Changing seats at intermission

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:01pm

I’ve always wondered if there is a policy for this or if it varies theater to theater. Out of the hundreds of shows I’ve seen, I have never has an usher tell me that I couldn’t move up if there are unpurchased seats. I tried to do this at Gypsy last night (my 6th time) and one of the ushers ran up to me with a huge smile in her face and said “I saw you come down from the mezzanine! I caught you!” She said she was in charge which I found hard to believe because she seemed young to be a house manager.

I asked another usher if I could sit in one of the partial view seats that were empty during the first act. She then asked this “head” usher who then went on to call me a little liar and that there is a strict policy against moving up. I offered to pay for the new seat, but she said the box office was closed. I went up to the mezzanine and moved up to an unused seat.

I’m wondering if there is an actual policy against this. I find it odd because I was trying to move to a less expensive seat. On a completely different note, Emma Zaks was in the audience.

[Little-Lotte]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:05pm

I think it depends on the theatre and actually the show. For some reason I seem to become a fan of shows that aren't popular and close soon after opening: Lestat, Frankenstein, etc. So since I would be a repeat customer the ushers would recognize us and even let us know that there are empty seats closer and we could move if we wanted to or not. I actually saw this happen at Xanadu a few days ago, some Fanadus were moved to onstage seats from the mezzanine.

So I think it varies by theatre, staff and situation.

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:08pm

Yeah, I have friends at Studio 54 who move me up when they can. The "head" usher last night moved up an older couple which is why I thought it was so strange. Her attitude was really annoying as well.

[winter_sky]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:08pm

It's not really something that's "allowed" but usually people don't care. I am not the type to do it because I'm super paranoid but I know people who do it all the time. Of course the one time I tried to do it at Hairspray I got in trouble. I was sitting in the lotto seats and there were 2 empty seats in the 3rd row. I moved back and no one said anything. Of course there was a rather rude boisterous woman who informed me that her daughter (who couldn't have been more than 3) couldn't see and that I should let her and her daughter sit there. No offense but the daughter was already on a booster seat and had no idea what was going on anyway.

I couldn't understand since she clearly bought her tickets ahead of time why she didn't make the consideration that maybe her daughter might not be able to see from the 2nd row. I told her (since she had acted very entitled and rude while asking) that where she sat wasn't my problem and she said a few more rude things to me and then left to get the house manager.

I also left to talk to an usher and as I was explaining what happened the woman comes back with the house manager VERY riled up and I was told that I had to sit in my proper seat. I told them it was fine as long as this woman couldn't move either.

It really was not that big of a deal to me, but I was not going to let some rude woman feel entitled to a seat and get to sit there but I couldn't. Forget that.

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:13pm

You should always ask. It's obnoxious to just move.

[winston89]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:18pm

The only time I have moved was when I saw The Country Girl. Five min before showtime the front of the Mezz was empty and people were sitting in the rear of the mezz because that is where there tickets were. The usher said that we could all move into the first few rows of the mezz. I went from having a seat in the second to last row to having a seat in the third row mezz.

[Luckydave14]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:23pm

Last night at August: Osage County, I had a last row mezz seat and the whole mezz was pretty much empty. On the sides, only the first row had a couple of people in it. The ushers told us a few minutes before the show started that we could move to anywhere Row D or back, so we got to sit 4th row mezz.

[jennamajig]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:28pm

I remember that when I saw Thoroughly Modern Millie I started out in the student rush seats, which were in the last row of the mezz. But the entire sides of the mezz aside from the last row full of students was completely empty. As a group, two minutes before curtain we all exchanged glances and stood up to move up. The ushers at first looked like they were going to stop us, but in the end they didn't. I ended up in the front row of the right mezz.

This past July, I had HipTix to see The Marriage of Bette and Boo. The theater wasn't very big, and my friend and I were seated with two other student HipTix members. Just before curtain, an usher came up to our row and signaled to us. She moved the four of us down to 2nd row left orchestra, warning us we may need to move if the seats were claimed, but she didn't think that would happen. It didn't and the seats were perfect.

I agree that it could vary by show, usher, and how well the show has sold. I don't usually move my seat, except for the two instances above. I'm slightly paranoid that I one time I try to move I would be yelled at :).

[Fosse76]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:30pm

The OFFICIAL policy is that under no circumstances is anyone allowed to move into seats for which he/she doesn't have a ticket without the approval of the house manager. Generally, ushers will allow people to move at intermission if there are clearly a lot of empty seats and it is unlikely that anyone will come for them that late. If the house is really empty, ushers will go ahead and allow people to move down before the start of the show, knowing that latecomers wouldn't be adversely affected even if their seat is now occupied (despite not having the authority to do so). So the usher is correct in saying that you cannot move, even if the seats are empty. Only the house manager can make that decision.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:36pm

I never know what to do. If you move, then you might get yelled at by the staff. If you don't move, you end up as a story in Patti LuPone's cabaret act.

