Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium

You will not believe what the Jubilee staff did to us last night!
The Jubilee charges outrageous prices, compared to similar venues and I just can’t justify spending the money there after how we were treated!
For example, (after paying for parking and event tickets) a tiny glass of wine is $ 9, bottle of water is $ 3, twizzlers $ 4, caramel pretzels $ 3.50. On a date last night, my hubby and I spent over $ 35 at the concession next to the theatre and headed in the theatre. The first round of drinks and snacks was no problem but after intermission we grabbed another round. We were suddenly pulled aside and reprimanded publicly for having tried to bring in outside food and drink. When we explained that we just bought this all from their concession only 8 feet away we were told that we could not bring it in. It did not matter that we had bought it from them, they wouldn’t let us eat or drink it. That’s right, the Jubilee Auditorium has multiple concessions open during a show but will not allow you to eat or drink the items they sell at those many concessions!

The Jubilee is a good venue and overall I have had positive experiences.
My most recent visit… Paid Parking was okay and reasonably close, but that may depend on how busy it is. The seven dollar parking was cash only so it was a fortunate that i did have the cash on me. The ushers and staff were mostly friendly and helpful aside from one grouch. The seating is tight — elbow to elbow. I can not imagine a larger person being comfortable squished in like that.

We had a great evening at The Jubilee last night. We were on the second balcony and could still see and hear very well. Parking was a bit of a pain so go early to avoid that stress.

Besides the Centre for Performing Arts downtown, where else is there to see a great live performance in Calgary? The last time I was here was to watch Blue Man Group, and this time it was for West Side Story (which had a less than one week run). First balcony centre is a nice spot if you can get the front row, otherwise be prepared to have your sightline blocked by people with long torsos.

What an amazing venue, so beautiful and the acoustics are amazing.
We came here to see the Nutcracker Ballet, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The bar staff was a bit frantic trying to get everyone beverages at intermission, but they seemed to handle it okay.
For a classy night out, this is the venue.

Great acoustics!
I’m not really fond of the layout here, with coat check being on one side of the auditorium, and there only being one way of escalators, so you have to walk up or down the rest of the stairs in your high heels. There aren’t quite enough stalls in the bathrooms. There aren’t any bathrooms on the 2^nd balcony either. Not enough water fountains either.
Not enough staffing during intermissions, with the lack of bathroom stalls there isn’t enough time to both get a drink and go to the bathroom during the intermissions even though they are 20 minutes long. They only had two bars open during the intermission and the line ups were crazy long.
Nice open lobbies with big beautiful glass windows and wide open stair wells on either end of the building. Seating is okay, the front row of the balconies has a handrail that is just a little too high to allow for an unblocked view of the stage. Drinks are just a bit more than average. On the very plus side though, cool lighting and great acoustics!, and parking isn’t too bad ($ 6 cash only).

I’ve been to many performances here, most recently last night. I seem to think the main floor restrooms have been renovated (among other things) since the last time I was here. They are rather nice. I appreciate the announced countdown of time prior to the start of a show. Overall, it’s a classy place and I think it’s a fantastic semi-​intimate venue. I never purchase food or beverages so have nothing to report about that. I feel «The Jube» would deserve 5 stars if the parking situation were better. I save myself a lot of hassle by leaving my vehicle in the North Hill Centre Mall parking lot and walking five minutes to the venue.

The Jubilee Auditorium is one of the top notch venues in the City of Calgary. I have been to «the Jube» a number of times for various events — everything from the Nitty Gritty dirt band, to Jerry Seinfeld, fundraisers, and on December 23^rd — the Nutcracker Ballet.
In my opinion, there are many highs and lows around going to events at the Jube, such as:
Accolades:
1. Really, there isnt a bad seat in the house. For the nutcracker, I was in the nosebleeds, second balcony, back half, almost touching the roof, and even with my fear of heights, it is comfortable up there with a great view.
2. The acoustics are fantastic! The CPO sounded amazing as always, and you could even hear the ballerina’s feet on the floor.
The bad news:
1. Parking is a nightmare. An absolute nightmare. We got to the jube with 30 minutes to spare, and barely made it in. Seriously, the 3 minute call to get to our seats was happening as we were running in from the parkade.
2. Parking and drinks were cash only. I have every confidence this contributed to the bottleneck in parking. Likely people were driving up, didn’t have cash and then had to retreat with a mile-​long lineup. Its 2012 people — does anyone carry cash anymore? Luckily, I did, but trust me, it was a fluke. I usually only have my debit card and credit card.
3. Bathrooms are not sufficient for the size of the venue. We were on the second balcony, and went to the first level for a refreshment. The ladies room was lined up for miles into the hallway on both levels. Given that they have taken the stand to not allow you back into the theatre during the production, the venue should allow enough time at intermission to get people through.
The venue is first class in terms of your experience during the show. However, getting into the venue, getting a soft drink and hitting the bathroom are basic requirements, that will hopefully be addressed.

