Signature Theatre

West Side Story simply couldn’t have been better! Spectacular, explosive dancing; gorgeous singing; perfect leading roles. Better than Broadway because you’re so close to the action you feel like you’re a part of it.

Just saw West Side Story. I especially liked the dance sequences. Performed beautifully. One of Signature’s best performances.

shows are always great here. saw the Christmas show-​did the job for me. theater holds about 100 people-​great place.

Love this local theater because it’s fairly new, has a great layout and the staff is very friendly. I’ve seen the following plays here.
–Hairspray
–Miss Saigon
and many others to keep track of
I’ve even gotten something to eat at their café ahead of time and had it waiting for me during intermission. Their grilled cheese bacon is pretty good I must say.
Will definitely be back to support this local theater!

I just endured the single worst night of theater in my entire life, Signature theater’s production of Girlstar. Lots of laughs from the audience — but to things that were not intended to be funny. I cannot believe this was allowed to go to production. It is as if it were written by a 12 year old girl for a class of 10 year olds. And not the smart ones… the «C» students.

So this theater is located in a really nice spot in Shirlington. I went to see the «Cabaret». The ambiance and the décor at this theater is pretty cool. Comfy chairs, and no real «bad seats» as such. My friend has got us these «special» seats, which are right in the midst of the stage performance. There is free parking in the garage behind the theater, but you also have paid parking garages in close proximity. Lot of dining options in the vicinity too.
Verdict: Definitely, worth a visit!

This was the best birthday gift idea ever! I took my sister to Busboy’s and Poets for dinner, it’s right across the street and is truly the perfect match for this kind of date. We saw Sweeney Todd — Long story short, my sister cried throughout the whole thing. The orchestra was absolutely Amazing! We will be back for West Side Story in the winter!!!

I just saw the play Soon and was shocked to see the inhumane treatment of an animal in the play. For most of the play, a goldfish was kept in a glass of water, often carelessly passed from actor to actor. The poor creature was sloshing around in this drinking glass. It was absolutely unnecessary. The theatre should immediately commit to using a prop.

Don’t get me wrong — I love the theater and its shows. But after being a partial subscriber there last year (shared with someone else), I started getting marketing ads in BOTH of our names at my home address. I ignored one, then a second. But now that I’ve gotten a third, in such a way that I KNOW it could only have come from them, I felt compelled to say something. I will probably go to more shows at Signature because they’re great entertainment, but beyond that will not support someone who treats my privacy as their commodity.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this theater! The shows are always entertaining and often a tad edgy. Parking is FREE in the garage behind the theater which is more than I can say for other area theaters. There is a plethora of dining options for either before or after a show. This will be my second year as a season ticket holder although I have seen shows here for about 7 years. There is really not a bad seat in either theater. Typically you are within 3 – 12 feet of the stage and really feel like a part of the show. Leave those opera glasses at home because you won’t need them. They do offer «rush tickets» so if you are on a budget or just decide at the last minute to go to a show, you might want to check this option out.

I’ve now seen two shows at The Signature and had quite a different experience each time.
The first show I saw there was Miss Saigon, which was captivating and executed with genius vision. You wouldn’t even notice how small the venue is compared to places like The Kennedy, because everything worked to perfection. Great directing, cast, and I thoroughly enjoyed the venue. It is very modern and sleek looking and is located in a great area with plenty of parking and dinner choices around. The theatre has a nice bar and sitting area (complete with a piano player passing the time), and allow you to bring your drink to your seat. The first experience was pretty much perfection.
Last night I saw The Threepenny Opera and it felt like a different place. Of course the surrounding food selection was still there and the bar and waiting area were still nice. The show, while still boasting a talented cast, just wasn’t as good. The direction and acting choices just came across as lazy this time and the show just wasn’t as well done as the first show I saw there.
Additionally, this evening made me realize just how annoying some of the things I thought were great the first time can actually end up being. If you have the misfortune of sitting next to a fat-​headed idiot like I did last night, you don’t want the theatre allowing drinks in the show. Unless you enjoy clattering ice and someone slurping in their drink like a 5 year old in your ear all night. He also made me realize that the stadium style rafter seating is not always good. Though you can see well from every seat in the house, again, a fathead buffoon will make you see the flaws in it. Every time he obnoxiously drank his water, he’d lower it to his legs and adjust his legs. Every time his heels hit back on the floor the entire row jolted like you are at a high school football game sitting in the bleachers. I know an obnoxious patron isn’t really the fault of the theater, but having seating that can’t contain his obnoxiousness, and policies that allow someone to continuously make noise throughout a performance aren’t great.
Combine that with the show just not being as well done as I expected, I have to drop a star off my rating. I’ll still definitely be back and would highly recommend this theatre.

My sister and I went to this lovely theater last night and saw Beaches. The performance was wonderful. We were very impressed with the quality of the talent. The ushers were all very pleasant and helpful. Will certainly return here to see future shows.

