There is no doubt when you walk into the Fabulous Fox Theatre that you have stepped back in time to the royalty and majesty of the "Old South". The Egyptian décor makes you feel like you have been invited to an exclusive show performed just for you. Before you even make it to your seats, the bathrooms will astound you with their beautiful sitting rooms. You get to your seat and, provided you’re not under the overhang of the balcony, you can look up into the starry sky that decorates the ceiling. Now that you’ve been bowled over by the majestic beauty of the building and you’re watching the show you’ve come to see, there’s a problem. You’ve paid between $60 and $80 for your nice orchestra seats and you were placed in the back under the balcony overhang. You can’t understand a single word and you now realize the dangers of converting an old movie house into a live theatre - the acoustics were not converted. The balcony is your best bet for seats. If you’re going to see the Coca-Cola Film Festival, that’s what this theatre was made for, you’re a lot less limited. If you just want to see the beauty of the theatre, you can take a tour that is given during the day for $10. They are given on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 10:00am and on Saturdays at 10:00am and 11:00am.
The Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival tends to play recent and classic family-friendly movies. This is a popular local activity. The Fox Theatre does host its Broadway series both throughout the year and during the summer (where most of my acoustical antagonism comes from). You can either buy tickets at the box office or from Ticketmaster (Publix Supermarkets sometimes offer discounts on Wednesday shows). In addition, the Atlanta Ballet performs there, including their always-popular version of The Nutcracker [404-873-5811]. Other events that happen at the Fox Theatre include concerts and an International Series featuring performing artists from around the globe.
As for parking…there is parking right next to the theatre, which is a good and bad thing. If you’re all dressed up in high heels, you probably do not want to trek around Atlanta. In addition, if it’s a night performance and you’re by yourself, I would also not advise walking all over Atlanta. The down side is that its $12 which after paying for your $60 or $80 tickets (and the $10 for drinks at the concession stand), it might make you think twice. There are parking lots along the nearby streets where you park and then pay in the little boxes, usually running between $1 and $5. Of course, those parking lots are not guarded and again I stress if you’re by yourself, Atlanta is not the city to take risks in. If you decide to park in the lot next to the theatre, get there early because it fills up fast.