Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
4.5
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
This spectacular locale hosts year-round entertainment.
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and nearby attractions
The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Downtown
Downtown Los Angeles is a busy metropolis of towering buildings, bustling streets, and industrial warehouses. There is a distinct multiplicity of cultures here with a growing influx of business professionals and hipsters. Many call the evolution of Downtown over recent years gentrification. New lofts, bars, hotels and restaurants are popping up regularly. Downtown is home to some of the very best restaurants in the city leading the LA foodie scene, plus it is the location of cultural and sports venues including the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Staples Center, and the Coliseum at the University of Southern California.
How to get there
- Civic Center/Grand Park • 5 min walk
- East LA Civic Center • 5 min walk
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
2,374 within 5 kms
Attractions
709 within 10 kms
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
79 reviews
Excellent
44
Very good
29
Average
4
Poor
1
Terrible
1
elizabethlascheid
Los Angeles, CA5,107 contributions
Dec 2021
The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. It sits on the Music Center pavilion which also houses the Mark Taper and the Ahmanson.
For the most part the Dorothy Chandler shows opera and ballet. We have been many times and I have never seen a poor performance there. They are able to attract the best talent. The Operas are amazing and the ballet perfect.
If you are going I suggest you make dinner reservations and eat at Kendall's, a French bistro right downstairs from the pavilion. You can park in the main lot on Grand Ave. for only $9. If you want you can have your car valet parked on Hope Street and you are right at the pavilion.
Once on the property you will find it a beautiful oasis in Los Angeles. It is all beautiful. It is well maintained and there are fountains, places to eat, places to sit and areas just to walk around.
Once you see the Chandler you will see its beauty. The staff is great, but please inform your staff when doors open so we are not standing around. The staff will help you to your seat.
Inside the place is beautiful. It is always decorated at Christmas time and it is magical. The rest of the year it is just the beauty of the Chandler, with a sweeping staircase and beautiful chandeliers. It is inviting and comfortable.
Inside doors you will find comfortable seats and everything is spotless. Now, if you are seeing the ballet you might want to sit in the Founder's Circle. It is pricey but worth it to see all the magic of the ballet. It is the mezzanine and it sits over some of the back orchestra seats. the balcony is large and quite reasonable in price, but it somewhat far back. I prefer the Founder's Circle for ballet and the orchestra for opera. There are no bad seats in the orchestra, but I prefer row 7 center.
They follow all Covid protocols and I am so happy they do. You must show proof of vaccination upon arrival and you will wear your mask or you will be gone. I was just at a ballet in another City and I felt so unsafe with all the unvaxed and unmasked. This is one thing that is great about Los Angeles if you are on vacation. We don't want to make anyone sick. So, make sure you have your vaccination card with you and a mask.
The Dorothy Chandler has a full bar and there are limited snacks. Please dress accordingly. Yes, this is California, but we are not that casual. Nice pants, a tie and jacket for men really is the minimum. I saw a man once in a velour pants suit in there and so did everyone else as we looked and shook our heads.
You will love the Dorothy Chandler if you want to see a great opera or ballet. Have the best time.
For the most part the Dorothy Chandler shows opera and ballet. We have been many times and I have never seen a poor performance there. They are able to attract the best talent. The Operas are amazing and the ballet perfect.
If you are going I suggest you make dinner reservations and eat at Kendall's, a French bistro right downstairs from the pavilion. You can park in the main lot on Grand Ave. for only $9. If you want you can have your car valet parked on Hope Street and you are right at the pavilion.
Once on the property you will find it a beautiful oasis in Los Angeles. It is all beautiful. It is well maintained and there are fountains, places to eat, places to sit and areas just to walk around.
Once you see the Chandler you will see its beauty. The staff is great, but please inform your staff when doors open so we are not standing around. The staff will help you to your seat.
Inside the place is beautiful. It is always decorated at Christmas time and it is magical. The rest of the year it is just the beauty of the Chandler, with a sweeping staircase and beautiful chandeliers. It is inviting and comfortable.
Inside doors you will find comfortable seats and everything is spotless. Now, if you are seeing the ballet you might want to sit in the Founder's Circle. It is pricey but worth it to see all the magic of the ballet. It is the mezzanine and it sits over some of the back orchestra seats. the balcony is large and quite reasonable in price, but it somewhat far back. I prefer the Founder's Circle for ballet and the orchestra for opera. There are no bad seats in the orchestra, but I prefer row 7 center.
They follow all Covid protocols and I am so happy they do. You must show proof of vaccination upon arrival and you will wear your mask or you will be gone. I was just at a ballet in another City and I felt so unsafe with all the unvaxed and unmasked. This is one thing that is great about Los Angeles if you are on vacation. We don't want to make anyone sick. So, make sure you have your vaccination card with you and a mask.
