Profile for SFCowboy

One thing to note, because it’s an enclosed area, you can’t directly see anything going on above you in the mezzanine, including the DJ, or when the actors are on top of the steps that roll up in front of the mezzanine. You can see them on screens set up on the sides of the “lounge,” and this seems to work for the most part, but there were times I felt like I was missing something.

I saw this in New York and there was no obstruction of the view to the stage. You’re right that it doesn’t ruin the show, but it is pretty annoying to pay for a prime orchestra seat for what could be considered a partial view. Having seen it in NY, I was able to fill in the details seeing it in SF. You don’t really miss much, but then again there are entire scenes devoted to Cinderella’s shoe.

I still found the show to be terrific.

I caught the first performance of Into The Woods in San Francisco tonight, and I'm happy to report that it arrived pretty gloriously intact from New York, with one glaring exception. 

I'll start with the problem. There was a foot-high board mounted to the front of the stage running the entire width of the stage. I'm guessing it was there to hide some lights? There were some wires you could see above the top of the board. I was in row G of the orchestra and I could not see below anyone's shins. When an actor (or cow) was prone on the stage, they disappeared from view entirely. I found myself wondering if it's a temporary first-night set-up that gets fixed by the second night?? It seems so incongruous with the perfection of the rest of the show. I doubt any seat in the orchestra can see the stage floor.

Other than that, the show is terrific. Stephanie Block, Sebastian Arcelus, Gavin Creel, Jason Forbach, and really the entire cast, were all great. And I could just watch Kennedy Kanagawa all night and be satisfied. I was disappointed initially that Montego Glover was out as the witch, but I was completely won over by Felicia Curry who did some magnificent work. I found myself wishing Little Red Riding Hood had a little more innocence mixed in, but that's a minor quibble, and just a personal preference, and Katy Geraghty was great in the role. And a special shout out to the magnificent orchestra, perfect in every way. 

David Patrick Kelly (excellent) as the narrator fell off the stage near the end of Act 1. When he didn't appear for several seconds, Gavin Creel broke character to go check on him, but he must have signaled he was OK, because Gavin went back to his position. David eventually crawled back up onto the stage and ran towards the center but missed his line (? "To be continued!" before the stage went dark to close the act. He seemed fine in act 2, so I guess he wasn't hurt. A stagehand came out during intermission and put white gaffers tape on the edge of the stage.

Hey, folks. I am seeing this in a couple of weeks on a quick trip to New York. I am concerned by all the poor sight line reports. I am in row D center orchestra, which is the 5th row. I like being close, but not if it means I’m going to miss a lot. Will I be OK in row D, or should I try to change my seat for, say, row G, or front of the mezzanine?

Well, I am grateful bear88 started this thread. Without that post I would not have thought to check my spam folder for the pre-sale notice. I'm disappointed not to get my prime choice of seats, but I'm happy to have at least scored decent seats among the dwindling few remaining. I caught this in New York last summer and am so eager to see it again. It's a travesty that this is only running for one week in San Francisco. I continue to wonder what the story is behind that.

I don’t know if you ever got your answer, but I just saw this in Los Angeles (fantastic, not to be missed!) and

The seating chart calls the seats surrounding the circular platform with the donut hole "onstage" seating. Then there are another dozen or so onstage seats further back. It's not clear exactly where these are, but I'm going to guess they are on the small platforms you can see on either side of the steps going up the back of the stage – but that's just a guess.

Trying again to post an image.

VintageSnarker said: Where do you get your 3M Auras, SFCowboy? 

Lowe’s, Home Depot, Amazon, maybe other hardware stores. For a nonvalved N95, they’re pretty breathable. The mask part is nice. If you have a big head, though, the elastic headband might be too tight.

 

mikey2573 said: "The only purpose for requiring proof of vaccination is to punish those who have not been vaccinated.

Unless you are wearing an N95 or something similar, to quote CNN's medical consultant Dr. Leana Wen, "cloth masks are little more than facial decorations". And most people who still wear masks are wearing cloth masks."

It's all about reducing risk. If I am at the theater, I want there to be a relatively low chance that someone sitting next to me has Covid. In the US currently the case rates for the unvaccinated are over 3 times higher than for vaccinated folks. That's significant to me. (It used to be 6X during Delta, but fell to 3X during Omicron.) (And interestingly, the difference between boosted and non-boosted has shrunk as to be minimal now.)
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#rates-by-vaccine-status

Masks also reduce the risk of transmission. Agreed that cloth masks aren't so effective, but they still offer partial effectiveness, like maybe 30%. And when we're *both* wearing one, there's a multiplier effect. (Sorry, I don't have references handy, but I can get some if anyone wants.) Surgical masks aren't so great either because of their poor fit. N95s, KN95s, and KF94s are pretty good at 90%+ effectiveness.  Fortunately in San Francisco, folks have gotten the message, and most (but not all) are wearing high-grade masks. And still, I'd rather have a 30% effective cloth mask next to me than no mask at all.

In the theater we're sitting next to the same people for 3 hours. There's an inherent risk. I just want to keep my risk as low possible, and so I appreciate an all-vaxed and all-masked audience. Eventually the Covid case numbers will be low enough that it won't matter to me so much, but I'm just not there yet. If the numbers continue to drop, then maybe in a couple of months (fingers crossed -- but I still have visions of last June, when we all thought it was over).

Interestingly, the SF Ballet is requiring vax+booster, and they also require an N95 or KN95. (They will give one to you if you don't have one.) So be careful what you wish for. Because another way to work with the "cloth masks are not effective" argument is to require the more uncomfortable N95s. (By the way, if you're looking for a more comfortable genuine US-made N95, the 3M Aura is not bad, at least for me. I'm using this more for my own protection when I need to go into crowded unmasked environments.)

bear88 - I went to Harry Potter at the Curran last night. They were still checking vaccination cards and requiring (and enforcing) masks. My guess is (but I don't know for sure) that most Bay Area theaters will continue their current protocols for a while yet. [Complete aside -- I had seen the two-show version twice, and I really liked this streamlined version, and I thought this production was excellent. I splurged on the front row of the mezzanine, and it was totally worth it.] 

This National Theatre webpage about the tour seems to indicate the cast is the same in LA and SF. https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/the-lehman-trilogy-on-tour

If you're a BroadwaySF subscriber, check your email. Tickets are on sale now. I just snagged 4 seats front row "loge" dead center, and "only" $185 on a Tuesday night.

Yes, I had the privilege of seeing this from orchestra row B, which was great. I also recommend seeing this from as close to the front as possible. The stage is not too high. My next visit will be from row H, and after Kitsune's observations I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile trying to move forward (or even if that would be possible).

Falsettos starts in San Francisco in a week, March 19. I received a promotional e-mail from the San Francisco Bay Times with a link to orchestra tickets for $60 ($49 plus $11 fees). It looks like this is good for the first ten or so performances. I snagged a pair, orchestra center row B. Not sure if this link will work:

https://www.shnsf.com/online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=006E3337-632D-4518-B4FA-121A8D6C12D3&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::promocode_access_code=BAYTIMES