LOVE this theater. They have great shows, and the seats are so close to the stage it makes me feel like an integral part of the show!

Last week, I went to a weeknight performance of Miss Saigon. I was really impressed by what the show was able to do with the Max Theatre. They did a fine job simulating the helicopter scene! I really enjoyed the quality of the performance and this is coming from someone who was skeptical to watch this show at a local theatre. They proved me so wrong.
As soon as I walked into the Signature Theatre, I was impressed. The décor is industrial yet inviting. There is a bar area and they allow you to bring in your drinks into the theatre… bonus! They served some café food too but I didn’t get to try it. They also provide an order ahead service so you can order and pay for your food so that it’ll be ready at the intermission.
While the chairs were comfortable, the Center seating is set up on a system that is similar to stadium bleachers so you can kinda feel everyone walking.
Overall, I would love to go back to see another show. I highly recommend that you do too! It’s located in the The Village at Shirlington so there are plenty of places to walk around, have a nice dinner *nudge nudge wink wink… date night material!

A hidden gem just outside DC in Shirlington. Sure, there are many larger theatres downtown. However, Signature puts on some unique, independent pieces that are great as well as larger musicals. They also offer rush tickets that you can get at 50% the day of the show. It’s a smaller theatre so the benefit is pretty much every seat is good. Even if you’re in the back or the balcony it’s really not that far. Everyone is really friendly and the bar has fairly reasonably priced food and drink (for a theatre anyways). There are several garages so parking isn’t really a problem. There are also a variety of restaurants and shops nearby many of which are worth checking out.

Seeing a show at the Signature Theater was on my «things to do» list for 2012. I randomly discovered their 50% off Open House sale in August where you can purchase ticket to shows throughout the year at a major discount. The line for the sale was somewhat long so I came back that evening before closing time and was able to snag 4 tickets to Dream Girls for approx $ 35 per ticket vs. the normal $ 70. You can purchase a maximum of 4 tickets during the sale and they must be purchased on the premises during the Open House (one day only).
The discounted tickets are for the first few dates of any given show, presumably so they can adjust any kinks and have some practice time before a live audience. Perhaps if you are a critic, you might notice some issues, but I didn’t notice any and was there simply to have a good time. They also have a Cyber Monday sale after Thanksgiving and I have also seen their tickets on the Gold Star Events website. Someone told me that you can purchase discounted tickets one hour before show time.
Most of the seats provide a decent vantage point. I was in the back row and could see perfectly fine thanks to the stadium style seating arrangement. There are a few seats on the left and right balconies that might pose a problem. The acoustics were great and the theater company did a great job with the props and scene creation.
Logistically, Signature Theater is organized and efficient. A bell tolls 5 minutes prior to seating time. There are ample ushers on staff to guide you to your seat. There are multiple entrances at the sides of the stage and at the back of the seating area. Intermission was organized and it was fairly easy to get drinks and snacks. The hot chocolate chip cookie was popular. Drinks, wine, and snacks are all affordable and not overpriced. I think I paid $ 2 for a bottle of water, which is typical these days. The environment was comfortable and the lobby serene. I would recommend seeing a show here at least once if you have never been.
There are many restaurants within walking distance of the theater. My friends and I enjoyed Aladdin’s prior to the show. The food was tasty and healthy, service was efficient, and we had plenty of time to get to the theater.
Here is a map if of the free Shirlington parking garages:

I love this little theater. We saw three shows there this year — Brother Russia, God of Carnage and Xanadu. All three were wonderful. I was truly surprised, for a local theater, by the talent of the actors and the professionalism of the productions. I love the intimacy of this theater. You almost feel like a part of the show as an audience member. There’s not a bad seat in the house.
Beyond the performances themselves, Signature has a great little bar where they hold parties post-​show on the weekends. They serve a variety of drinks and pretty good food as well (and it’s open ’till 1:30 am).

Signature theatre really specializes in musicals. I can’t say that musicals are really my thing per say, and Shirlington is not the easiest place to get to without a car, so I don’t make it here often. They don’t do exclusively musicals however — for instance I saw an amazing one-​man called The Tricky Part many years back. The space itself is also very beautiful and modern.
I think Signature is an important theater that fills an vital niche, it just isn’t a niche that particularly interests me most of the time.

A beautiful and cool spot in Shirlington – they won a Tony for best regional theater (or something).
Just want to correct another reviewer who said that «public transportation» is not an option. It is. Take the ART 77 bus from Courthouse or Clarendon metro weekdays every 30 minutes – or the Metrobus 10B any day, also every half hour, from Ballston.

I went here last night for the showing of Really Really. The facilities are clean and beautiful and the staff was all wonderful. The prices for snacks, food, and drinks are all reasonable at the café, and the cast was just so very talented.