Saw Donna in Dolly from Row E of the Balcony this week. First time in Balcony. Not great but not bad. Steep view and you do have sit forward, from that row and on back to Row J, if you want to see the runway around the orchestra. Maybe the first few rows of the Balcony are better than further back. Maybe you don't have to sit forward to see the ramp. Not sure. Didn't check that out. Sound was fine.
TDF put me in the back of the Mezz yesterday. Row J. Far left. At first I was disappointed because TDF had said that all seating would be in the Balcony- and I thought the Balcony is better than the Rear Mezz because you don't have that awful overhang of the Balcony over you. Turns out they weren't that bad. You could see the ramp full and I didn't miss anything far left and I was the last seat over in the row. Of course, you miss Cornelius and Barnaby's brief scene on top of the store and you have to scrunch down in your seat to see all of Dolly's entrance down the stairs in the title number. Other than that there is just the annoyance of not seeing the full stage picture. You're getting 3/4 of it. You don't see the top of the stage. When the curtain goes up in the beginning you see the "year" but not "New York City" above it. My friends, however, who hadn't seen a show in ages, adored the show from start to finish so mission was accomplished! The only way I would recommend the Mezz is if you're in the first 3 rows. Other than that, the Balcony overhang is a problem, at least for me. Also, at the standing ovation at the end you had to squat if you wanted to see the stage at all.
I stood in the back of the Orchestra waiting for my friends after the show was over and noticed that even the Standing Room area could be problematic with the Mezz overhang. As I stood there I could see the show curtain saying "Dolly!" but not the "Hello" over it. The back of the Orch also has that Mezz overhang problem. You're not actually missing much, it's just not a full view of the stage picture. It's just the way the Shubert is. When I saw War Paint recently I was in the Front Mezz and it was great. The Rear Mezz is right behind and also offers a fine view as well. It's just fully open up there where as if there is two levels in a theatre than you have to watch out for those overhangs.
As someone said here, my best viewings for Dolly were, of course, 1st 10 rows Orch Center and Left and Right is fine as long as you're not down front in the Orch on the side. That's where obstructions start.
Happy ticket buying!
Updated On: 9/11/17 at 04:11 PM