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:37pm

It drove me absolutely nuts when people would move without asking. We would always move people further down in the mezz when it was empty up there, but I hated when people just got up and planted themselves in the boxes. Ask first.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:37pm

I've had several experiences where the ushers told us we could move closer if we so chose. Granted, they weren't sold-out houses, but I thought it was nice of them. IMO, if you notice that no one has taken a better seat by the end of the first act, you should check with the usher first and then take the seat, if allowed. My mind always goes back to the I Love Lucy episode where Lucy and Ethel sat in a box seat for The Most Happy Fella and noticed that no one was using the other seats. So, when Ricky and Fred sat in their seats for the next act, Lucy/Ethel assumed that the other seats weren't taken and sat in those seats. Needless to say, the latecomers came in after the 2nd Act started and the comedy went from there.

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:42pm

Thanks Fosse! I still think that a simple, “I’m sorry we can’t accommodate you. Please return to your seat,” would have been a lot nicer than the name calling. Just for the record, the house was probably at 65% capacity.

[EnWashingtonHeights]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:45pm

I moved 2 rows up in Passing Strange the whole Middle Left hand section of the orchestra at intermission. It was almost empty and I soon knew why. I was right below the speakers. Needless to say I came out of there with a headache. I think it's fine to move up if it's fairly empty and only one or two rows.

[winter_sky]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:54pm

Sometimes when I do ask ushers they will say "I can't tell you you can move but..." and give me a face like, "do it and I'll pretend not to notice"

[Broadwaynerd101]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 4:17pm

For my first time at Jersey Boys, some people asked if they could move. The usher said "Once the show starts, you can." I was sitting behind a 6 foot 10 giant, so I moved. Then, the same usher came down and asked them to wait untill intermission. I stayed cause she never noticed me. :)

P.S. If I would have been able to see down on the floor, I would have moved down there because I had no binoculars or glasses. Still loved the show, despite it's bluriness. I didn't get the whole Joe Pesci thing do to my lack of sight!

[jagfkb]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 4:21pm

Actually, this year, I've kept a continuing record of always changing my seat at intermission, even if it's just a seat over. I don't know, but it's been rather fun! Not once have I been stopped, except once when I was told that I wasn't allowed to sit in a box seat for Spring Awakening, in which case, I moved down to the orchestra. Here's a recap:

January 6th: Legally Blonde
The Switch: Front Row Balcony to 5th Row Mezzanine

January 22nd: Little Mermaid
The Switch: Row L Mezzanine to FRONT ROW OCHESTRA, RIGHT SIDE!

February 6th: Mary Poppins
The Switch: Row B Balcony to Row A Balcony

March 4th: Young Frankenstein
The Switch: Row B Balcony (Balcony closed, so moved down to Row C Mezzanine by House Manager) to Second Row Orchestra

April 8th: Gypsy
The Switch: Row C Balcony to FRONT ROW SIDE ORCHESTRA!

April 24th: Cry Baby Opening Night
The Switch: Row L Center Mezzanine to Row F Side Mezzanine

May 25th: In the Heights
The Switch: Row G Rear Mezzanine over one seat

June 6th: Sunday in the Park with George
The Switch: Row JJ of Mezzanine to Row EE of Mezzanine

June 29th: Curtains Closing Night
The Switch: Row C Mezzanine to LEFT BOX!

July 22nd: Spring Awakening
The Switch: Row C Mezzanine over one seat

July 30th: In the Heights
The Switch: Rear Mezzanine A over towards center (About 5 seats)

July 31st: RENT
The Switch: Side Orchestra Row H to Side Orchestra Row F

August 12th: South Pacific
The Switch: Loge Row E over one seat

August 19th: Avenue Q
The Switch: Row G Rear Mezzanine Far Left Side over to Second Row Orchestra Right Side

August 20th (Mat.): Wicked
The Switch: Side Orchestra EE over one seat

August 21st (Eve.): Young Frankenstein
The Switch: Row C Orchestra over one seat

August 24th, 26th, 28th, 30th (Closing): The Will Rogers Follies at Surflight in LBI:
24th: Center Row K Orchestra to Front Row, Left Side
26th: Center Row F Orchestra over three seats towards more center
28th: Side Row A Orchestra over two seats to complete side Row A(Closer to stage)
30th: Center, Right Side Row A Orchestra to Center, Left Side Row A Orchestra

September 13th: 13 Dress Rehearsel
The Switch: Row J Side Orchestra over one seat

September 19th: A Tale of Two Cities
The Switch: Row H Right Side Orchestra over towards center two seats

And at the next three shows I see this year, I intend to do the same!

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 4:31pm

When I saw "Little Mermaid" with my friend and her mother, we had pretty good seats (they were on the mezzanine, but we were in the first row of the mezzanine, so we had a good view of the stage), pretty much smack-dab in the middle. But my friend's mom felt that there wasn't enough leg room, and her arthiritis was really bothering her. So for most of the first act, she went out in the lobby and watched on the screen in there.

