Sandler Center for the Performing Arts

I’ve been here multiple times the last several years for Dance competitions. The Venue is excellent for this purpose. Do not expect to eat here only lite snacks are provided at bloated cost. They do not allow you to bring in your own drinks or food unless it’s for the performers. I spent $ 3 dollars for bottled water… REALLY??? I was thirsty. lol
If your here for any Dance competition you will not be allowed to video any performances.

I attended the Sandler Center for a ballet recently and had a great time. First off, the center was right off the freeway and there were tons of signs about it anyway so I had absolutely no problem finding it. Second, there was a very convenient free parking structure RIGHT NEXT DOOR which I loved. One elevator ride down and you were practically there.
I was running late and practically ran in. The staff was very friendly and quickly helped me get my tickets and helped me find my way around to my seating area. One of them even walked me directly to my seat! I was very impressed.
The total for our tickets were around 90 dollars.
Aside from the center it’s self, it’s located in a great area. After the ballet, my husband and I strolled around and I saw a number of clothing stores and restaurants. There was even a laugh factory and the mall was right down the street! I ended up eating dinner at PF Changs and all in all, had a great night.

It is new, small and clean.
There is only one stage.
There are a lot of free parking options around it.

Let me begin by saying my review is not for the facility itself. However, it is for an «event» they put on, November 2^nd. The event to which I am referring, was called «4 the love of cheese». The regular price for an adult ticket was $ 20. The web site for the event said «„4 The Love of Cheese“ is your passport into the world of cheese from Abondance to Zamorano and everything in between. Sample and savor cheese new to your palate. Learn how you can make a cheese platter for your next soirée. Gather tips on cooking with cheese from the experts. Learn how to pare cheese with wine, beer, spirits and other foods. Find out who has the best mac n cheese in town.»
To my surprise, I found out that I purchased a ticket to this event which ended up being more of an opportunity for vendors to sell me their wares versus the sampling of cheeses from Abondance to Zamorano. There were maybe 5 or 6 tables allowing visitors to sample their cheeses that were available for purchase. There were 3 or 4 other vendors selling wine or beer and while at their booth, the representative would mention a cheese or two that could be paired with the wine they were selling. Most of the other vendors were food related but there was even a vendor there who was trying to sell laser hair removal. (By the way, they actually had a cheese tray which was pretty tasty, but not the educational experience I expected.)
I had been anticipating a wide sampling of cheeses I had never tried before as well as presentations teaching how to make a platter for my next soirée and how to appropriately pair the cheeses I select with wines, beer or spirits. None of these things were anywhere to be found. Unfortunately, after sampling the few options that were available and wandering around for a while hoping to find more than what we saw, we decided to leave.
To be certain, I will not plan to attend any future events of this type at this venue.

