About The Black Rep
The Black Rep excels in delivering high-quality, culturally significant live theatrical productions featuring excellent casts, impressive sets, and strong vocal performances. While their live shows receive glowing reviews for artistic merit, there are significant and recurring issues with organizational communication and reliability regarding educational classes, making enrollment a challenging and potentially disappointing experience for parents and children.
What parents should know
Summarized from real visitor reviews.
Best for: Teens and adults interested in high-quality, culturally significant live theatrical productions.Families with older children (10+) who can sit through and appreciate longer, mature theatrical performances.Individuals specifically seeking well-produced August Wilson plays or similar dramatic works.**Older Children/Teens (10+ and Adults):** Live theatrical performances, especially longer dramas like August Wilson plays or musicals like 'Blues in the Night', are best suited for an older audience who can appreciate complex themes and longer durations.**Younger Children (7+):** Classes were advertised for a 7-year-old, indicating an intent to serve younger age groups for theater education, but current communication issues make this unreliable.
Why families love it
- High-quality live theatrical productions with creative scenery, impressive sets, top-notch lighting, and props.
- Excellent, phenomenal, and impressive performers with strong singing abilities.
- Polite and helpful staff providing good front-of-house service during live performances.
- Offers unique concessions like 'delicious Chicago popcorn' (though not for consumption in the theater).
- Focuses on culturally relevant programming, including acclaimed August Wilson plays.
- High production value in stage sets, lighting, props, and costumes (e.g., 1920s costumes).
Insider tips
- **For Live Shows:** Plan for potentially long durations (up to 3 hours total) and late endings (shows starting at 8 pm may end at 11 pm), especially if attending with children or if you have travel plans.
- **For Live Shows:** Do not bring outside food or drinks, and be prepared that purchased concessions like popcorn cannot be consumed inside the theater.
- **For Live Shows:** Leave cameras and filming devices at home, as photography and videography are strictly prohibited during performances.
- **For Classes:** Exercise extreme caution when enrolling in classes. Attempt to secure direct, confirmed communication (beyond online sign-ups or voicemails) before promising enrollment to your child due to severe reported unresponsiveness and unreliability.
- **For Class Enrollment:** Consider alternatives for theater classes if prompt communication and reliable scheduling are priorities, as this organization has significant issues in this area.
Good to know before you go
- Relying on online sign-ups or voicemail for class enrollment or inquiries, as communication is reportedly poor and unreliable.
- Bringing young children to evening performances with late start times and long durations, as shows can end as late as 11 pm.
- Expecting to eat or drink inside the main performance venue, as this is prohibited.
- If you prioritize consistent and professional communication from an organization, especially concerning children's programs.
- Severe communication issues for classes: no response to online sign-ups, full voicemail, and no callbacks reported over several weeks.
- Value
- No specific ticket or class prices are mentioned in the reviews. The value for live performances appears high given the praise for production quality and cast talent. However, the value for classes is extremely low due to significant communication failures and class unreliability, which can lead to wasted time and disappointment for parents and children.
- Food
- No eating is allowed inside the theater for live performances.
- Accessibility
- No specific accessibility features are mentioned for The Black Rep as an organization.
- Safety
- No specific safety features related to the venue or children's programs are mentioned.
What parents say
"The scenery was very creative. The sets took me back in time. The costumes were from the 20s. The performers were excellent. The singing was impressive. The staff that greeted me were polite and helpful. They remained that wall from beginning to end. I purchased some Chicago popcorn, and it was delicious. A word of caution. You can't eat in the theater. There is no camera or filming allowed for this live performance. Blues in the Night is the 1st show of the season. I plan to go back to see another show. Perhaps it will be the comedy performance that's next."
7 months ago
"My daughter is interested in theater. My mother and aunt attended as children and recommended this place. I signed up for classes online 3 weeks ago, I haven't got a response. Classes were to begin March 1. I called and left a message. Called again last week and voicemail is full. Still no callback or info about class. Sad, I've been telling my 7 yr old for a whole month she was starting theater in March and now she will not. We will have to send her to other theater classes where she will be a minority. I wanted her with black teachers and peers."
2 months ago
"We traveled from Memphis to see King Headley II at the Edison Theater at WashU. It was awesome!!! The cast was phenomenal! We have seen several plays by August Wilson but this was the best one! The stage set, the lighting, and props were top notch. The play was 2 hours and 45 minutes long with a 15 minute intermission. It started at 8 pm so we didn’t get out until 11pm. It would be nice if they started at 7pm since the show was almost 3 hours. Other than that, it was a great show with an excellent cast. You have to plan to see at least one show and I guarantee that you will enjoy it."
9 months ago
Reviews sourced from public Google data.
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