Theatre On the Square

Small intimate theater on Mass Ave. There isn't a bad seat in the house.You get in quickly, get to your seat quickly, watch the performance, and can get out quickly. The seats are comfortable and so close to the stage that Stevie Wonder can see the performance. Seriously - what's there not to like about this place?I looked at some of the bad reviews and they are all bitching about *shows* the reviewer didn't like. That's like rating a movie theater badly because you went to watch a crappy Transformers movie and realized that it was made for 10 year old boys and chimps high on crystal meth who like explosions. You are reviewing the *premises* and not the artistic content that was presented there.

TOTS, or Theatre On the Square, is one of Indy's best bets when wanting to take in local theater. TOTS offers a varying selection of plays and other types of shows, and is one of the main theaters used during the Indyfringe Festival in the fall. The Main Stage offers auditorium style seating. Stage 2 is more of an intimate setting that is primarily made up of four top tables and higher bar top seating. In both cases, if you want to feel as if your on stage, the front row will but you extremely close to the action.There is a small concession stand that offers drinks, including beer and wine, and snacks for cash prior to entering.Tips to keep in mind:**Seating for both stages is first come first serve, so make sure to arrive early if you wish to have all of your party sitting together.***The main restroom is down a flight of stairs. They do have a single restroom on the top level near the main stage; however, it may or may not have a "Cast" sign**If you don't have time to visit their box office, they do use Vendini online ticketing, which will charge you a small fee. ***Parking - It's Mass Ave, so parking can be hard to come by. Factor extra time in when planning to arrive in time for shows***If you tend to go to a lot of their shows, they usually offer a flex pass at the start of the season that is a good option.

I have been going to shows at Theatre on the Square since the late 80's (at that time it was located in Fountain Square) and in all these years, I have never been disappointed. Now TOTS is located downtown on Mass Ave. Parking can be atrocious, but once you walk through the doors and are immediately greeted by the friendliest people in theatre, all is forgiven. General admission means you should get there early if you want a front and center seat, but I can assure you, there is not a bad seat in the place. On our most recent visit, we arrived just minutes before the show started; we sat in the very last row as far left as you can sit....and it was still a great seat. We love live theatre and this is a great place to experience it without spending a fortune to do so.

What a great performance space! The first time I was able to check out this theatre is at iNDYfRINGE festival 2012, and it definitely had some great shows there, including BOT, which was freakin' spectacular! Not to mention, this space has a refreshment booth, which is always a plus.You've gotta appreciate these smaller performance spaces because it keeps the show more intimate with the audience, as well as getting the community involved in local theatre. I cannot stress enought how important it is for us to support that which makes our city special - the arts especially. I'm a huge advocate of small businesses and local artists, so forgive me if I sound huffy-puffy when I say GO RIGHT NOW! See some indie show that will probably never be seen again because some guy wrote it in his car because he needed the money for gas. You won't regret it! And even if you do regret it, you'll still walk away with a different point of view. That's the beauty of theatre!

Well, they really try hard to entertain here. The acting is superb and the location is perfect. We like to have dinner, drinks and then come here for a show. We saw Poe Caberet in October and it is worth seeing again. I can't remember how many years they have been performing it here, but well worth the visit. Depending what stage your at, you will want to arrive a good 20 minutes before curtain. Seats are first come first serve and the good ones get taken right away. They have concession stand type snacks, local beer and some decent wine options.

I always have a great time at theatre on the square, or tots... I just love the local theatre and don't know how to rate the couple of shows I have been fortunate enough to see. Sometimes the scenery or scenic design isn't beyond superb, but the acting is. The acting makes it so the scenery is running a very distant second to everything else going one. (As it should.). I always enjoy the opportunities I have to see a show here

Support Local Community Theatre! & this one is one of thee BEST, always edgy, usually alternative (if there's protesters, it's going to be good LOL)special rates for students & military & seniors, they often have those "practice" first night specials too

Came back to TOTS last night for the sequel to Don We Now Our Gay Apparel - "Fall On Your Knees".I SO wanted to love the sequel. I just couldn't. My friends and I discussed it at length as to what made it fall flat.First the things we loved:* One of the original Queens (in white dress) from last year was in the cast - still fabulous!* Three new Queens were a great addition although we did miss the other original Queens from last year.Now on to what we didn't like:* The 'skits' were kind of dumb. While I realize sequels are hard to make fresh, there just didn't seem to be any 'glue' holding them together. Some audience members left during intermission. I really feel the writing was lacking.* The supporting cast members didn't WOW us. Some had trouble projecting their voices so it was hard to hear them from the back row.* The theatre itself looked more rundown. Several seats were taped off and the steps up and down to the seats in the back rows were dicey.Our recollection from last year was more singing by the Queens in between skits. Last year, their versions of classic Christmas songs was the most entertaining part of the evening. This time they only did this a couple of times (loved All I Want For Christmas is Shoes). I think this production would have been so much better had the director repeated last year's format rather than make it a sequel. Although what would a relevant drag show be without a reference to Lady Gaga :-)More singing Queens please!!! Loved that the cast is very willing to pose for pictures. I'm still giving them 4 stars because I love supporting local theatre.

My wife and I have been two TOTS a few times now. It's a great place to watch intimate theater. We just saw Kitchen Witches and we were pleased. We will be back! Quick tip:The refreshments are very reasonably priced.

We attended the Going Going Gone show, which happens once a month, and had a great time. Improv comedy based on a auction of the theatre owner's stuff. We all get play money and a chance to win bids on some fine memorabilia. Audience participation is part of the show. Drinks and food available for purchase. Super friendly staff. Close to stage views. Great times.