great area and there aren’t many date-​ish food spots around, but that’s no ding to the theater itself.
I’d say the Hippodrome is mid-​size, not on the larger end, but definitely not tiny either. The seating is comfortable and positioned well. Of course the mid-​orchestra are great seats, but the balcony seats aren’t bad either since a good chunk of these seats hover directly over the mid-​orchestra. Hence, I’d take a balcony seat over the back-​orchestra any day. If you feel like treating yourself, the grand suites are a great option as they’re most definitely the best seats in the house. The seats are wider and there’s more leg room. The view is also the best.

My wife and I have been here a couple of times this year to see Blue Man Group and the latest for the Grease sing along, which were both awesome.
The venue itself is a classic theater that has a modern renovation of the exterior and lobby. The seating is quite comfortable with plenty of knee room (unlike the BSO’s main seating) for those with knee problems like me.
The biggest problem with any large open space theater with a balcony are the support columns as they block a large portion of your view so it is recommended to pay a little extra and get better seats.
We love this theater!

Old & classic venue. Came here on a Saturday night to see Frankie Vallie. The tickets typically state the Start time of the event, and often doors open 1 hour before. We arrived 20 minutes before which was plenty of time to grab a drink and find our seats. The service here is great and the old ushers are very cute and helpful!
TIP: be sure to ask as your show might not have an intermission! (which means get drinks and use the restroom right before the show starts!)
TIP: sitting in the top section has an odd angle, kinda felt like we were ABOVE the audience of the show, instead of IN the audience. I would suggest a lower section for seating.

The Hippo is a really nice, refreshing change from trying to find parking at a theater in DC. Plenty of garage parking, and a few restaurants surround this historic theater.
So, why only 3 stars? Because, even the cheaper seats should have reasonable legroom, and I cramped up really badly three times during the show. They’ve got to fix this. Either avoid the upper level seats, or get an aisle seat, unless you have size 6 or less shoes!