Due to a scheduling glitch, the Holiday Speed Dating Event in Suffolk was postponed until sometime in January, leaving me some time on my hands. In an effort to better my odds at the Speed Dating Event, my self-​inventory of strengths and weaknesses showed a glaring weakness in ‘Cultural Awareness.’ I’d heard about this fancy new venue smack dab in the middle of Virginia Beach, why not give it a try?
A quick look of their website showed that I was in luck, tonight they were having a special Karaōke Christmas Event, an outfit called Handel doing their Messiah Sing-​Along. That DJ name rang a bell, maybe I saw him at a dive bar in Hatsboro during their Karaōke night. In any case, it was free and open to the public, plenty of free parking in the garages surrounding in Town Center, what’s not to love? A warm and dry place to hang out while listening to the locals sing along to ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ and other chestnuts.
The Sandler Center for the Performing Arts is a gorgeous, well planned out venue implemented perfectly. If anything is confusing in the slightest, the well trained staff is there in abundance to lift the fog and get the patron on his merry way. Since this was a free event without tickets, I asked one of the vest adorned guides if there were any particular seating restrictions. In return, she asked me if I was a Bass or a Tenor. Not wanting to appear as some sort of culturally deprived surf punk, I smiled and said, ‘Yes.’ Screw it, I’ll figure it out for myself. Upon entering the main hall itself, one cannot help but pause for a second and take it all in. To see this majestic venue, high wood adorned ceilings, comfortable and inviting seating, perfect acoustics, located right here in the middle of Town Center, less than 10 miles away from the Alien Pod Dropped from Space known as Scope, well, let’s just say that serious progress has been made in the last 20 years or so.
If there are any complaints at all, chalk it up to ‘stranger in a strange land.’ Through my travels, I found that every place has their own rules for Karaōke Night, Sandler Center is no different. I couldn’t find The Book or slips of paper where I could jot down my song selection and name, nor could I see the sign saying who was up and who was up next. My guess is that all of this is somehow taken care of well in advance, because when the band came to take their seats (yep, this was the real musician brand of Karaōke. I’d call it Rockaoke but I think that may be a registered trademark), there were also extra chairs in front for 4 regulars: Billy BY, Robynne R, Frederick B, and Andrew P (I love how nobody on Unilocal has last names!) who were in heavy rotation by DJ Handel. No big deal, though, because they nailed it! I really wanted to sing along to ‘Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion’ and ‘O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings’ but it wasn’t in my key and I didn’t hear anybody else singing along. Maybe that is another house rule or something. Towards the end of the Karaōke Night, Handel must have felt sorry for us so he had his assistant get us to all stand up and sing a song together. No words were projected on the screen or anything like that, but I did see that a good share of the locals brought along their own songbooks, I’ll remember that fact the next time so I don’t stand out so much. In my personal opinion, though, ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ fit perfectly with those Hallelujah things that everybody else was warbling.
Armed with the cultural knowledge that is Sandler Center for Performing Arts, Speed Dating Night at the Suffolk Comfort Inn and Suites may never be the same…

This is not a review of the Sandler Center itself, as I’ve not been there yet. It is a review of the charges for tickets when purchased through
.
I just purchased four tickets in the center of the orchestra section for the B.B. King concert on January 10, 2014. The process to buy the tickets was straight forward and easy to navigate. The tickets themselves were reasonably priced at $ 63/​ticket. But then there was a «Fee» of $ 14/​ticket, an order charge of $ 4.50, and then the camel breaking straw, an internet delivery charge of $ 1.
All of these additional fees are the epitome of nickel and diming patrons, especially the $ 1 delivery charge to send me an email containing a PDF file so that I could print my own tickets. Other methods of delivery would have been a few more dollars.
C’mon Sandler, is this really necessary? As a comparison, I recently saw Steely Dan in Philadelphia at the Mann Music Center. If I remember correctly, there was an order fee of no more than $ 5/​ticket. I’d rather not pay that, but at least it was reasonable.
I’m hoping the concert itself will wash out this bad taste in my mouth and I can give a 5-​star rating for what I experience when there with my family.

It’s a beautiful venue, mostly because it’s new. What do I know about architecture?
There was a really bossy usher, who literally shoved me aside after she told me the [wrong] way to go. But thereafter, all the ushers were overly friendly and responsive.
Seated on the first floor (orchestra) in about the 10^th row, I was able to enjoy a clear and comfortable view of the Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker.
I cannot comment on the highly raved acoustics of the theatre, because there was no orchestra. (What a flop, Moscow.) However, the recorded music sounded great and filled the venue.
I will most definitely return. For live music. Or anything, really. I love the arts.

This is a great little theater. It is clean, the seats are comfortable and the staff is super friendly and helpful. The acoustics are really good. I have seen several concerts here and last night I got to see Alton Brown, all outstanding shows. The lobby is a little small and can get congested and the concession lines can get long but I kinda look at it as an opportunity to meet new people. Parking is easy at one of the parking decks. Go, check out a show at this wonderful little theater.

