Does Where You Sit Matter?- Page 2

[Anakela]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 1:53pm

And, just for clarification, there are 300 seats in the Helen Hayes.

Couldn't tell if this was supposed to be a joke or not- the Helen Hayes has slightly under 600 seats. As configured for Xanadu, the Helen Hayes has 596 seats.

[BroadwayEnthusiast2]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 3:00pm

broadwaystar, I'm with you. I'd rather see as many shows as I can with seats that aren't perfect than spend money on two shows with good seats than 4 shows with mediocre seats.

[The Boy From Ohio]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 4:11pm

I think most of us on this board are seat snobs or at least try to be. Why would you sit in back if you could sit closer. When I was younger I would get the cheap seats them move at intermission. Now I'm older and can get the better seat's to start with. So for the big tour houses never more than 13 rows back, my season tix are 4th row just off center. I like to see them sweat. The regional theaters are not that big here. As long as I'm in the center or near there I'm good. I hate being off to the side.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 5:40pm

Unless I am at my massive local touring house (which isn't often) I have no complaints of where I sit as long as I have a relatively full view, and can hear the actors and see them clearly.

I buy the cheap seats, but I shop around first. I try my hardest to never sit beneath the overhangs, so I sit on the balconies, which I actually very much love and enjoy. I focus so much on the shows that I am often not too displaced.

As long as I am seeing a show, I am happy.

[Midoria]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 5:48pm

It depends on what I'm seeing and where. I'm less likely to be picky when it's an extravaganza like Phantom or Wicked. I like to sit closer when the shows are intimate.

[MarkRascati]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 5:57pm

yes it does matter. I've never really enjoyed a show from a mezz seat

[bythesword84]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 6:13pm

Where you sit, for me, is crucial. I won't sit above the orchestra (unless I'm going to the opening and have no choice) or under the overhang of the Mezz. I also don't like to be more than two seats off the aisle, and preferably within the first five or six rows, though that's flexible depending on how far back the stage is and how high etc. I can't enjoy a show if I'm above the stage, and I have a really hard time if I'm far enough back where people coming in late/moving around can happen in front of me too much. I'm an extreme seating snob.

[Jade]

Posted: 8/4/07 at 6:43pm

Another seat snob here: I always try to be in the stalls, no more than 10 rows back (although, if I have no other choice, I can make do with front row of the circle). This actually developed 8 years ago, due to seeing Rent from the rush seats: You could really see the facial expressions and made the whole experience so much more intense.

I usually find that anything further than 10 rows back you're so distant it doesn't feel like live theatre at all so there's not much point in seeing the show. There are exceptions, though: With dance-heavy shows it's better to sit further back to really appreciate the choreography.

[Tkt2Ride]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 12:33am

I don't like to sit too far or too close. I got stuck in the first row, to the side and it was terrible. They removed an entire section, so I found myself always looking up and straining to see the other side of the stage. I couldn't trade seats because the play was booked unfortunately. I always choose the center or aisle if I must sit on a side because of what is available. I would skip it if I can't get a good seat.

[flicker_]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 12:42am

I live in California, so most of my theatre-going is in LA. But, anyways, for me, it definitely matters where I sit. For example, I saw Les Miserables, and I had AMAZING seats. I was really close and was able to see every emotion in all of the actors. I don't think that seeing that show would have been such a powerful or moving experience for me if I were to see it from nosebleed seats, or way in the back. Also, being a young person considering a career in theatre, going to the theatre is a learning experience as well. I find it best to learn in really good seats, even if it means I'm going to pay more. Hey, it's all for education

[Elphie4ever]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 1:47am

After watching Jersey Boys tonight YES standing room then swtiching to open seats bad idea. you get a better view standing room if ur sitting next to a guy with a big head who keeps moving contstantly, changing his direction and women talking contstantly during the 2nd act...

i prefer *when there is empty seats* front row of the orchestra depending on the height of the stage. i am highly satisfied with student rush or lottery ticket seats. partial view orchestra but your in the front. its better than paying full price and plus the actors are righti in front you.

[Jellylorum]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 3:46am

I'm sort of a seating snob. While I prefer sitting in the orchestra, I'm fine with the mezzanine too. But it has to be in the center. I refuse to sit in the side sections, as I don't like viewing the stage from an angle. I also don't like sitting under the mezzanine when in the orchestra.

