How difficult is it to move up if the theater's not full?

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Posted: 8/4/11 at 10:14pm

I'm seeing "Jerusalem" next week and I was wondering if you sit in the mezzanine if the theater ins't full can you move up? and how far? and do ushers check your tickets during intermissions?

[Barcelona]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:28pm

I don't know about this specific show/theatre, but I've never had any trouble moving up after intermission, and I've never had my ticket checked. You should be fine as long as you act like you know what you're doing!

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:36pm

Only place that I would *never* try that is at the Met Opera. Those ushers are vicious little Nazis... LOL

[iflip4musicals]

Posted: 8/5/11 at 12:02am

When I saw Jerusalem the ushers encouraged those sitting in the back to move to the front of the mezzanine about 3 minutes before curtain. As for moving to the orchestra - I don't know.

[Okayfine]

Posted: 8/5/11 at 12:22am

Once intermission comes, the ushers don't care much whether you move. They have to follow the house manager's rules, but most HMs don't mind, either. Moving BEFORE intermission is a different story & is different form hous eto house & production to production.

If you think you can move because "you look like you know what you're doing" you're kidding yourself. Ushers notice pretty much everything chat board posters (sp?) stick out like sore thumbs. It's rare we're actually fooled. We usually just choose to look the other way because it's not important. Just don't do anything rude or stupid & do consider that moving into an empty seat before they've even done late seating counts as both stupid & rude.

[Whistler]

Posted: 8/5/11 at 1:07am

I've never had any trouble moving down, and I've been doing it for 40 years. I usually do it just as the play is starting, as the houselights start down. I make sure I'm sitting on an outside aisle, even if that's not where my purhased ticket was. I move as far forward as I can without causing an intrusion, and then I move in towards center if I can. You can usually tell where the unsold seats are. Often I move closer to center or down to the orchestra at intermission, often staying on the outside aisles. If I pass an usher, I smile and say "Thank you." Now, I'm an old guy, so they don't seem to care. At the beginning, I was a kid, so they didn't seem to care. It was only in my middle years that ushers seemed to feel I should have money, especially since I dressed fairly well. And in my middle years, I had more money, so I bought better tickets.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/5/11 at 10:40am

If the ushers seem sweet, no problem. If not, forget about it.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/5/11 at 10:50am

It's an unwritten rule that you don't move seats before the show has started unless an usher specifically tells you that you can. It can create havoc if there are latecomers during a performance. Once intermission comes, whatever is unsold/empty is generally considered fair game.

As others have said--it all depends on the theatre, the ushers, the performance. When I saw LA BETE, I was seated in the obstructed view box where they placed people who bought general rush, and the usher moved me and my companion to front row center mezzanine seats as the curtain was about to go up. There were maybe thirty people in the mezzanine all told and the boxes were completely cleared before the performance even started. A similar thing happened at the performance of THE NORMAL HEART that I saw, when the ushers tried to dress the house a bit by encouraging rear mezzanine patrons to move down to the mid-mezz. Given that the Golden is such a small theatre, my companion and I decided to stay in our second-to-last-row seats.

Come to think, I don't think I've ever been told to return to my seat the few times I've moved during an intermission.

Sean is correct, though--you should never try to move seats at The Met. Those ushers watch the audience like hawks, and even if an entire section of rows is empty, they'll instruct you to go back to your ticketed seat if they see you move.

[binau]

Posted: 8/5/11 at 10:57am

The thing about Jerusalem is the Mezz is quite clearly very empty so e.g. if you're in a box seat and would rather sit mid-side mezz, where the section is entirely empty, before the show starts - I don't see how it should be a problem :-/. Is this still frowned upon?

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/5/11 at 11:02am

If the ushers at Jerusalem take the same approach that they did during La Bete, they'll likely move you themselves before the performance begins.

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/5/11 at 11:07am

I've never moved without asking the usher first.

[TheaterBoy7777]

Posted: 8/5/11 at 1:08pm

I would wait for the usher to tell you to move before the show begins as described above. I once tried moving from the rear mezz at Phantom to the empty front mezz. Ushers lost it on the whole rear mezz audience. People tried moving again through the first act but got screamed at. They said they have to wait and see if there are any latercomers. During intermission everyone moved down no problem and I moved to a 1st Row Orch I spotted during the 1st act :)