Ruth Eckerd Hall

Went to Chris Cornell concert. Really nice setting, parking was easy. They had a metal detector, which put me at ease. Food trucks and band in courtyard before show was awesome.
Ok…liquor here is SUPER expensive, like $ 12/​draft beer expensive. I get that. But a volunteer (or manager, or both, not sure… let’s just call him angry old dude) SCREAMING at Doug the bartender not to serve said $ 12 beer to customers who have been waiting in line for 10 minutes because the show’s about to start? Buzz kill! We paid $ 50 per ticket and another $ 30 each on beer and you’re screaming, literally screaming, at your employees in front of us?
Not cool. Thanks Doug for acting professional. If you got fired, call me. I have a job for you.
My boyfriend is insisting bartender was David, not Doug. Whatevs… he was at the bar by the downstairs east lobby bathrooms.

Comfy booty seats
Mesmerizing orchestra
Can drink in your seat!
I can’t speak too much to this place. According to all the banners on the light poles as you drive in, this is a happening place: comedians, so you think you can dance, and some musical people… My experience was pleasant, a trip to the symphony. I though that the venue was a nice size, comfy, no bad seats, but pretty dated 70’s-ish décor. I guess it’s part of the charm. $ 4 root beer, and if you want to save, check in and get the bogo offer! I was too late and spent $ 8 on soda. Maybe sneak in some bourbon next time? Well, they do check bags, but I’m not sure what they are checking for with this blue-​haired crowd.
Anyway, the symphony was a delight. And when it was over we got out as fast as we could since apparently the parking lot is like the apocalypse getting out. Seriously, this is not where you want to be when aliens attack. You’ll be trapped forever.
I would def return.

I don’t care how awesome the inside of a venue is… the fact that 60 mins later i have yet to move .5 mile or park and have missed the first half of the show makes me very angry. This is the worst situation at any major event that i have experienced of late. Completely ridiculous, artists please search for any other venue to showcase ur talents.

Ruth Eckerd Hall is, yes a little dated Facility and could be better if they had center isles. But overall is a very nice theatre.
I have had the pleasure of both being a patron and performing on the stage. Back stage has ample of space and dressing rooms. The acoustics of the stage are great.
The seating could be improved if there were center isles, but I think most of these people leaving reviews are being slightly dramatic about the lack of space. Its the same seating as if you were in a movie theater. You have the same issues at the Straz sitting and standing up a lot to let people through. Its part of live theatre and should be expected.
Overall they are a great facility and they are slowly making improvements to the building because they know it is dated. I’m sure they don’t want to undergo full blown reconstruction because it is costly and will be a disruption to their normally scheduled performances.
It is nice to have a performing center here in pinellas and to not have to drive all the way to the Straz to see a show. I will continue to support Ruth Eckerd Hall in their endeavors and supporting the Arts in the Pinellas county!

Ruth Eckerd Hall is local, medium size theater that delivers a big city experience. They offer a great variety of shows ranging from comedy, concerts, musicals and Broadway shows. It’s conveniently located to everywhere. As a native New Yorker who understands the stress of navigating through Manhattan to experience theater, it’s a pleasure coming here. Customer service is terrific. Had a recent interaction with Rachel Ahern who went above and beyond in offering her help. Just saw Abba, Great show…

Ruth Eckerd Hall is a mid-​sized performing arts facility located in Clearwater, FL. It serves as the entertainment venue for the Clearwater and general Tampa Bay area.
The venue itself is a bit outdated but has great acoustics! I would suggest getting to the venue a good amount of time ahead of the event start time as parking can be an issue. I do appreciate that parking is free, however. In addition, it is best to find your seat in advance because of the dearth of center aisles, getting to your seat might be a challenge. That is also a downside to my experience, the fact that if you are in the back rows that you are rally nestled in there without an easy escape, lol.
I enjoyed the performance I saw at Ruth Eckerd Hall and I would recommend it to anyone that wants to see a live show. The performance calendar is pretty full with performers so you have a good chance of seeing something that you like.

