Theatre for a New Audience at Polonsky Shakespeare Center

It's a new spacious building that offers great view of the stage no matter where you sit (maybe chairs on the sides of mezzanine could be turned at 45° facing the stage to avoid a visit to a PT). What's not to like?

Just saw The Swamp Dwellers—thank you TFANA for mounting it! It shares so many perspectives of each character with depth, laughter and humanity! It is an apt comment on our times and the human experience.

The Polonsky Shakespeare Center is an amazing jewel in Brooklyn. I think it's the best Off-Broadway house in NYC. It is in a brand new building hiding an intimate theatre in which the audience is almost on the stage amid the actors. I was blessed to see "Wedding Band," a standout revival of Alice Childress' MasterClass in race relations. What's sad is that this was written over fifty years ago about a time one hundred years ago and it still rings current, down to the influenza. I don't know if Ms. Childress is a seer or merely a master story teller. If you have a chance go to Brooklyn and see, in person, this amazing production.

Great sized and laid out venue. Good audio, good staff. Location is also nice.

Found out about this theater through a colleague. It offers some really unique shows and if you’re a student they have a great “new deal” night. The shows here feel personal and intimate, which is different from your typical theater experience in time square. Check it out for yourself, you won’t regret it!

Been visiting TFANA for about ten years now and the work gets better and better. They also have a great little theater bookshop with their concessions in the lobby!

Saw Henry the IV. The view from the balcony seats was terrible. Should be sold as partial view. You have to lean over the railings to see even part of the stage. Saw mostly tops of actors heads unless they were addressing the heavens.

I've been a subscriber here for several years. I really enjoy their offerings.

I just saw Fairview here. The play was excellent but I'm here to talk about the venue. It's a brand new beautiful building. The theatre itself is not huge. That allows the experience with the entertainment to be more intimate. The seats were comfortable and padded. I was in the orchestra and had an amazing view. Seems like the majority of the seats would have a good view. Can't speak to the balcony view though. I found the staff to be friendly and helpful. They seated us quickly minutes before the curtain went up. It's also nice that there's a seating area and cafe on the way out where you can take a break and chat.

Came to this venue for the first time to see the closing of Fairview. The venue itself is nice and not too far from public transportation. The ushers were very nice and helpful and the space worked really well with this contemporary piece of art. It is definitely minimal and sleek with 3 different sections for viewing. The seats were pretty comfy and padded and I was fortunate enough to have a great view. Now I'm not sure if it is the venue that gave discount tickets or SOHO rep, but the idea of having discount tickets for people under 30 was awesome. I will definitely back to see more theatre. 5/5

Great theater with amazing production. Came here twice - once for House of Dolls and second time for The Skin of Out Teeth and both times I had wonderful experience. The theater is not huge and the stage is really intimate with the audience. Without mic, you can hear the actors/actresses clearly and you are truly interacting with them. Both times the staging was fantastic and exquisite with once piece of prop serving multiple purposes and sometimes in surprisingly ways. The best thing about this theater is the special offer it has for young people below 30 years' old. With a proof of ID, you are able to get $20 tickets for which would have cost ~$80-90. Kudos to the theater management. Highly recommend it if you are interested in cool and quality cultural events that don't cost a fortune.

Great performance venue New, intimate theatrical venue. Stadium seating means there really isn't a bad seat in the orchestra (see photos). The two balconies are acceptable only - front and middle balcony seats are neck strainers. Rear balcony seats are a reasonable angle to sit for 90 minutes.

BE WARNED. Two thirds of the seats in the "balcony", the ones on the sides, have absolutely no view at all. You literally cannot see the stage while sitting in your seat. See attached photo. By the way, we were told that taking any photos in the theater was forbidden even before the performance. I can see why they don't want people to know how bad these seats actually are. If you are going to sell seats up there they should come with the disclaimer that you will not be able to see any portion of the stage. What a disgrace.

Beautiful new theatre in Brooklyn. Very clean design, all seats are good seats. Nice pricing for students. Light snacks are available with seating along the wall of windows. Saw About Alice and it was an excellent play. Moving, personal, meaningful. A very positive experience all the way around.

Age Discrimination: If you're 31 and older and not enrolled in college, stay away from this theater because they will charge you much more than 20.00 due to your age. I had to leave the theater because they ripped me off with high prices for being a middle-aged woman. Advice to the owner: Get rid of the 30 and younger deal and replace it for a deal for low income people, all patrons who make less than $30000.00 annually should get the 20.00 deal.

TFANA is a great theatre in New York. Easy to get to and they have excellent performances. Saw He Brought Her Heart Back In A Box last week. Intimate space that is truly unique.

I love TFANA. For starters, the Polonsky Center is a lovely space, and there probably isn't a bad seat in the house (can't say for certain as each time I've been there, seating has been set up differently. I've always had orchestra seats so I'm not sure what the upper balconies are like). Every production I have been to has been Broadway-quality, both in acting, set & costume design. Each season, there is an interesting variety of shows, usually topical. Subscription prices are reasonable and they are super accommodating if changes need to be made.

I was in this theater for the first time and had a pleasure of watching a great play by Adrienne Kennedy"He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box" . The theatre is very cozy, seats are very comfortable and the staff is very friendly. I would definitely come back to see more plays in this theater.