However, this applies only when I'm paying full price. I expect to get the most out of my experience when I'm paying between $60 to $120. I'm a lot less picky about seating when rushing. To me, there's no reason to complain about crappy seats when tickets are only about $25.

Updated On: 8/5/07 at 03:46 AM

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 4:12am

I am a seating snob too, but when I really want to see a show, and I can't afford it because of lack of discount (like Mary Poppins), I go for the cheapest.

[BrianIdol]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 9:24am

People who refuse to sit further back than the 8th row are obviously grannies with eye/ear problems who cant see or hear very well anymore. Oh well I'm young!

[Bwayfan4]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 9:30am

I like to sit in the orchestra, but when I'm offered discounted tickets, I will take whatever I can get...at least I'm seeing the show! I DO like sitting in the isle seats though...more legroom!

[keybowvio]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 2:43pm

Usually, I buy the cheapest/discounted seats for my first viewing of the show, and if I like it, then I will buy the best seats in the house for my second viewing, but I won't spend big bucks on a show that I haven't seen yet.

I also won't spend $100 to sit in the 17th row, when it costs the same to sit in the 7th. Then I just feel cheated, 'cause, in a sense, you are being cheated.

Oh, and I NEVER sit under the overhang, I would rather sit in the last row of the mezz.

[whatever2]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 3:03pm

> Oh well I'm young!

since when do you have to be old to have eye/ear problems? that's a little self-absorbed ...

what you are here is not "young", it's "blessed"!

[Coolness_]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 3:09pm

I can't sit beyond maybe the first maybe nine or ten rows in the orchestra and the first five or six rows up in the mezzanine and I'm only 14.

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 8/6/07 at 4:15am

I've grown to not really care where I sit because most of the times I sit in the balcony due to financial reasons. I would love to sit in the center orchestra every time I see a show, but my parents rarely pay for my ticket and I'm a poor high school student. Broadway in Chicago not having a student rush policy makes it worse. I just bring a pair of binoculars and I'm set. Also, since I see most shows in Chicago, I don't mind sitting in the balcony when I go see shows in New York because compared to New York, Chicago theatres are massive. Therefore, when I see a show in New York up in the balcony, it feels much closer than back at home.

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 8/6/07 at 4:42am

I don't mind as long as I'm sitting in the center of the row. I just absolutely hate being off to the side.

Posted: 8/6/07 at 5:53am

Whatever I am paying, and it is usually full price as I tend to buy way ahead of when I am going to see a production and I do not like tickets up in the gods and off to the edges, I always strive for what I consider to be the best seats of that price bracket, NOT what the ticketmaster/telecharge people recommend.

For instance, if I am paying top price, that is such a wide variety of seats, I will NOT sit at the extreme sides for that price as they rarely offer a good experience. Nor the furthest back of that price alloction ie) 20 odd rows back. If I am booking last minute then I will be more flexible.

If I am ringing up to get tickets rather than doing so over the net, I will get the person at the other end to go through systematically each set of available seats for that performance in the area I prefer, until I get my ideal seats - or until I decide that I am not going to see it that time if the availability is not great. After all, I am paying for tickets - oh and the ridiculous "service charge".

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 8/6/07 at 9:34am

I generally don't care where I sit, because once the show starts, I forget everything else.

[sally1112]

Posted: 8/6/07 at 9:40am

I am a seat snob NOW, but my philosophy used to be that just seeing the show was the most important thing, no matter where I sat. Then once I saw my first show in the first or second row it changed, that was when I realized what having a true theater experience could be like. Every since then, I am now very much a seat snob and have to be in the first five rows no matter what the cost.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 8/6/07 at 9:51am

I'm with bwaylvsong. It doesn't matter that much because I get lost in the show.

However...having only seen Drowsy from the front row, I'm spoiled there with that show. I'm kind of afraid to see it from anywhere else.

And front row at Sessions was a *tad* close for me. I felt like I was PART of the group...though maybe that was the point. I think I would have preferred being a little further back at that one, but only because I wasn't prepared to practically be onstage.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/6/07 at 9:54am

Whenever this topic comes up, I like to remind people that Shakepeare wrote: "The play's the ting", not "The seat's the thing."