Review #22 of Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge 2012
I’ve only been to the Jubilee Auditorium twice — once to watch Alberta Ballet and another time to Rock of Ages. Jubilee Auditorium and both experiences were excellent. All the ushers were very friendly and always ready to assist anyone who’s having a hard time finding their seats. I like that there were several bars which prevented long lines before the start of the show. If you know what you’re gonna have during the intermission, you can also order your drink before the show starts. Some of the rows/​seats are not elevated high enough that all you’re gonna see if the head of the person in front of you. You have to move your head to one side just to get a good view.

the sound is great and they have great shows all year long.
Need to work on the food and drinks during the break.

Fortunately I managed to grab a couple of tickets to Calgary Opera’s 2012 presentation of Pagliacci /​Gianni Schicchi a week and a half before its showing. Due to the popularity of the presentation and the fact that it was the opening night of the 2012 season, tickets went quickly and the best I could do for me and my date was row X chair 50 and 51.
Having never been to the Jubilee, I was concerned that it might be difficult to see or enjoy the show from row X because the seats were the last row of the floor section and slightly to the right of the stage. However, I was pleased that one can clearly view and hear the orchestra and cast from my seat.
This was my first opera and I’ll never forget the chills it send down my spine at certain points. I would recommend watching any production at the Jube, great acoustics … at least from where I was sitting. Parking was $ 6. Coat Check $ 2 per coat. Getting your first spine chill from the opera … priceless!
¹³⁄₃₀ — Unilocal 30 Day Challenge

I’ve seen a few performances here, most recently the full operatic performance of Aida, and of less grandiosity, but equal charm, Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans.
I’ve been to few theatres around the world, and while «The Jubilee» is not equal to say, the Lincoln Centre, I do feel that Calgary is pretty lucky to have such a well-​designed, reasonably aesthetic venue. The sightlines are quite good, and as other people say, the acoustics are pleasing.

The name «auditorium» doesn’t really do this place justice. It is easily one of my favourite spaces to watch theatre or catch a show in all of Calgary. I’m not just saying that because the sinks in the bathrooms have soap that comes out with the water. Okay, I sorta am.
Besides the kick-​ass bathroom, the auditorium itself is simply stunning. I’ve had seats all over the place and they usually have a great views of the stage, but sometimes that depends on the show.
This is also home to Broadway Across Canada and is more than capable of holding huge shows like Miss Saigon and The Lion King. I’ve also caught Dallas Green here too and he easily could have gotten swallowed up by the giant stage, instead the auditorium’s acoustics carried him through the night.
A little bit of a parking tip. Find the parking lot off of 10^st. You’ll get a closer spot and get out so much faster. And it is only $ 5.

Still my favorite place for seeing a show or musical event. This venue a more class experience. Whether it’s a philharmonic orchestra, musical production, live theatre, stand-​up comedy, graduation, or seasoned musical artist, it all makes for a memorable experience.

The most impressive thing about the JASA was how organised the parking staff was, there was a good full house last night and parking seemed to flow quite freely. We found a space in the parking lot for a mere 5 dollars and just one level up brought us inside and down the hall from the auditorium. There is an amazing view of Calgary from this location and our cityscape twinkled in the night.
The ushers were extremely courteous and we got there right before the performance. But as beautiful as the interior is and as huge as JASA is, the seating was so small, I mean my elbows rested on the elbows of both my neighbours. Plus there wasn’t much leg room and I am a shorter person. I couldn’t imagine how tall people could sit and enjoy any performance in these seats.
My friend got leg cramps during the first half so during intermission we decided to stretch our legs and luckily we found an area on the lowest level lobby where there was a flat screen TV. Here were leather chairs and although we were in the auditorium we thought we could still hear and see the lecture from here, sit on comfortable loungers and stretch our legs.
One of the ushers put up the volume for us and we watched the rest of the lecture from the auditorium lobby. So all in all JASA is definitely not my first choice for viewing anything in Calgary. I much prefer the EPCOR centre.

I hadn’t been to the Jubilee Auditorium in a good 10 years and finally revisited it last night when I went to go see The Alberta Ballet perform The Nut Cracker on stage there.
We were sitting on the first balcony and the seats were fantastic! I had actually forgotten what a beautiful theatre The Jubilee is!
I was also told recently that they renovated it and from what I could tell, you can see the stage from pretty much any seat. The music travels beautifully and the seats are extremely comfortable in comparison to other theatre seats.
My experience at The Jubilee Auditorium was wonderful and it’s definitely scoring 5 stars in my books!

Not the best venue in town to see live music. We went to see a show there this summer and we waited too long to buy tickets which meant we were way in the upper, upper deck. Outside the windows, you could see through clouds. The angle seems odd there in that it actually goes away from the stage as it goes up.
I don’t even think the acoustics were all that great. They had to pump it up to reach us all the way up there. But that said, this seems to be a popular venue for mid-​sized acts and if you really want to see the performer you’ll go. Just buy tickets early so your head’s not in the clouds.