Does Where You Sit Matter?

[Sleeth1]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 4:03am

I read on here that lots of people are content to sit in what I think of as being the "shi**y seats".
I just don't get as much "out of it" if I sit 3 blocks from the stage. I feel very alienated from what's going on "up there".
When I've set close... I see the actor's facial expressions, and I get so much more out of it.
I think I would rather pay more, and see fewer.
Maybe that's something I need to change, though... do you think?
What DO you think?
Fewer plays at top bucks, or more plays at a less expensive price?

The Music Hall in Dallas (for example) holds about 2000 people. Belive me... when you're in the balcony... you're a long, long way from the stage. There's really no option, though. Even if you try to buy tickets the very second they go on sale, you find yourself Row 27- far left. It's because they have so many season ticket holders, and tickets brokers have bought all the rest. That's why I think the TKTS seats (in NYC) are sometimes so good! It's the seats that are "suddenly" available in the last 30 minutes!
For our NYC trip in June, we booked 3 shows MONTHS in advance, and got what I would call "fair" seating (though for TARZAN you might call them FAIR-to-NOT FAIR), BUT - when we booked seats for HAIRSPRAY 45 minutes before showtime - we got third row center!
We've already decided, based on experience this past time. We'll just wait. We'll book our tickets an hour before the show starts. This is the second time that we've experienced this. I won't be fooled again.
Chason

[WellIfYouInsist]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 4:06am

Are you the guy who asked if rights for The Beauty and the Beast were available even though there have been a plethora of regional/high school productions in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro?

[ThePoppinsParrot]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 4:07am

And loves Tarzan?

[Craww]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 4:40am

I thought this was gonna be another thread bout Xanadu, and the Helen Hayes. That theatre only holds like 45 people (enough to house the entire insane fanbase at once) so I think if you're going to see Xanadu it really does not matter where you sit, no.

Obviously, it usually does.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 5:00am

You are NOT alone, Sleeth1.

I, too, am a seating snob. Out of the 300+ performances I've attended of musicals in my lifetime, I've only sat father than the 8th row orchestra approximately 3 times. Once for Les Mis (21st row - but were tix I won in a contest), Ragtime (Mezz - Student Rush), and Phantom (10th row).

Seeing a show farther than 8th row is a rip-off; I feel detached from the whole show. The orchestra sounds low, the lights look dim, and the actor's expressions are a blur. Yuck.

I believe one hasn't TRULY experienced a show until they sit up close.

OT - Sheesh! What's up with all the Xanadu threads? lol.

Updated On: 8/4/07 at 05:00 AM

[TapTapTapioca]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 5:04am

I am also a seating snob.

[TapTapTapioca]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 5:04am

I am also a seating snob.

[TapTapTapioca]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 5:04am

I am also a seating snob.

[TapTapTapioca]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 5:05am

I am also a seating snob.

[Sleeth1]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 5:05am

Are you the guy who asked if rights for The Beauty and the Beast were available even though there have been a plethora of regional/high school productions in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro?


Dude, give it a REST! It's not as if I asked if PHANTOM had ever toured! Give a young person a break! Seriously - it's people like YOU that give this message board a bad reputation.

[Sleeth1]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 5:09am

I thought this was gonna be another thread bout Xanadu, and the Helen Hayes. That theatre only holds like 45 people (enough to house the entire insane fanbase at once) so I think if you're going to see Xanadu it really does not matter where you sit, no.

Dude, you gotta be JOKING! There's no WAY the Helen Hayes seats 45 people! LOL! In my PERFECT WWORLD - EVERY theatre would hold only 45 people! I'd be almost on stage, right>

[WellIfYouInsist]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 5:09am

^Yeah but for future reference the rights to Xanadu haven't been released yet.


FYI

[Steve2]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 5:39am

Sleeth1, since I am not from NYC, I only visit once or twice a year. Having good seats is very important to me! I always try to sit in the first 10 rows center orchestra.

Spamalot was a tough ticket so that was on the side orchestra but aisle seats.

Hairspray in 2002 was a difficult ticket so the best I could get was the first row Mezz (which was fine) but that has been the only time for me.


Updated On: 8/4/07 at 05:39 AM

[Sleeth1]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 5:45am

Steve, I'm Chason-
I understand what you mean. So where you sit DOES matter? To me, too.

[TapTapTapioca]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 6:22am

Sleeth- Are you high or stupid?

[wicked_beast4]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 9:30am

Can Tapioca please,idk, go away? He or she is really rude and annoying.

[Lm4dham052]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 10:49am

Sleeth- I aggree with you, I do am a seat snob. I've never sat more than 15 rows from the stage. My Girlfriend has spoiled me with sitting front row and within the first like 5 rows. If i sit further i feel like i'm watching a show not experiencing it. I need to be able to see the faces of the actors, and feel their passion for the show.

Seriously Tapioca - you need to go away for a while... a long while

[gymdudeva]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 11:27am

I think it can work both ways, though. For some shows, if you are too close, you don't see the whole stage picture, the choreography, etc.

I will also sometimes trade comfort for proximity. I am a big guy with broad shoulders and long legs, so I love to get an ailse seat, even if it's a little further back. Sometimes as well, if a show is not grabbing me and the balcony or mezzanine is almost empty, I will move up there at intermission and sort of stretch out.

Luckily, most Broadway theatres are not too big, so one is rarely a million miles away from the stage. However, in some larger venues like the one sleethy mentions, some seats are like being up in a helicopter looking down at the tiny show below.

[Midnight Radio]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 11:33am

Of the approx 40 times I have seen a Broadway show, I have only sat outside of the first 10 rows twice. I prefer to be seated as close as possible as I feel more immersed into the show. I dont know, just a sort of personal obsession...

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 11:39am

Financially, I can't afford to be a seat snob
I'd rather see all the shows I can at a price I can afford than see one or two I may or may not like at a price that puts me in debt
It's not just not worth it

[turquoisefish]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 12:06pm

Most of my theatre going is in London so maybe it is a bit different. I almost always get day seats, student tickets or tickets from TKTS. I love the front row day-seats for Wicked, it is so close you can see every expression. Ideally I would always sit front row, unless the stage is really high. I can't be too picky though using offers, but am happy just to see a show really, I was in the rear of the balcony for Spamalot when that first opened, The Palace Theatre is huge but I could see everything.
In September I am seeing Les Miserables (at Queens Theatre) in the very front row which I will love

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 1:02pm

In some theatres it matters. Like you do NOT want to be in the back of the balcony at the New Amsterdam, because you can't see or hear anything. But I've sat in the back at the August Wilson, and I could see most everything. And, just for clarification, there are 300 seats in the Helen Hayes.

[JoizeyActor]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 1:03pm

I've found that all the shows I've enjoyed the least, have also been the shows where I have sat in the back of the mezzanine and the people are so far away they are only blobs. I like to see the actors expressions, even if they are subtle, which requires me to always try to be as close as possible.

[AvenueQResident]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 1:22pm

As long as I can see the stage, I've got no complaints. I'd hate to have a restricted view though.

[la_vie_boheme_et_moi]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 1:40pm

My favorite place to sit is actually the front row/center of the mezzanine- for some reason, I always feel like I have to twist my neck around to see properly when I'm on the first level of the theater. But if it means that I can see a show immediately instead of having to book tickets months in advance, I'll sit wherever