If you’ve ever gone looking for small, scrappy, close-up theatre in Hollywood, you’ve probably ended up at the Broadwater. The Second Stage is one of four rooms in the complex, a 70-seat black box on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Lillian Way, just west of Vine. It’s the opposite of a night at the Pantages: no chandelier, no balcony, no bad seat in the house because there are only a few rows. Here’s what it actually is and how to make a night there work.
What the Broadwater Second Stage is
The Broadwater is a four-stage complex on Hollywood’s Theatre Row, run since 2015 by the award-winning Sacred Fools Theater Company. The Second Stage is its mid-size black box, about 70 seats, set up so the audience sits right on top of the action. You won’t be squinting at the stage from row Q here. The trade-off of an intimate room is the opposite of a big house: you gain immediacy and lose spectacle, which is exactly the point of fringe theatre.
The programming is a mix. Sacred Fools mounts its own season, and the room also hosts guest productions from other LA companies, so you’ll find new plays, comedies, solo shows, and the kind of genre-bending work that never makes it to a 2,700-seat touring house.
Why it’s worth a visit
The honest pitch for the Broadwater is the kind of theatre you can’t get anywhere else in town: small, risky, and right in front of you. It’s the largest Hollywood Fringe Festival venue, and during Fringe in June it runs a packed schedule across all four rooms, more than 100 productions in a single summer. If you want to sample the festival without wandering, the Broadwater is the densest place to do it. Our Hollywood Fringe survival guide covers how to pick shows and not waste a night.
Outside of Fringe, it’s a low-cost way to see new work. Tickets usually run well under what you’d pay downtown, the crowd skews local and theatre-literate, and the intimacy means a good performance lands harder than it would from the back of a big room. Not every show is polished. That’s the deal with a black box. But the hit rate on something memorable is high, and the price of a miss is low.
Getting there and parking
The Second Stage is at 6320 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90038, in central Hollywood.
Driving: from downtown, take the 101 North and exit at Santa Monica Boulevard, then head west a few blocks. Street parking exists but read every sign, this is a permit-heavy, ticket-happy part of town. Give yourself time to circle or use one of the paid lots nearby, especially on a Fringe night when all four rooms let out at once.
Transit: the Metro B Line (the old Red Line) stops at Hollywood/Vine, a short walk east along Santa Monica Boulevard. Buses run the boulevard frequently. For a small Hollywood venue, transit is genuinely easier than fighting for a street spot.
The bar and the room
All four stages share a full-service bar called The Broadwater Plunge, a moody little speakeasy-style spot with booths, good for a drink before the show or between two on a double-bill night. One rule to know: no alcohol inside the theaters themselves, so finish your drink in the bar before you head in.
The Second Stage itself is a true black box, flexible seating, simple risers, and a basic but reliable lighting and sound rig. Don’t expect cup holders and reclining seats. Expect a folding-style chair close to a stage, which is the right setup for the kind of work that plays here.
Make a night of it
The Broadwater sits in the middle of Hollywood, so it pairs well with the rest of an evening out. See what else is on in LA theatre if you want to build a bigger night, and if you’re watching your budget, our guide to cheap LA theatre tickets covers the lottery, rush, and under-25 deals at the bigger houses for the nights you want a marquee show. For the full festival rundown, start with the Hollywood Fringe survival guide.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Broadwater Second Stage? It’s at 6320 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90038, on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Lillian Way in Hollywood, just west of Vine and a short walk from the Metro B Line at Hollywood/Vine.
How many seats does the Broadwater Second Stage have? About 70, in a black box layout, so every seat is close to the stage. It’s the mid-size room of the four-stage Broadwater complex.
Who runs the Broadwater? The award-winning Sacred Fools Theater Company has managed the Broadwater since 2015. The complex also hosts guest productions from other LA companies and is the largest Hollywood Fringe Festival venue.
Is there parking at the Broadwater? There’s no dedicated lot, so you’re looking at metered and permit street parking (read the signs carefully) or paid lots nearby. The Metro B Line at Hollywood/Vine is often the easier option, especially during the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