During intermission, an usher offered to give her (and my friend and I) new seats, down near the orchestra, which had more leg room. My friend's mom took the new seat, but my friend and I actually liked the more panoramic view from up in the mezzanine (especially since you couldn't see the big ship as well from the orchestra seats).

When we saw the show, the audience was really full-- there were only a few vacant seats, so it was really nice of the ushers to offer a change.

Updated On: 9/26/08 at 04:31 PM

[HITcards]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 4:48pm

For the rush seats in the upper balcony of Boeing-Boeing, the usher at the top of the show, told me that at 8PM I could move wherever I wanted within the balcony. There weren't many of us up there, so it was a pretty nice atmosphere and at 8, all the people sporadically placed in the balcony moved to the first row.

[masb19872]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 5:35pm

It does vary from theatre to theatre, and sometimes, from usher to usher. I generally ask ushers in the area I want to sit before moving. They'll sometimes let you know where empty seats are. And always ask the people next to you to make sure no one was sitting there.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 5:57pm

Agree that it depends on the ushers and the theater. Like, I was at Spamalot about a month ago, and was in the balcony section. One of the ushers moved a couple of guys from my row to give them more leg room. Well, only to another empty section of the balcony. So then, other people in my row moved into those seats, and I just moved over to the right one or 2 seats to be a little more centered. Obviously in that situation we were not taking over seats that people had tickets for.

[turquoisefish]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 6:26pm

I know that Broadway is different to the UK but in the UK have moved a few times and seen lots of people move.
At the tour of The Producers I moved from near the back to about the 8th row in the interval and for Cats I moved to a more central seat.

What I didn't like when I saw Joseph and the amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in London I was in the 2nd Circle near the back and as soon as the lights went down people moved forward (literally 30 - 40 people moved, it was a quiet night). Of course being near the front of the circle meant the safety bar was in the way so people leaned. I wanted to kill some of them.

My opinion is that it is fine to move if it won't make someone else's view worse (I am quite tall so I wouldn't move in front of someone that had an empty seat in front of them).

[jordangirl]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 6:57pm

I usually don't move unless something's really bad.

* The first time I saw Gypsy at the St. James, I was on the far side right next to the street doors and there seemed to be a party going on out there so I moved down to a group of empty seats on the far house left front row. Not the best view, but the street noise was gone.

* Two involving The Vertical Hour. Once I had a house right aisle orchestra seat. I'd been talking with a girl in the lobby who had a front row seat. Turns out she needed to be further back because she had to do something involving the set for school and needed a full view. She was walking up to the usher to ask about moving and spotted me and asked if I wanted to trade seats. Not a problem! (Especially since this was just after the moved-up closing was announced and I lost my front row center seat for closing.) I got down there and the usher there smiled and said if I wanted to move more center I could because he was going to take another woman up to one of the boxes. The second time I was in the rear mezz. A couple came in and both smelled as if they had bathed in perfume and cologne. That stuff usually doesn't bother me, but they were SOOOO strong I was beginning to sneeze and wheeze. An older couple had had front row mezz tickets but he couldn't navigate the stairs, so they were sitting in the last row. One of the ushers realized I was having issues since the couple next to me sat down and subtly told me I could move into the other couple's seats if I'd like.

* At Next To Normal one time (actually when I met CapnHook) there was an empty seat in the front row (I was second row on the side with TDF) and scooted down at intermission. No one said boo.

* Last night at Equus I moved over to the aisle seat at intermission when the couple next to me moved to another rear mezz section ~ probably for the same reason I wanted to move. There was an IDIOT who had his hair all tied up in a bubble-looking hat thing (like what some people tie dreads up in) who insisted on leaning forward. I very nicely requested he please not lean forward a couple of times before I decided the slight bit of bubblehead -blocked stage wasn't worth me losing out on my enjoyment of the play. I was lucky ~ he only blocked the edge of the stage where very little took place. I'm sure from the staggering of the seats he blocked a good bit of the view of the woman next to me. The aisle gave me a GREAT view, and theirs seemed to be better as well.

Wow...that turned out longer than I planned. Sorry.

[matty159]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 8:20pm

I had pretty much the same experience as HITcards at Boeing. We had purchased seats in the rear balcony (miserably blocked by a pole), but the usher told us we could move down about 5 minutes before curtain. We sat on the aisle in the second row of the balcony. I was nervous the entire time that we would be displaced (as every seat around us was taken...it was the first perf after the TONYS), but luckily weren't.

I also moved several seats towards center at Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Signature in VA, but it clearly wasn't a big deal as the crowd was sadly sparse.

[Gary Indiana]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 8:42pm

I also moved closer to the center for Kiss of the Spider Woman at Signature. I was all the way on the side and there were only about a few people in the row I was in, so I moved over. That's the only time I've ever moved without permission, but I'm hoping to move when I see 13. I got the $13 seats in the back of the mezz and I'm not expecting the show to be too crowded, so I'd like to get closer, but I don't care too much since I did only pay $13.