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Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

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#1

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 1/5/11 at 5:31pm

Does anyone have any experience sitting in the partial view seats at Philadelphia's Academy of Music? How bad is the view? How much do you miss? The ones I'm looking at are $40 in the "parquet circle." There are also seats called "partial view column" but I don't want to have to look around a column? These seats just say "partial view."

#2

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 1/5/11 at 5:43pm

It depends how close you are to the column - Legitimately some seats are in back of the columns (usually in the upper balcony). (I think these are called limited comfort or something)

I sat in the parquet circle slightly to the left for White Christmas' national tour last year. Sometimes the columns really don't block your view (usually because they sell those seats as two), but sometimes it could be directly in front of you. Mine was not that big of a problem, just anything to the extreme right I had to crane my head a little. (I was about 2-3 rows back from the column)

I would honestly call the box office if possible to ask them about it - they may be no help, but maybe they'll be better at explaining. I forget if they show where the columns are on the seating chart or not as well.
#6

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 1/5/11 at 5:55pm

I once sat in a purple one in one of the balconies and thought it was a steal because I had an entire clear view. But this theatre isn't semetrical when it comes to seats in my opinion, so it could go either way!

Just don't do the limited comfort ones and I think you'll be fine! (or sit too close to one)
#7

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 1/5/11 at 6:04pm

I saw a show there and our view of the stage was cut down the middle by a column. We were in the F section in those limited view seats. It was like taking an eye test the whole show; your vision kept having to focus back and forth around the column. It was really distracting. A partial view from an extreme side where half your view is the wings would be preferable to a column seat.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
#8

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 1/5/11 at 6:12pm

The Academy of Music has a lot of bad seats. Except for the main floor, the seats are a semi-circle arranged in front of a proscenium, so the seats closest to the stage have a LOT of the stage cut off. I would not sit in Sections A, B, H, or I at all. I sat in Section B once and literally about a third of the stage was out of view. People disappeared from sight for 15 minutes at a time, when I could only hear their miked voices -- it was like listening to the radio.

If you're seeing a concert, those issues aren't as important. What are you planning on seeing?
"What was the name of that cheese that I like?" "you can't run away forever...but there's nothing wrong with getting a good head start" "well I hope and I pray, that maybe someday, you'll walk in the room with my heart"
#11

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 1/5/11 at 10:04pm

I have tickets for this saturday for Les Miz in Row W (from the parquet circle discount), does anybody know if those seats are decent?

And I also scored a front row, extreme house left seat for N2N, does anyone think I'll miss much of the show?
#12

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 1/6/11 at 1:00pm

Speaking of the Academy of Music. How bad are the Amphitheatre seats? I found a few that were $20 and was going to drive up to see Les Miserables. I just want to make sure im not going to be squinting the entire time. The seats i found have no obstructions. I just wanted to know how bad the view is going to be.
#16

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 1/8/11 at 11:52pm

Academy just shouldnt even sell those seats! I mean who wants to see a show with a column smack dab in the middle of them. I know the Merriam and the Forrest Theatres are always avaliable it seems why not have the Broadway series there?
I had 3 empty seats next to me in the Parquet Row A. I used one of the seats as a coat rack.
#17

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 1/9/11 at 2:13am

I agree - the Academy has very few good seats. They really should be selling those seats all for $20 or something cheap... it's too expensive to be potentially blocked by a column.

The Amphitheatre is OK if your in the front. If you're in the back of the rows up there, good luck! If you have any sense of vertigo, absolutely DO NOT sit up there. I've sat up there in Row A and felt a little dizzy, and have also sat in Row E which was OK, from what I remember. I usually move up to the Parquet Box section where the above all have tickets if there's room left.

Forrest is good if you're in the front Mezz / orchestra, but it's pretty steep too. They don't do shows there unless they're going to be there for a while because it cost a lot of money (& time) for load-in. They built an addition to the hospital which blocks it. Someone on here gave me specifics about it years ago, but I know that was the general gist.

