Betrayal Seating Discussion

On the "other" thread there was some concern about not being able to see all three actors at various times. Here's my opinion.

I was in J-11 in the orchestra for which I paid $139, and naturally the view was completely unobstructed. I would imagine being any further to the side might create a problem. BUT the main action is almost always fairly far downstage and close to the center so it may not matter as much as it first seems. The Venice scene is brought way downstage by moving the back scrim forward and lighting it very brightly. One of the scenes in the flat has Jerry sitting upstage center, so that is problematic.

All three actors are onstage the whole evening but when an actor is not "in" the scene, that actor is not engaged or responsive to the scene - just there, standing, sitting, but not part of the action. Since that is the case, not seeing the actor is not critical to the scene itself.

I know that is not a perfect answer, but if the cost is an issue, don't let concern about partial view be the deciding factor. This is an amazing production. Best direction of a Pinter work I've ever seen.

Thanks for creating this thread. THIS message below posted courtesy EugLoven in the preview thread has worried me to no small degree since I purchased Right Orchestra Seats E10 & E12 for a steep discount in early September:

Well. after attending 1st Preview in the $25 seat (Orch E9)...

Great acting...Great direction....Terrible seats.

I easily (easily!) missed 50% of the show. The $25 are obstructed view. And I’m going to tell the box office attendants—who, honestly, I don’t blame because they didn’t even know about the deal until the last minute yesterday (as per the gent I bought from)

But they need to be honest: If you get the $25 seats, do everything you can to get as far back (probably Orch Row F) and toward the aisle as you can. Otherwise, you *absolutely* miss 50% of the show. And I am *not* exaggerating (I literally didn’t see 1 of the 3 actors until Scene 4).

It appears EugLoven sat orchestra left. Hoping someone might have insight if orchestra right seats in the same row are as badly obstructed per this feedback or is it doable? Would prefer not to go through the hassle of switching seats if that's even possible at this point but will it be so unbearable to see the show in these seats? Would be helpful to know in advance. thx

Not sure if this was posted anywhere but at the theater now - box seats are selling for $25 as well.



(Edit: bad spelling!)

Updated On: 8/15/19 at 07:36 PM

I have Mezz A 25 & 27. Has anyone sat in those partial view mezzanine seats yet who can provide info please? I wonder how the boxes compare to the mezz.

Reporting from Mezz C26 -- excellent seat, nothing partial view about aside from the combined, oh, 30 seconds, the actors move too far stage left. Absolutely worth the $25. I do think this would be great to see as close as possible, too - looked like plenty of leg room in the front row orch!

I imagine that if this production was more involved regarding stage design, these would not have been very good seats. Given the spare nature of the stage, they were good.

I would like to address something keen on kean wrote -- while all of the actors stay on stage even if they are not in the scene, they are certainly in the scene (if that makes sense), such as when Emma leans over Robert to give something to Jerry. Robert is not "in" the scene but it is visually striking to watch this play out here and other times where this is employed.

A "view from my seat":

Updated On: 8/16/19 at 09:00 AM

I got tickets for B Seats 6-8. I was expecting partial view for those prices, but not expecting to miss half the show since it wasn't even marked as partial. For anyone who has seen the show: do you think it's worth seeing if I can move the seats further back? I'd prefer to be closer if I'll only miss a tiny bit less if I moved further back.

Also, any chance the sightlines will get better after previews?

Updated On: 8/16/19 at 11:09 AM

My wife and I bought these exact seats (Mezz C26 and 28) for Friday Aug 23 8 pm show. Unfortunately we can't make it and would like to sell the tickets at cost, which including fees is $43 per ticket ($25 per ticket and then service and delivery fees totaling $36 = $86). If anyone is interested in purchasing these tickets - at cost - please email me (ghetland AT yahoo DOT com). Would love for someone to enjoy what appear to be very good seats for the price, and per this post not very partial view at all. -Gabriel

I saw show tonite. Even though I wasn’t in a partial view seat. I don’t think you will miss much. The play takes place center stage. I would consider partial in first 25 min ish Bc an actor stands against back wall as other two speak. But basically it’s just actor standing there And that would only affect right side seats. I don’t think would be any problem if you in left side of theatre.

i guess , we will wait till partial seating members go n see it.