We came to the Ruth Eckerd Hall recently to see The Book of Mormon musical by the creators of South Park and it was hilarious! Ruth Eckerd Hall is a small 73,000 square foot performing arts venue, located in Clearwater, Florida, in the Tampa Bay area named after Ruth Eckerd, the wife of businessman Jack Eckerd, and is a regular performance venue for the Florida Orchestra, broadway shows, comedians, and bands. Its 2,180 seat auditorium features continental seating, with no center aisle, 2^nd row of seating, or balcony seating like the Straz Center. It’s pretty cool that you can follow RuthEckardHall on snapchat to stay in the know with upcoming theater events. Upcoming comedians I wouldn’t mind seeing include: Lewis Black April 9^th, Bob Saget April 16^th, and Jeff Foxworthy & Larry The Cable Guy April 22^nd. Ruth Eckerd Hall is just big enough without losing the intimacy of a smaller club, which is great if you’re going to see a comedian. You won’t hear the crazy echo like you would in an arena show. The small bathrooms can produce long lines for the lady’s room during intermission. Luckily, the men’s room did not have this problem during my visit. The bar stays open throughout the performances and people are allowed to come and go at will. With not many entrances to seating, this can be distracting as people come and go in front of you. They do have a lot of the best local concerts and shows, but the seating is cramped and there are no aisles in the center of the hall, so you may have to scoot by twenty or thirty people to get to your seat. You can hear from anywhere, and there is no obstruction in front of any seat. The Ruth Eckerd Hall parking lot is not large enough to accomodate all the seats in the house. We had to park illegaly on a curb when we were still 10 minutes early to the show but luckily did not get a ticket. Exiting the parking lot was a nightmare and took over 30 minutes. There is only 1 exit and a light right outside the venue prevents much movement for vehicles. There was a cop directing traffic but maybe they needed 2 sets of cops because getting out of the parking lot took forever.

We came to Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater Florida for the Book of Mormon musical by the creators of Southpark and had a great time. The parking lot is kind of small so we had to park illegally but luckily we did not get a ticket. A 12 ounce beer or single serving of wine was $ 10 which was way overpriced but luckily with Unilocal checkin and we got a free snack to go along with it. It took about 45 minutes to get out of this parking lot after the show. Police were directing traffic but somehow it still took forever to get out of this parking lot. There really needs to be more entrances and exits to the parking lot. This theater does not feature a lot of balcony seating. This theater is mostly one level with stadium style seating. Overall I enjoy the Mahaffey Theater and the theater in Tampa downtown WAY more than this one because it’s a lot easier to park and it’s a much larger venue. Luckily this theater is close to home so it is convenient in that regards. Look forward to coming to this theater for the next show but not for the amount of time it takes to leave this theater.

This has to be the worst venue that I’ve ever been to! If you’re claustrophobic, skip this place. You have less room in your seat than the cheapest coach seats on a 3^rd rate airline! Wow! And to think that I spent the price of an airline ticket for my seat! $ 220! My hands were numb by the end of the show from having to lean forward because of the closeness of the seats. I could not sit back and fit my arms in without rubbing up against the people sitting next to me. Disgusting!
I can’t believe that this place hasn’t been shut down by the fire officials! There are no aisles so you must excuse your self past 40 or so people to get to your seat. Or if you’re really unlucky, you’ll have an end seat that comes with an endless stream of people trying to slip past you in the impossibly narrow row. Or you’ll have the people who think that logically there must be an isle somewhere halfway through, so they try to walk through a few rows down only to find that they will have to either climb over seats to get to theirs or turn around and try going up the correct row! If there was a fire here, I shudder to think about how long it will take for egress.
The hallways are crowded, the line for the restroom or snacks at intermission was impossibly long. So good luck redeeming that free snack for checking in!
Speaking of… Prices are ridiculous! I don’t know how much the food was because, quite frankly, I couldn’t get near it because of the lines and the people blocking the narrow hallways. A 16oz beer was $ 8, a 24oz was $ 14. That’s just insulting! Alcohol was $ 9 for a 1 shot drink. A 16oz water was $ 4. I couldn’t get close to the wine bar.
Then let’s talk about getting out of there after the show. There’s only one road out. That’s it! There are people directing traffic but not well. My advice is get there early so you can park closer to the exit, and to leave before the end of your show so you don’t get caught in a huge bottleneck.
The good? It was very clean and the chairs had pretty upholstery. The ushers were friendly and helpful. It had more of a high school auditorium feel than a professional venue, although it is pretty plush and decorated nicely!
The show was good but not worth the price or the aggravation of being stuffed in there like a sardine. Never again!

