We were lucky enough to catch Willie Nelson perform at this venue. They need to strongly consider additional drink lines as it took more than 20 minutes standing in line to get a drink. I also have major concerns about the emergency exits. This venue is one solid row from edge to edge with no central aisle. This is NOT the place I would ever want to be if a fire alarm were to go off. They need to sacrifice some seats to provide some safety.
The theater and the rest rooms have been renovated recently so the place is even more upscale.
Great place for a show! I went to see Dave Koz 20th Anniversary Christmas concert. There is not a bad seat in the house. The acoustics and lighting are great. And the attendants were so nice and helpful. The only thing I had to laugh about is that I purchased my ticket online Nov 3rd. Van Wezel emailed me my confirmation that included a great coupon to Morton's Market. Really nice except the coupon had expired Sept 30th. I responded to the email to let them know, but no one answered back.
I have ushered at the Van Wezel for 10 years. There is a choice for everybody. Classical concerts with no drinks allowed to rowdy, raucous groups of singer and people rushing off to get the second drinks. I'd like to talk about a mistaken conception, there is no issue with the seating. THERE is long horizontal rows but this does not create fire concerns, rather the opposite. The theater is emptied in 4 minutes just in a normal pace. There are doors every three rows on the end on both sides so nobody would get piled up with the entire audience racing for the one or two rear doors in traditional theater . It is so successful as a safety arrangement most theaters in Florida use this seating plan. It is not designed, as some people speculate to get the most seats in the least space.
I can say, coming from New York this is probably the high end of culture in towns the size of Sarasota. Pretty much everything is offered, from amazingly good classical concerts, to touring shows and over age singers that you recognize from TV in the 1960s.
Made me proud to live in Sarasota. Marvelous performance choices. Venice outstanding and circus amazing and the many well deserved awards were given with such grace and careful timing that I never lost interest.
A great place to watch a show. Be prepared though : they have no center aisles so if anybody needs to pee and they're on your side, youre getting up. Stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down. If you imagine you're doing the "wave" or are attending a Catholic mass, that seems to help.
The seats are comfortable but a little cramped if you're a huge person in height or width, however there are rows available with moving seats for those who are physically challenged or handicapped.
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall is a US Point Of Interest based in Sarasota, Florida. Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall is located at 777 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236, USA.
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