Changing seats during intermission? — Page 3

What's weird is that the poster joined today to yell/chastise a three year old thread

AntV said: "Tonight at intermission at Hello Dolly I moved to an open aisle seat in the orchestra I had seen from my partial view mezz seat. Right before the lights went down an usher telling people to silence their phones asked if this is my seat and said he saw me coming from the mezzanine into the orchestra at the start of intermission. I said it's not my seat, but I asked may I sit here, yet he still wanted to see my ticket anyway. He looked at I'm guessing the price and made a face and said no you can't sit here, people paid $500 to sit here, you have to go back.
So now the lights are going down and I have to grab my stuff and run upstairs. Well I guess my phone was on my lap and while in a rush I didn't realize it so it must have fell on the floor by that seat. I noticed it was missing when I got back to my seat and then couldn't pay attention the rest of the show just wanting it to end so I could run to look for my phone. Thankfully someone found it and saw me looking for it so I got it back.
Okay, my fault for moving my seat and not realizing I dropped my phone, but the usher didn't have to be such a jerk and make me move right as the act was beginning."

Hello Dolly has the strictest rules out of any show, all across the board. My friend sometimes does the merch booth and you aren’t allowed to watch the show if you work there. While this story is annoying, I would assume the usher was instructed to handle it in this manner.

PThespian said: "As an usher I would've done the same thing. My manager shares the philosophy of "you sit in the seat you paid for.""

Most of us have no doubt been at a show where there were unoccupied seats in better sections, and it certainly seems a "victimless crime" to move to a better seat. But at the same time, if I paid $300-$400 for my seat and someone who paid $49 plopped down next to me, I'd probably feel ripped off. Then again, it's no secret that different people pay different prices for similar seats due to affinity discounts, purchase date, or ticket source, so I guess it all gets down to whether you're explicitly made aware of the disparity in price.

Updated On: 3/30/18 at 11:07 AM

Eff the ushers. always talk to a house manager, they care more.

ive moved dozens of time during intermission.

the excuse "I left my glasses at home accidentally" reaps the best benefits.

I think this is such a weird practice that people do it so many times and are proud of it. I know it's a nice life hack or whatever, but I'm sure some of you would be complaining if you were told "no" or to go back to your seat if caught trying to get a free upgrade without paying for it.

double post

Updated On: 3/30/18 at 04:44 PM

My best upgrade. Blithe Spirit staring Angela Lansbury at the Ahmanson Theatre.

We had purchased cheap balcony seats for I believe $30 each. Plays are never sold out at the Ahmanson, so we took at seat at the rear orchestra, about two rows back from the general flow of people.

About 5 minutes before show starts someone in a suit walks up to us. We're both thinking the gig is up, and instead he says, "We have two empty seats in the front row we would like filled, would you like to move up" and he walks us up there.

Most shows ive been to have said you can upgrade at intermission, but not before because we don't know who's running late. Yes it looks like an entire section is empty but a group bus could be running late.

Phantom on Broadway was odd that the ushers said the balcony people could only move up to the front of the balcony, but not into the Mezz. As I had only paid $26 for the last row of the balcony, I wasn't complaining either way. :)

AntV said: "Tonight at intermission at Hello Dolly I moved to an open aisle seat in the orchestra I had seen from my partial view mezz seat. Right before the lights went down an usher telling people to silence their phones asked if this is my seat and said he saw me coming from the mezzanine into the orchestra at the start of intermission. I said it's not my seat, but I asked may I sit here, yet he still wanted to see my ticket anyway. He looked at I'm guessing the price and made a face and said no you can't sit here, people paid $500 to sit here, you have to go back.
So now the lights are going down and I have to grab my stuff and run upstairs. Well I guess my phone was on my lap and while in a rush I didn't realize it so it must have fell on the floor by that seat. I noticed it was missing when I got back to my seat and then couldn't pay attention the rest of the show just wanting it to end so I could run to look for my phone. Thankfully someone found it and saw me looking for it so I got it back.
Okay, my fault for moving my seat and not realizing I dropped my phone, but the usher didn't have to be such a jerk and make me move right as the act was beginning."

Hello Dolly! for whatever reason (Scott Rudin? IDK) has the rudest, strictest ushers and house employees. I wasn't allowed to bring a tiny little bottle of water into the theater. I couldn't just drink the water either. I had to throw away the bottle. They were incredibly rude about barking these orders too. Idk if they've loosened since Bette left but when I went there I thought all the staff were incredibly rude.

At first I thought it was a Shubert Organization thing but it isn't because I was at DEH when people were moving heaven and earth to see Ben Platt in the role and there wasn't anywhere near this amount of rudeness. I was never told, for instance, that not only could I not bring a water bottle inside, I had to throw out the entire bottle undrunk in front of the door checkers.

Fosse76 said: "Dear Evan Hansen is in a Shubert Organization house."

Maybe I was unclear. At first I thought these draconian rules were across the board for all Shubert Organization theaters (and more so at "hot tickets" like Hello Dolly! and DEH) but at DEH the ushers and door-men have never been as rude as they are at the Shubert for Hello Dolly! To be honest the rudeness of the staff there is what is making me not want to go back to see the new cast. Strict is fine, but the rudeness of everyone at that theater is a turn-off. I never got such attitude, for instance, about inquiring about what the back of a T-shirt looked like.

I have never changed seats. Not something I think is my right to do.

A slightly-related story. In the 1960s, when I was a teenager, a friend and I went to a theater-in-the-round in Salt Lake City to see Ray Bolger's show. It was winter, the weather was nasty, and the theater was probably just more than half full. After Mr. Bolger came out and performed his first number, he invited everyone in the back rows to move closer to the empty seats in front. It was a kind gesture, and one that the audience appreciated. His show, by the by, was wonderful.