The Dorothy Chandler has a full bar and there are limited snacks. Please dress accordingly. Yes, this is California, but we are not that casual. Nice pants, a tie and jacket for men really is the minimum. I saw a man once in a velour pants suit in there and so did everyone else as we looked and shook our heads.
You will love the Dorothy Chandler if you want to see a great opera or ballet. Have the best time.
Written 11 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
James Weaver
Irvine, CA2,288 contributions
July 2019 • Friends
We attended a performance at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on a Saturday night. A drive of nearly two hours up the 405Freeway. For those of you in Orange and LA County, you know exactly what this is. As for all you others, six lanes, each way, of traffic moving very slowly at times if at all. We knew this before we left home and arrived for dinner at Kendall’s on time. Walked back to the venue and were seated for the 7:30 performance. This was a combination of two companies, one The Royal English Ballet, the other Company Wayne McGregor. Composer and Conductor was Thomas Ades. Ades had always wanted to try to write music for Dante’s “Divine Comedy”. So this was a tiny bit of the journey through “Inferno” in 13 scenes, performed as a 45 minute continuous dance. It was thrilling, with lighting and music rising and lowering along the journey to HELL. We were really lucky to have in the row in front of us one of the Artistic Directors of the Royal Ballet. Giving us programming notes as we went along. 33 dancers, giving it there all. What a wonderful performance and night.
Written 18 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
marcfitch
11 contributions
Dec 2019
The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, is like faded TV star from the 60s/70’s. Lacking the character of the Pantages, or the glitz of her younger sister Disney, Dorothy has clearly seen better days.
Located a stone’s throw from skid row and surrounded by courthouses, Dorothy is in a great location if you are up for arraignment. Not so good if you want to enjoy an evening on the town.
Bustling during the day, the area turns into zombie movie set at sun down. Normal people have vanished, replaced by shuffling zombies creating a palpable air of dread. After the show your only choice is to drive away to more appealing environs for that after show snack or aperitif.
Inside it is too hot/too cold, making it impossible to dress fashionably and remain comfortable for the show. The acoustics are poor. Operas sound muffled and everything looks like it was created by the set designers of 70’s made for T.V. movies.
The piece de resistance is the claustrophobic, neon lit underground maze, a.k.a. the parking structure. More confusing than catacombs, you quickly become disoriented by the twists and turns. Good luck finding an exit from neon Hades if you are cutting it close on time for your show. And god help those who forget where they parked. They will be wandering around for days waiting for rescue by spelunkers or high tech billionaires.
The only reason to visit Dorothy is to see a special show. If another venue available, it is a far better choice than this faded polyester and rayon dream.
Located a stone’s throw from skid row and surrounded by courthouses, Dorothy is in a great location if you are up for arraignment. Not so good if you want to enjoy an evening on the town.
Bustling during the day, the area turns into zombie movie set at sun down. Normal people have vanished, replaced by shuffling zombies creating a palpable air of dread. After the show your only choice is to drive away to more appealing environs for that after show snack or aperitif.
Inside it is too hot/too cold, making it impossible to dress fashionably and remain comfortable for the show. The acoustics are poor. Operas sound muffled and everything looks like it was created by the set designers of 70’s made for T.V. movies.
The piece de resistance is the claustrophobic, neon lit underground maze, a.k.a. the parking structure. More confusing than catacombs, you quickly become disoriented by the twists and turns. Good luck finding an exit from neon Hades if you are cutting it close on time for your show. And god help those who forget where they parked. They will be wandering around for days waiting for rescue by spelunkers or high tech billionaires.
The only reason to visit Dorothy is to see a special show. If another venue available, it is a far better choice than this faded polyester and rayon dream.
Written 13 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SpacePanda
7 contributions
Feb 2020
Best date night for the opera here. Take your own drink because they are so very expensive here. Seats are small and not very plus size or tall people friendly.
Written 18 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Romance2016
Los Angeles, CA125 contributions
Oct 2019
The Light in the Piazza is a wonderful opera with an outstanding cast and interesting set decoration. The music from the orchestra is just lovely. The auditorium is beautiful as well as the entrance into the auditorium. Prior to the show there was a one hour introduction to the play with the conductor.
Written 21 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
permia
Ireland64,715 contributions
Oct 2019
We looked forward to the Light in the Piazza presentation, primarily a unique opportunity for us to see Renee Fleming. And we weren’t disappointed.
In the great auditorium, part of the inestimable Music Centre, it was a captivating storyline with accomplished performers. Acoustically it was delightful.
Definitely a most enjoyable evening's entertainment.
In the great auditorium, part of the inestimable Music Centre, it was a captivating storyline with accomplished performers. Acoustically it was delightful.
Definitely a most enjoyable evening's entertainment.