I believe the Meriam was sold, it's really not that big, and the last thing I can think of offered there that wasn't a college production was the horribly sold Whistle Down the Wind, which also was playing a few years back when we got some snow here. "Doubt" played there on tour as well.

Academy of Music has a more wingspace, easier load-ins, and can fit more people than any of the other theatres, which is why it's generally chosen. If I had my pick, I'd take my gamble with the Forrest anyday!
#18

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 1/9/11 at 10:09am

Yeah, a lot of the seats in the amphitheatre are atrocious. I sat on the sides for the SPAMALOT tour four years ago and could see about 20% of the stage. I then sat closer to the center (but in a row further back) for LEGALLY BLONDE in 2008. That was a little better, but still pretty horrible. Luckily, my friend and I spied two empty seats together in the sixth row of the parquet and moved there for the second act. It's embarrassing that they even sell half the seats up there.
#20

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 6/24/16 at 3:53pm

I went to shows there in the 70's and 80's. Had one of those pole seats when I saw an opera there. It was awful. I sat upstairs twice on school trips but later I always sat downstairs for the symphony and concerts. When I heard they were going to start bringing show tours in, I just shook my head. They ought to be ashamed for still selling those awful seats. I complained to an usher on one of the school trips but there was no other seat to move to.

Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder

Updated On: 10/5/21 at 03:53 PM

#21

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 6/24/16 at 4:02pm

uncageg said: "I went to shows there in the 70's and 80's. Had one of those pole seats when I saw an opera there. It was awful. I sat upstairs twice on school trips but later I always sat downstairs for the symphony and concerts. When I heard they we're going to start bringing show tours in, I just shook my head. They ought to be ashamed for still selling those awful seats. I complained to an usher on one of the school trips but there was no other seat to move to.

That's what everybody's told me.I found a discount code for cheap downstairs seats but then realized it's for the last evening show that I guess I'll be going to

"

#22

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 6/25/16 at 9:28am

MannPhan - There will be 30 dollar rush tickets available for the remainder of the run and from what I've seen it's not selling all that well so you should be fine to wait and just buy rush at the box office.

I work for the ticketing company that does ticketing for most of the arts in Philadelphia and I can assure you that we never just sell people obstructed or limited view without informing them. I've sat in some obstructed and limited view seats myself (mostly as rush seats) and for the price its just something you roll with. I've gotten very lucky at times (Example: Beautiful - I had a limited view parquet circle seat which only cut off the very off side of the stage where the Drifters appeared very briefly, everything else was full view). But if it's someone purchasing single tickets, we always inform them of any sort of obstruction or limited view involved with their seating, and I'm sorry people on this board have been not informed as they should have been in the past.

"Anybody that goes to the theater, I think we’re all misfits, so we ended up on stage or in the audience.” --- Patti LuPone.

Updated On: 6/25/16 at 09:28 AM

#23

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 12/2/16 at 9:24pm

Can I trust that a seat labeled LIMITED COMFORT will only affect leg room? It mentions nothing about the view being obstructed, only leg room from the placement of the column.

#24

Philadelphia's Academy of Music seating..partial view

Posted: 12/4/16 at 9:40am

Your best bet is to check the seating chart as some of the limited comfort can have an obstructed view and some just have the limited comfort of being near or close to a pole which limits your leg room. On the seating chart on the Kimmel Center's website indicates them in colors [orange is the limited comfort sans obstructed view, green is limited comfort with obstructed view]. I've sat in a limited comfort sans obstructed view and it really is just a limited comfort in terms of your leg room, but the seating chart gives you an indication [the black dots] as to where the seat is located in terms of the column.





"Anybody that goes to the theater, I think we’re all misfits, so we ended up on stage or in the audience.” --- Patti LuPone.

Updated On: 12/4/16 at 09:40 AM

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