GALA Hispanic Theatre

I saw a performance of #LaFoto tonight. You enter through double doors of a building. A guard told me to head upstairs (knowing I was there for the show). There is adequate signage that the Gala Theatre is on the second floor. The staircase has framed photographs all the way up. The box office is through the stairwell door and to the right.

There is another door to enter where an usher hands you a program. Inside to the right are a few tables with low bar stools with a high bar table. There are dedicated men's and women's restrooms on either side of the bar. There's snacks and beverages for sale.

Doors opened 30 minutes before the start of the show. Ushers were friendly, helpful, professional, upbeat, focused, and coordinated.

Music played on loop before the show--everything from a Gloria Estefan's "Congo" to Dua Lipa's "New Rules" to breathy Latin soul jams to 90s skateboard hip-hop.

The theater space is much larger than I expected, and I marveled at how beautiful the decor, particularly the detail in the ceiling, was.

The set was minimalist but astutely and aesthetically built with pleasing lighting.

The show was in Spanish and subtitled! After seven years of Spanish in middle and high school, I tested myself to see how much I could understand. Much of the present tense and slower dialogue I got.

The show had six actors, the play was about 1.5 hour with one 10-minute interval, the story was funny and serious at times, and the pacing was good. A few women laughed at far too many scenes than the rest of the audience, but maybe they are unnaturally jovial by birth. For a cold February Thursday, the house was about 40-50 percent full, maybe more.

The seating was a bit uncomfortable, but being short I can't complain. The seats cushions are comfortable but the seats themselves are tight side by side and row to row. Your knees will touch the seat in front of yours if you're taller than 5'7". These seats are meant for sitting up straight, so don't slouch. I saw dedications to loved ones on the seats.

I recommend this theater!

Gala is an incredible place that contributes so much to our community. I have attended two shows - a play, and most recently the On Your Feet musical which was one of the best productions I have ever seen (I went twice!). The productions are high quality, it is a small venue which feels intimate. They require vaccines or negative COVID tests which made me feel safer. And most special to me is the crucial work they are doing through their after school programs for at-risk youth. I can't wait to go to the next show!

Had a great night watching the Chocolate City Burlesque last night. it really was very live & performance acts got the place jumping. The Theatre itself was very nice but I must say the wooden seats had very little walkway or stretch out at all and tightly fit....so make sure keep it light.

We've long been Gala theatre devotees. It is a lovely venue right in the heart of DC and usually attracts good talent. I say usually. I feel that perhaps due to budget cuts, the theater's directorial craftmanship has gone down. Yesterday we had to sit through a rather painful performance of "House of Desires." The three hour play reminded me a badly written soap opera, where the actors were reciting their lines, not actually playing their part. There was absolutely no chemistry, unless you consider the actors playing the servants. I put the blame on the director. He/she either didn't finish the job or miscast his actors.

Ok, enough with the bad review. Their flamenco and tango shows are always great, so perhaps I'd just stick with these two.

Considering my review, the word that kept coming to mind was "treasure." then I read several other reviews and, as you may have noticed, that word is peppered throughout the reviews. So, it must have some resonance. It really is a unique place and i recommend getting on their mailing list.

First, it is an elegant facility in a terrific location. One block from the Columbia Heights Metro and accessible to 14th St. buses, it's also surrounded by restaurants. Will call is easy to find and they have a pre-show bar. There's also a nice display in the foyer that describes the Tivoli reclamation project.

About the shows? Just wonderful events. I highly recommend their annual flamenco festival held each autumn. It is spectacular. They bring together some of the world's top performers as well as the best local talent to produce an innovative, original program. And they leave it all on the stage. The theater is small, it seats less than 300, so you're very close to the action.

This is a terrific place for a date. I recommend the local restaurants such as The Heights, Alero, or Commonwealth Gastropub. They are relaxing places to start your evening. you can return to them after the show, or down the street to Meridian Pint or Red Rocks.

GALA really is a gem. If I had one complaint, it's that you never know when the curtain will rise. They sometimes start the shows between five and twenty minutes late. Be there on time, but don't be surprised if they don't start on time.

Great venue! Very clean and comfortable.

I can't believe I never realized this theater was there. I came here to see a live podcast for Kid Fury. I was seated all the way at the top and I could still see perfectly.

I was upset the bar did not serve Hennessy, so I didn't drink anything.

Caliente! GALA is predominately theater for Hispanic and Latino productions, but if you don't speak Spanish-- don't let that scare you. GALA's productions have something called "surtitles' which is basically Spanglish for subtitles. At GALA, the English is projected onto the screen in an easy to follow format.

The shows at GALA are typically classical Spanish plays or musicals, as well as flamenco dances. The building in which GALA resides, the Trivoli, was originally constructed in the early 1920's and was one of the most elegant movie theaters of that day.

Sometimes, you can catch some really cool stuff here like Trey Parker's "Cannibal the Musical" and a Bill and Ted spin on The Brothers Grimm.

The space doesn't have a grand entrance. You go up a set of stars of what almost looks like office building to second floor. Worn interior but filled with love and sweet staff. Small simple cash bar available. Only one entrance into the theater at the far end past the cash bar. I liked the space. Felt like intimate theater and large ample seating space, similar to Atlas theater. The bathroom was interesting and it had a light green jade color counter, haven't seen that around. We watched the DC Shorts Laugh Fest here, and there was a large pull down screen for movies. We sat in third row and it was great views to both comedians and for watching the film.

I'm a little ashamed that I first came here to see a production that was not in Spanish (because I'm Hispanic...) but Elvis' Birthday Fight Club was so entertaining and I'm glad it finally brought me out to this theatre!

We arrived about 5 minutes before a scheduled start time of 8 p.m., skipped the bar to immediately find seats (it's general admission), and there were not many seats left, but we sat ourselves in the upper right corner.

The theater is pretty small, so you should have a good view of the stage no matter where you're sitting, even when you're sitting in the back corner like me. I actually really like the seats set up along the sides of the balcony, and we almost chose those seats over the ones in the corner.

Now that I know how great this theatre is, I'll definitely try to come back for a dance performance.

We've been to GALA twice now and have really enjoyed the plays there. My fiancee is a fluent Spanish speaker, where I only remember a little bit that I learned in college. The English surtitles really do help! I would definitely recommend getting a seat high in the stands, in the middle if it is your first time going and need to take advantage of the surtitles. Your neck can get a little strained from some of the other places (trust me!)

This past time that we went, we went on a Saturday night and saw their production of "La edad de la ciruela / The Aging of the Plum". I felt a little bad since the theater was about half empty for a Saturday night, but I'm assuming the show had been going on for a while.

The tickets are not that expensive, compared to a lot of the other theatres in DC. And the area that the theater is in is really easy to get to (about a block from Columbia heights Metro station). I would definitely recommend this theatre to any one who's looking to try something new.