Schmidt Theater

The Schmidt Theater (founded in 1988 by Corny Littmann) and the adjoining Schmidts Tivoli are Hamburg's private-theater institution on the Reeperbahn - well beyond the usual cliches. An original waterfront theater with its own signature 'Schmidt Mitternachts-Show', a nightly cabaret mix of drag, comedy, music, glamour and a fair bit of cheek (the house calls it Pail-Kotettes), it is reckoned to be Germany's most-attended late-night theater show. Next door, the larger Tivoli house runs musicals and in-house productions ('Heisse Ecke - Das St. Pauli Musical' ran for more than 20 years; new since 2024: 'Hamburg, das musical'). All in all, more than 600 performances a year, almost every night of the week. The best-known Schmidt act is Olivia Jones, Hamburg's most prominent drag star, whose 'Olivia Jones Bar Wunderbar' empire has added a tourist-friendly variant to the Reeperbahn. Practical: tickets from 25 € for the midnight show, 40–80 € for the bigger musicals and in-house productions. Booking ahead is recommended. Getting there: S1/S3 Reeperbahn - the Schmidt Theater sits directly on the Spielbudenplatz, across from the Operettenhaus with 'The Lion King'. Obligatory afterwards: a beer somewhere on the Reeperbahn.