How dare anyone give this spectacular venue anything less than a 4. If we are talking about the venue itself, not a show review. it is a gem and Virginia Beach should thank there lucky stars we have such an incredible preforming arts center right here at the Beach. Props to the Sandler family for their generosity to make this all possible with a large start on the financial end too.
Our family has enjoyed Sandler Center since it opened several years ago. My daughter’s dance company holds their annual recital here. I am unsure how many it seats, but hundreds for sure with a nice balcony. I don’t think you can find a bad spot to watch a show from in the house. The seats are large and very comfortable too.
With nine resident companies and traveling shows you will find something you like on the schedule. I have to admit for a family of four it’s not cheap. However, this is professional theater, music acts etc. You just don’t realize how good you have it until your in a big city like NY, or LA paying over a $ 100 a tix plus parking.
The location of Sandler Center is golden in Town Center. It was completed in 2007 and is considered one of the regions most stunning structures. As well it is considered by experts to be one of the most acoustically sound. Parking is prevalent, around 3,200 spaces, but mainly by garage. The challenge is only on capacity crowds and other events going on within Town Center. But keep in mind parking is FREE.
I did see info for an upcoming event for children on Dec 15^th that is FREE. Peanut butter and Jelly and it’s in the afternoon. Something recently came across Unilocal for it, check it out.
No EXCUSES! take a look at what’s coming up and check it out, or if it’s been a while come back. Seasons series tix are the best way to enjoy all there is to offer. This is a crowning jewel for our city that needs to be supported.

There really are no bad seats in this small theater. It’s shiny, new and clean. My only gripe is the parking situation– which on a Saturday night is total crap.

Ynot Wednesday!

My visit to the Sandler Center last evening the see the Musicial «Camelot» was anything but special. I guess the check in kinda blew the whole experience from the get go and from the past experiences and performances we have seen, this really was a total let down. Yes Camelot was brought up to a Modern production, but using wooden planks, wooden chairs, the orchestra and the conductor as part of the muscial really made it seem as if it were a High or College Production instead of the Virginia Stage Opera Company. Sure when you read the review at the Sandler Center before you purchase your ticket it sounds wonderful. But I guess while you are there, you notice the little things, like when the actors or actress inserts words in the songs. Even though the songs are in English they were displayed in English above the stage as if you were attending an «Italian» Opera. Then of course you notice when the song is too long or drags on and on and on, or that all of a sudden it just stops when it should have gone on a bit longer. Were the monitors acting up? Let’s not leave out the part of the songs that you are listening to and you notice, hey I know that song and those are not the words to it. I can name that tune in 5 notes… and what he just sane wasn’t it…
Overall, the Musical was really ok, I did enjoy it. They should just have fine tuned the last Act a little more. Let’s not forget the really hard and taste like cardboard pretzel’s that could actually break your teeth. I will attend another event at the Sandler Center depended on what it is but will make sure that I have eaten before I get anywhere near that place again.

I’ve been to the Sandler Center for a few shows and it is a nice venue. They have a main theater and a few side conference rooms for smaller events. The location is great, right in Town Center across from the Westin.

I have had two opportunities to attend performances at this venue. Both times it has been breath taking (Brian Wilson and the TRADOC Band), as the acoustics in this room seem to be very good.
Plenty of parking close to the venue, on the street or in the various parking garages that line Town Center. Plenty of dining establishments within walking distance. There is a hotel directly across the street.
My only complaint about the Sandler Center is that the seats are narrow and uncomfortable on the floor area. Other than that, I would have to make up something to have a complaint.
Highly Recommended
@Removeyourhat

We came here this past Friday for their Christmas show and I had a great experience.
The venue is really nice — comfortable seats, can fit many people, and is super clean. The venue is organized and run in a very efficient manner. There is always someone to show you the way or help you find your seats.
I think that no matter where you sit in this venue you’ll have amazing seats.
The stage is also a great size so I think Sandler’s can host a huge variety of shows.

The Sandler Center is stunning. This is truly a beautiful venue. I attended a function here and I couldn’t stop looking around at my surroundings. It’s smack in the middle of Town Center, which is convenient. There are several free parking garages within 1 – 2 blocks and lots of restaurants. What a great place to spend an evening!