So ORCH D8:

Is it partial view? Yes. Is it any more partial view than full price D6? Probably not, or at least not such a difference that I would pay the extra to sit in D6.

You do sometimes miss the actors who are not actually in the scene. There are very brief moments where you cant see the actor that is talking. I'm talking super brief moments that last one line. You do also miss some of the timeline signs (which really should be centered. It's dumb that they aren't)

Now the crux of the seating issues: the problem with these seats is that you miss a lot of facial expressions. Most of the scenes involve just two actors, who face each other. So you can see one actor's face and the other actor's back. Also the turntables are clearly meant to be viewed head on so I think from the sides your view gets blocked by another actor.

Left vs right really probably wont make a difference. Some scenes I couldn't see Hiddleston's face but I could see Cox's, sometimes the opposite was true. If you want to see Hiddleston perform the lunch scene (which is probably his biggest one) you'll need to sit house left, but you will miss Hiddleston in scene 2, which was a wonderful scene.

I also think those issues would be the same even if you were sitting in the full view seats left or right. This production is probably best viewed from as close to center as possible in order to see the most of the facial expressions. And they are important, a lot of the play is silent and revolves around watching the actors faces.

Also, there is almost no rake in the orchestra. I had a guy in front of me who probably wasn't really very tall, but he was at least taller than the women on either side of him and I had to do a lot of head bobbing to see stuff.

Finally, the seat was absolutely worth the 37 bucks. Just know what you are getting for that price. And like I said, I doubt D6'S experience was much different than mine and she probably paid 5x as much for her seat. Yeah she may have seen an actor standing dead still on stage left, but she couldn't see Hiddleston's face during the lunch scene, either.

Edited to add: the view from my seat site wont be too helpful for this production, as before the show starts the stage is a black void and blends in with the black walls on either side of it

Updated On: 8/17/19 at 10:14 PM

angoradebs said: "So ORCH D8:

Is it partial view? Yes. Is it any more partial view than full price D6? Probably not, or at least not such a difference that I would pay the extra to sit in D6.

You do sometimes miss the actors who are not actually in the scene. There are very brief moments where you cant see the actor that is talking. I'm talking super brief moments that last one line. You do also miss some of the timeline signs (which really should be centered. It's dumb that they aren't)

Now the crux of the seating issues: the problem with these seats is that you miss a lot of facial expressions. Most of the scenes involve just two actors, who face each other. So you can see one actor's face and the other actor's back. Also the turntables are clearly meant to be viewed head on so I think from the sides your view gets blocked by another actor.

Left vs right really probably wont make a difference. Some scenes I couldn't see Hiddleston's face but I could see Cox's, sometimes the opposite was true. If you want to see Hiddleston perform the lunch scene (which is probably his biggest one) you'll need to sit house left, but you will miss Hiddleston in scene 2, which was a wonderful scene.

I also think those issues would be the same even if you were sitting in the full view seats left or right. This production is probably best viewed from as close to center as possible in order to see the most of the facial expressions. And they are important, a lot of the play is silent and revolves around watching the actors faces.

Also, there is almost no rake in the orchestra. I had a guy in front of me who probably wasn't really very tall, but he was at least taller than the women on either side of him and I had to do a lot of head bobbing to see stuff.

Finally, the seat was absolutely worth the 37 bucks. Just know what you are getting for that price. And like I said, I doubt D6'S experience was much different than mine and she probably paid 5x as much for her seat. Yeah she may have seen an actor standing dead still on stage left, but she couldn't see Hiddleston's face during the lunch scene, either.

Edited to add: the view from my seat site wont be too helpful for this production, as before the show starts the stage is a black void and blends in with the black walls on either side of it"

Thanks for the detailed review! I forget, did you originally have a mezzanine partial view? If so, do you wish you had kept it, or were you happy enough in the orchestra?

Angoradebs, Thanks for the info.