Written 18 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
daddy1020
West Covina, CA183 contributions
Oct 2019
You could see any time of event at the Dorothy Chandler. We have seen plays, concerts, small stage productions, and excellent symphony orchestra performances here. They just redeveloped the outside area. They did an outstanding job. We have been coming here for many years and will come many more years.
Written 1 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
EMFredric
Los Angeles, CA219 contributions
Nov 2018 • Friends
I saw Joni Mitchell – the peerless songstress in her body of work – come and get her birthday cake at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion last November. The audience was treated to a rare sighting of this beautiful spirit on the second night – of two evening concerts – that paid tribute to her kind of genius.
Graham Nash has been quoted about writing songs in the house he shared with Joni Mitchell back in the late 60’s, early 70’s. He said, “From the moment I first heard her play, I thought she was a genius. I’m good at what I do, but genius?”
Projected onto a giant screen were photographs, artwork and film footage of a young to aging Mitchell – as the impressive line-up came to honor her work spanning across 19 studio albums: Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Chaka Khan, Kris Kristofferson, Seal, Graham Nash, James Taylor, Diana Krall, Rufus Wainwright, Glen Hansard, Brandi Carlile and Los Lobos and a lot of musicians.
On the surface the upscale event at a fancy venue was larger than that – it was to gather musicians to tell a story or send a message that was straight out of the tradition of Woodstock – a festival Mitchell never attended but wrote the hit song about.
Brandi Carlile was alongside Kris Kristofferson in a duet. It wasn’t perfect – it was real. Kristofferson has suffered his own health issues in recent years and when he came striding out with guitar in hand he looked over and said, “What key are we in, is it D?” Carlile deftly guided him into their rendition of A Case of You.
This tribute to Mitchell gave all the Joni-esque moments and reminders with an uneven but truthful ride back to her roots – Vietnam, Dylan, when the folk-smiths were the freedom criers… The fights that were fought that we’re still fighting to remind us that the kids need to see and hear these musical pioneers from that time or “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose…” To Mitchell’s reminder in Big Yellow Taxi –
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They say Joni Mitchell will be remembered for “songs that are the most sublime paintings of the landscapes of human emotions ever created.
Graham Nash has been quoted about writing songs in the house he shared with Joni Mitchell back in the late 60’s, early 70’s. He said, “From the moment I first heard her play, I thought she was a genius. I’m good at what I do, but genius?”
Projected onto a giant screen were photographs, artwork and film footage of a young to aging Mitchell – as the impressive line-up came to honor her work spanning across 19 studio albums: Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Chaka Khan, Kris Kristofferson, Seal, Graham Nash, James Taylor, Diana Krall, Rufus Wainwright, Glen Hansard, Brandi Carlile and Los Lobos and a lot of musicians.
On the surface the upscale event at a fancy venue was larger than that – it was to gather musicians to tell a story or send a message that was straight out of the tradition of Woodstock – a festival Mitchell never attended but wrote the hit song about.
Brandi Carlile was alongside Kris Kristofferson in a duet. It wasn’t perfect – it was real. Kristofferson has suffered his own health issues in recent years and when he came striding out with guitar in hand he looked over and said, “What key are we in, is it D?” Carlile deftly guided him into their rendition of A Case of You.
This tribute to Mitchell gave all the Joni-esque moments and reminders with an uneven but truthful ride back to her roots – Vietnam, Dylan, when the folk-smiths were the freedom criers… The fights that were fought that we’re still fighting to remind us that the kids need to see and hear these musical pioneers from that time or “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose…” To Mitchell’s reminder in Big Yellow Taxi –
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They say Joni Mitchell will be remembered for “songs that are the most sublime paintings of the landscapes of human emotions ever created.
Written 7 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
teresa w
Los Angeles, CA122 contributions
Apr 2019 • Friends
Saw the Alvin Ailey Dance Troup here and loved it! Not a bad seat in the place! Sat in the loge section on the right and saw the whole stage! Helpful ushers. Beautiful chandeliers. They are doing some renovations since it's been here a while but still plenty of parking. Got there early and had time for wine and appetizer. Got a souvenir after the show. Had a mixed drink at the bar and brought it into the theatre! Enjoyed the venue! Near public transportation and freeways. Next to the Disney Concert Hall.
Written 10 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tony S
North Vancouver, Canada34 contributions
Nov 2018
Was at the recent Joni Mitchell birthday celebrations [both nights Nov 6 & 7]. The hall is huge and the sound is very good. More than average room between rows so it is comparatively easy to pass by others to get to your seat. After the show on Nov 7, attended the birthday dinner in a very large, well-outfitted room upstairs (how big is this place?!). The dinner was amazingly good (vegetarian and meat options) and served hot - no small accomplishment with the huge crowd in attendance.
Written 22 November 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dress code for Domingo/Radvanovsky?
Written 17 March 2017
Showing results 1-1 of 1
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing