W L Lyons Brown Theatre

I went here to see Chinese acrobats and dancing.
The venue is beautiful. My seat on the ground floor were good, but depending on what you’re watching there, the balcony may be better. I look forward to seeing more shows there

I thoroughly enjoy seeing shows here! This theatre is small enough to feel intimate and large enough to have a nice overall sound quality. I was recently here for the St Vincent show and was wowed! Her entertainment level was an A++! Thanks to the Brown Theatre for hosting such a great artist. Also, I was pleased to see that the bar is now accepting credit cards! Big help for those of us who do not always carry cash. :)

Beautiful venue. Old world décor. Ornate gold trimmings. Comfortable theatre style seating. It’s very hard to have a bad seat at this venue.
I’ve seen everything from concerts to stage shows here and it’s my favorite venue in Louisville. I admit I’m partial because I enjoy a guaranteed seat to watch entertainment. I’m a short person!
That’s not to say it won’t get rowdy (Chris Cornell concert had a fight) and people will stand during concerts (everyone stood during City and Colour). sometimes people get drunk and spill drinks on people because of the close proximity and theatre seating. I still prefer this venue. I think the parking is easier and the interior is nicer than most spots in Louisville.

I love the chandelier, the architectural details, and the fact that there really isn’t a bad seat in the house.
I hate the tiny uncomfortable seats, the cramped will-​call area, and the inconsistent ventilation.
The acoustics are great. Generally, tickets are reasonably priced, and the bar is usually well stocked and priced on par with other local venues.
Parking can be a pain in the ass when there’s an act here and at the Palace so come early to get that sorted.

Had a great visit here a few weekends ago! Beautiful theater, great location! Also thought that the drink prices were very reasonable! I would definitely look at this theater again when wanting to do something fun in downtown Louisville.

I’ve been to concerts and comedy shows here. It’s not a bad venue. It’s probably not my favorite place in town but still a great place to see a show. I don’t think there is a bad seat in the place.
It’s another place in downtown Louisville that’s elegant, but instead of feeling modern, you feel like you’re from another retro decade.
The Brown draws really good acts. Acts that normally wouldn’t perform at other venues in and around town. For that, it deserves to be recognized at the top of the list. I hope this Theatre stays around.

I wish I could give them both a 5 star on some things while a one or two on others.
We really enjoyed the opera and the people watching. Lots of fancy dresses, expensive suits, fur coats and old people. I could spend a lot of time writing about the people, some pretentious, some pretenders, lots of lawyers talking business and lots of regular folks paying dress up, and I loved all of it.
The opera was fun (our first time) the singers were great the view from our seats was good, and that’s where the good stuff ends.
First if you order online the receipts will not have the right address on them. they say the Kentucky Center. So here we are on one of the worst bad weather nights of the year, Valentines day. Traffic is awful, the roads are 3 inch deep slush so even though I gave myself 45 min. we barely get into the theater as the Opera should be starting.
We get inside and find a def jam comedy rap thing going on instead of the Opera. We show our receipt to an usher, and they say yeah that happens all the time «everyone knows the Opera is at the Brown theater even though the receipts are wrong» Really? Everyone?
So you’ve got this giant over priced public venue that controls several theaters and they know the address is wrong on their receipts apparently for years and they know it pisses people off all the time and the answer everyone gave us was «h well everyone figures it out after awhile»
So this continues all night but gets worse. We get to the Brown 1 minute after the curtain goes up, we know we can’t be seated now and assume we will go to a viewing room. We are and shown the first act on a really bad and old projector.
The ushers and managers are rude and dismissive and complain about us not showing up on time. When we mention the incorrect address they thumb their noes clearly we are newbies and not cool or local enough to know better. No one every apologized or showed any concern whatsoever.
When we are allowed to go to our seats we take the elevator up, and the person running the elevator asks why we are late, and I show here the wrong address. She says since all locals know this they find it funny and leave it this way on purpose.
Now the ushers; we get inside show our tickets and they have no idea where the seats are! Not one but three of them cannot figure out where our seats are, maybe over there, maybe over here, not sure which way the numbers go etc. Really? Could they be more incompetent?
One kind usher sees the dilemma and offers us her seats.
The Seats!
I guess this theater must have been designed by and for midgets. My wife is not very tall nor am I but we spent the whole time pinned into our seats sideways because the seats in front were too close while the couple behind us kept hitting us in the head with their knees every time they moved. The seating was worse that any bad airplane I’ve been on. It was if it was designed intentionally to be uncomfortable.
So although the opera was fine the experience was not and although we may go to an opera someplace else we will never go back to this theater again.

Would have loved to have seen La Boheme, but couldn’t get it scheduled!!!

Okay, so it’s not quite as beautiful a venue as the Palace, but it’s a close second. And let’s be honest, our mid-​size venues are where Louisville really shines.
Sure, there’s the Yum Center, if you are in to that sort of thing.
But the Brown consistently draws unique, indie, up and coming, or classic acts that will absolutely knock your socks off. Yet the ticket prices tend to leave your socks exactly where you left them. (Seriously? $ 25 for Grace Potter?)
And don’t tell anyone, but there is a secret women’s restroom off to the right of the theater, kind of near the bar. There’s hardly ever a line…

First impressions– this is a beautiful theater and the parking is so cheap! The parking lot conveniently located across the street is less than $ 5 all night. When we walked into the theater, I was struck by the architecture and beauty of it. It’s an old-​style theater that’s been remarkably well-​kept. I love the chandeliers and gold trim, and the stadium-​style seating that allows everyone a great view of the stage. It really is a beautiful place to see a show. We saw Mike Birbiglia, a comedian and story-​teller, there, and the show itself was also fantastic. A critique would be the sound system– Mike’s voice could have been louder, sometimes I couldn’t catch what he was saying. The whole audience felt this way– we called for the theater people to turn up his mic, but not much improvement was made.

No Bad Seat!
Outside of the limited and location placement of the bathrooms, I love this theater!
This is smaller theater that has more intimate seating. I have sat in the front, the back, the corner, and the balcony. Every place I sat had great sound and perfect visuals of the stage. For the Opera they will even show on TV’s the caption above the stage and in the back of the house. If you get center row seats know that there is no middle isle, so you will have to excuse yourself to the bathroom by passing all the other seats.
I also like the fact the layout has a side cocktail/​drink room and coat check area to the right of the entrance. To the left of the entrance you will find the stairs to the balcony.
The location of the Brown Theatre allows for free street parking and empty lots in close walking distance.
Besides the multiple stars I have seen on their stage I give this place an additional 5 stars!

I have been to several concerts here, most recently the Civil Wars on 1÷13÷12. Never a bad experience.
I really like this venue, I love the acts they have perform here, the sound is amazing.

The Brown theatre is one of the most elegant and beautiful theatres in the region– seeing a show or concert here is truly an experience.