We were running late and had to get from Westwood to Hollywood. Our internet directions suggested 18 minutes. However driving through Beverly Hills and West Hollywood the traffic sucked. It took us nearly an hour! We were panicked and pulled into the garage at Hollywood and Highland at 8:00pm for an 8:00pm curtain time! No problem. We paid the extra money and did valet parking, we were right at the theatre door. We got to our seats just in time for the overture!

I now had time to relax and look around. WOW, this place was a gem. Our seats were great, comfortable and cushy. I wondered who sat in it during the recent Academy Awards?

Honestly, the play was rotten. A high school troupe could have done a better job and had better voices.

It was the theatre building that had me in awe. Yes, the Academy Awards are now held here, along with other wonderful theatre events during the year. The theatre is new but feels old and a part of the Hollywood community. It's plush, rich and elegant. It has wonderful details like smoked glass, fabric and modern lighting.

The lobby bar is fast and efficient, and we peeked into a VIP room, which looked like a private club. All very elegant and worth seeing anything showing just to get a feel for this wonderful place.

I saw in the program they offer guided tours each day from 10:30am to 2:30pm. Information on the tours can be had from the web page at Kodak Theatre. If we had enough time I would have loved take one of these tours.

The theatre is located right behind Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the new Hollywood Center. It's fun to walk out as this area of town is now alive and full of life. When we walked out, the “Kill Bill” premiere was just letting out. It was fun to see all the hoopla and stars leaving the theatre. The night felt VERY Hollywood!

Don't be fooled by pictures you see of the theatre when trying to decide what seats to get. Most seats from orchestra to the balcony hold a great view and are really not that far away from the stage. Pictures of the theatre are deceiving and make it appear as if the back of the theatre is miles away, and it is not.

I sat in the Panterre section (essentially rear orchestra) and thought I would need binoculars to see the stage show, but I was so close that with binoculars I could probably have seen nose hairs if I wanted to. Panterre section amounts to mid orchestra, about 15 or so rows back. The only thing I didn't like was that our seats (in Row A) didn't provide much leg room and the sound and lighting guys were sitting in front of us (empty space in the picture). The glare of the computer screens was a little distracting at times.

A great venue to see a show, better than the Ahmanson.