Correct Show - Wrong Theatre

A STEADY RAIN back in '09! I understand that with Jackman and Craig on board the producers wanted to make as much $ as possible so went for a barn like the Schoenfeld but it made for a very disconnected experience unless you were really close. We had top price (but not premium) seats in the 4th row Mezzanine and it felt like it was happening miles away. It's a really small play. I got dreadful bored. Am pleased to see that this season The River is playing in at more suitable size house.

I'm sorry, but the Schoenfeld is not a barn. It's one of the smaller theatres on Broadway (13th out of 40 by capacity, according to a quick Wikipedia check) and when I've sat in the mezzanine I've thought it a great location. Admittedly, for some reason, not as great as other similarly-sized mezzanines like the Music Box or Broadhurst, but still a perfectly fine view.

Surely HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME is the current victim of this.

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I thought Priscilla was a bit out of place at the Palace.

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JoanF, why does Pippin need a bigger stage than the one at the Music Box? I loved the relative intimacy and did not feel the staged was cramped. Is the stage that much smaller than at other theaters, even though the house is smaller than many?

I remember reading on these boards about Legally Blonde being too small for the Palace, and then once it toured, the creative team and producers realized that it should have played a smaller theatre, and maybe it could have stayed on longer.

Legally Blonde for sure, I think it would have run far longer if it would have been in a smaller house as attendance was often higher than many shows playing at the same time but not enough for the Palace. The West End production showed smaller equalled better.

Good Vibrations was also in the wrong venue.....a theatre

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Ok I think I was being hyperbolic referring to the Schoenfeld as a "barn", it just felt that way when trying to concentrate from a certain distance on a tiny play that would have benefited from being performed somewhere no bigger than the Golden or the Booth. I don't doubt that front Mezz there would be fine for a larger scale show (I certainly hope so as that's where my seat is for IOAP) I tend to agree with Jordan,, it WAS boring.....
I must say though I think the Music Box is perfect for the current Pippin. I was very excited at the way it felt so overwhelming and all-encompassing which it maybe wouldn't have done in a larger theatre.

As previously mentioned, Legally Blonde. I saw both the London and Broadway productions and it was interesting to see what a huge impact the size of the space made on the show.

1776 (revival)
Candide (revival)
The Pirate Queen (though the size of the space couldn't help the material)

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I've been thinking the same thing about the transfer of The Maids that will be in town next month. Given the number of partial view seats, I wonder if that should have gone into a different space.

The Gershwin and Minskoff are the most inhospitable theaters in town, but Pirates had successful runs in both, as well as it the large Delacorte. It was never created for an intimate space.

I think the Marquis was the wrong space for the Follies revival and Drowsy, both of which seem intended for that old legit house feel. But it didn't seem to hurt the latter, though I would have enjoyed it more at the Music Box.