The Book of Morman is hysterically funny but the venue itself is dated. With no center aisle, you will have everybody walking past you, even after the show starts, which is incredibly rude.
A/​C by the snacks was barely operating. This was February. I imagine in a warmer month, you would probably pass out.

5 stars for Book of Mormon, 2 stars for venue.
Sound was unacceptable. 3^rd night of this musical and within the first 3 minutes there was feedback. Additionally, we struggled to hear the lyrics because the orchestra and background singers were much louder than the lead.
In terms of the venue, everything feels like it was poorly laid out/​planned — from the parking lot (long waits to get in/​out due to 1 road access), to the lobby/​common areas (felt like a herd of slow moving cattle squished into small lanes before and after the performance), to the ‘pods’ (made it so much more confusing to find your section — why??), to the seating layout which has no inner aisle (if you are in the middle you will ruin a play/​musical by having to walk by 50 people to your left or right to get out).

I’ve always loved Ruth Eckerd Hall. However, very disappointed with this year’s performance of «The Nutcracker».
I was not aware when I bought the tickets that the music would be recorded (past years the Florida Orchestra performed).
The lighting did not dim until AFTER the overature played, so many in audience did not realize the performance was starting and continued to chit-​chat.
The lighting during the first half was dark, especially during the scene where the toy soldiers battle the mice/​rats.
There did not seem to be a full complement of adult dancers
All the above lead me to the conclusion was that the «Tampa Bay Ballet» that performed was not really a professional ballet troupe.
Since the ticket prices were the same as I’ve paid to see Nutcracker at Ruth Ecker in past years, I wasn’t very happy.
My other complaint is the theatre policy of allowing patrons to take their seats with food and beverage in hand! I understand the need to add to theatre revenue with beverage, but it should stay in the LOBBY. This is not a movie theatre, it’s a performing arts center. Smelling popcorn? Yikes. Perhabs the ‘lady’ who sat behind us wouldn’t have gotten drunk if she hadn’t been allowed to bring a drink to her seat during the 2^nd Act. (Did I mention I took my granddaughters to the performance? She make a very crude remark to one of the girls on the way out… not Ruth Eckerd Hall’s fault for that, but since I’m complaining.
The one bright spot were the children who danced. They were all great, so bravo to the young dancers and their instructors.

Thanks to suggestions by fellow Unilocalers, my wife and I arrived earlier than usual for the show we attended. We parked very close to the entrance, and enjoyed everything thereafter.
The staff were very friendly and helpful and we found our assigned seats without a hitch. The seats are very comfortable with plenty of legroom to allow those that get more exercise during a concert than in a gym to pass by time and again.
The sound is excellent and I think every seat has an unimpeded view of the stage. A very nice place for sure.
One special note: at the intermission, I struck up a conversation with E.Z., from the security staff. I mentioned this was our first time at the hall, and he told us about some of the long list of past and future shows there. We ended the nice conversation, and, minutes later, he returned with two programs and information about the future lineup. We were nowhere near the exit, so he went the extra mile to show how important customer service is, and how much we appreciated it!

Just enjoyed the Evening with Cleese and Idle, first time at Ruth Eckerd. We got there early so free parking was available close to the entrance. The lobby area is a bit cramped for the early crowd waiting to get in and again at intermission where the lines for refreshments block lines for bath rooms. The auditorium is medium-​large but not having a middle aisle means those in the center have to navigate lots of knees in rows of 70 and more. Acoustics were fine as long as the performers did not mutter or lapse into thick British acccents.
Gettting out at the end of the show was easy if you are near and aisle and do not linger for curtain calls. A traffic light on the highway facilitates left turns to return to Tampa.

Another great venue for an intimate experience with a good view from any seat. The concert hall is a bit older and less fancy, but that adds a little charm to the experience. Acoustics are sharp, crisp and booming.
Other than the spacious rows in the concert hall, I love the outdoor patio for drinks and socializing before the event or during intermission. I don’t know if it’s a regular occurrence, but they even had live music out there once.
Concession stands are plentiful and staff is as charming as the place, slightly older, unpretentious. As with any event, arrive early to leave time after parking.

