Favorite Broadway Theaters

Studio 54 should be imploded.

The redesigned Hayes is lovely imo. I equally love the Booth and, while many here won’t agree I’m sure, find the Music Box a nice place to catch a show.

The Hudson is great too but the top balcony can feel far from what I’ve heard (never sat up there myself).

Updated On: 8/3/19 at 10:17 PM

I agree that the Marquis certainly isn't special to look it but boy those seats are comfortable compared to some of the older theaters.

From an architectural standpoint, I think it's tough to beat the New Amsterdam.

I love the versatility of Circle in the Square and the Beaumont.

In terms of sightlines, etc... I think the Music Box, Walter Kerr (minus the terrible balcony) and Schoenfeld are all great. At least those three popped into my head right away as I have sat near the back far sides of the mezz at all three and had a great experience.

Updated On: 8/3/19 at 11:27 PM

The Booth

The Hudson

The Golden

The Marquis

The Shubert

The Lyceum

American Airlines

The Lyric

For musicals the Imperial and for plays the Booth

Updated On: 8/4/19 at 12:13 AM

There's no way a theater is ever going to be more important than the show it's housing.

The New Amsterdam is gorgeous. I don't particularly want to see Aladdin again but I wish I could take a tour of it. The Broadway is always going to be the place I saw Doctor Zhivago twice in the same week. I've grown attached to the Brooks Atkinson because of Waitress but I feel like I've just gotten lucky with seats and it doesn't have the best sightlines. The Imperial has a solid mezz. You do feel at a distance but I never worry about sitting behind someone tall. I appreciate the marquis of the Walter Kerr and the intimacy of the productions I've seen there. I have good associations with the Friedman and the Roundabout theaters (in spite of their terrible legroom) but I think that's more because of Hiptix and the fact that there's enough turn around that I've seen more shows in those theaters. I've had good experiences seeing Chicago but last time I was at the Ambassador it felt like it was falling apart. I like the Broadhurst. I saw Tuck and Anastasia there. But there are some terrible seats on the far sides of the mezz that should really be sold discounted as partial view. There are some less than fabulous seats at the Shubert and those side orchestra Longacre seats are really partial view, but at least they're sold as such. I wish the Golden had a better rake in the orchestra. I don't have strong opinions about any of the other theaters besides Circle in the Square where I usually appreciate sitting in the round.

But yeah, the theater rarely makes a difference in whether I see a show. I might just be particular about where I want to sit or how much I'll pay for a ticket if I don't have much of a choice.

i really like the hudson. i've seen several shows there (SITPWG, HOH, BT, 1984, soon to see SW/AL) and i still feel the same way over the years. i really like the seats there

Unfortunately, the modern theaters like the Marquis and Sondheim have the most legroom, by and large, so I always appreciate when a shows are in one, although I'd never consider them a "favorite."

The New Amsterdam is simply a knockout to visit.
I love the almost perfect size of the Booth especially for plays.
The Imperial is a perfect size musical house IMHO.
Other gorgeous houses are the Belasco, the Shubert and (I hear) the Hudson

I've not been to tons (somehow keep repeating theatres) and I almost always sit non prime orchestra, but a couple that stand out:

The richard Rodgers has always been so beautiful and grand to me, and the rake of the seats means I've always had a great view.

Music box is also beautiful but I had terrible sightlines there, in contrast to other posters.

The gershwin is great until you get into the theatre itself, then it looks like a movie theatre.

No bad seat in CITS, which I enjoy haha.

Currently been in
The Richard Rodgers (x4)
Gershwin (x4)
CITS
Walter Kerr
Broadhurst
Imperial (x3)
Music box
Schoenfeld

Excited to add the golden to the list this fall (and my 3rs visit to CITS and 2nd to the Kerr)

Updated On: 8/4/19 at 11:13 AM

Broadway Buddy said: "I think Wicked can stay on Broadway but it should transfer theatre’s. Music Man will hit big and it needs a huge house. I was in the Marquee for Tootsie a couple weeks ago and I really disliked it because the lobby was super confusing and to get to the theatre in the hotel didn’t make any sense to my dad and I. But I loved how they decorated the Palace for Spongebob."

Why in the world should Wicked transfer theatres when it's still doing gangbusters numbers at the biggest house on Broadway?

I've been in every Broadway house many times with the exception of the Hudson. I prefer the smaller, more intimate, older theaters for their ambiance, particularly the Belasco, Schoenfeld, Jacobs, Lyceum, Shubert, and Broadhurst. It's been a long time since I sat anywhere other than the orchestra, so I can't really comment about the mezzanine or balcony seating. Unfortunately, in older theaters, the leg room and comfort of the seats can be frustrating. The most frustrating for leg room for me is the O'Neill. I'm not a very tall man, so I wonder how taller people cope. Sometimes I feel like my knees are digging into the back of the seat in front of me. Yes, the Marquis has more comfortable seats and leg room being a newer theater, but it's not impressive from an architectural standpoint like the Hirschfeld.

The orchestra seats at the Rodgers are stadium style, so you get a good view of the stage regardless of how far back you're sitting. The Beaumont also offers good sight lines from around the stage (it's projected), except for when I was in the second row of the 300 section at My Fair Lady and the man in front of my had to be literally seven feet tall. I had to contort my body in my seat so I could see around him. Be careful of some of the seats in the 200 and 400 sections, especially aisle seats closer to the stage, for example B201. Because of the angle of the seats in relation to the stage, some of those seats offer little, if any, room for comfort. I also found the seats at the Kerr to be uncomfortable.

Updated On: 8/5/19 at 07:48 PM