Awesome local venue for our area. Free parking is always a plus. If you’re going to a sold out show, arrive early or you’ll be stuck paying $ 15 plus tip for valet service.
The ushers are very helpful in locating seats. There are several concession stands with beer, wine, liquor, and snacks (popcorn, chips, pretzels, etc.) stationed throughout the venue.
One of the best things about this venue is that concerts start on time here. If your ticket says 8, the event will start at 8. No waiting around forever hoping the band or artist will appear.
The acoustics have always been good here for concerts. Not the best I’ve ever heard, but above average. I generally am excited when a band or artist is playing here.
I’m looking forward to seeing what other up and coming acts play or perform at this venue because it’s always a great experience.

This review is from the perspective of a performer at Ruth Eckerd Hall. I’ve performed on stage here and for the people who have to be on stage, it was a great venue! My first time at Ruth Eckerd, I watched a dance performance and fell in love with everything! I participated in that show for the next 3 years, even making it to rehearsal every weekend my last year despite the fact I had moved to Miami.
The stage has ample space, which is incredibly important allowing a lot of us to all fit on stage comfortably without looking crowded. The stage has high curtains which gives more room to elements in the air, which provides more visual interest to the audience. It also felt great to move on stage, not sure what type of flooring it uses but it works well!
Being able to hear music at good quality is pretty important to dancers. I don’t recall any music mishaps where we have to play it off and keep moving, no faking it til you can make it.
I couldn’t see crap when looking out into the audience, but it really depends on the lighting.
They also seemed willing for community involvement by working with us to perform there for so many years.
The years have passed and now the show is performed at the Mahaffey Theater, but I still am very appreciative of every moment spent on stage here, and behind stage for that matter. Great lighting in the dressing rooms and plenty of space to prep for the show!

Here is a toss back to the 80’s. Quite literally, I’ve not been to Ruth Eckerd hall since 1986, when I saw Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS.
I was invited to see Alton Brown, and I jumped at the chance! The lobby is airy with a great brass staircase, it’s a bit out dated, but it’s still functional. The seats are comfortable, they’re spaced well and even have cup holders. That’s important these days, when places sell beer and wine and let you take it into the auditorium!
The acoustics were awesome. There was no trouble seeing or hearing Alton at all! The lighting was excellent as well! I have to admit, I probably should come back to see other things at this venue!

Tonight was probably my tenth visit to Ruth Eckerd Hall, as I was fortuntate to be offered free tickets to see David Feherty tell some golf stories and dirty jokes.
While I’ll always regret passing on what turned out to be Joan Rivers’ last show in the area, I have seen everything here from George Carlin to Kellie Pickler to Huey Lewis & the News to a horrendous American Idol show that didn’t even feature a live band. (Yes, that one felt more like something on a cruise ship)
Ruth Eckerd Hall really is aggressive in booking a lot of different entertainment and maximizes the calendar as well as any venue in the Tampa Bay Area.
Sure, the biggest names rarely play here because the venue is in Clearwater and is on the smaller side (Harry Connick Jr. being one exception), but you would be hard pressed to scroll through their event calendar and not find at least a couple things you may want to see if you agreed with the price of the ticket.
The location isn’t that bad if you’re coming from Tampa (A lot easier than going to a Rays game), parking is free and drinks are priced in line with most other performing arts venues locally.
Acoustics are definitely above average as I’ve never once struggled with understanding a stand-​up comedian or the audio quality of live music.
No balconies at all, seats are comfortable with a touch more room than most venues between rows to wiggle by others to get to the aisles and even a ticket in the very back row is not a terrible seat.

I have subscribed to event notifications here as was excited to get a text for a special to see Tori Amos. Picked up our tickets at will call which was a breeze. Upon entering it was chaos. There were many greeter yet nobody offered help to say which side out seat were on. Straight ahead is odd and to the right is even. Long drink lines (20+ people) so we headed up stairs and had no wait for a beverage.
The tickets I purchased online were for two end seats however our seats we in the middle of the theatre. Great to view the concert but not ideal if you want to step out for a bathroom/​drink break. Acoustics sounded good and there isn’t a «bad» seat in the house.
After reading other reviews stating departure was terrible, we left immediately following the encore. Had no trouble getting out.
Tori Amos was as fantastic as I had hoped & it was her birthday! Eclectic crowd however it was a great vibe. Will visit again to see a show!