Favs: New Amsterdam, Belasco, Hirschfeld/Martin Beck
Least Favs: Golden(gymnasium), Gershwin/Uris (concrete car-park almost ruined my 1st attending Bway experience), Marquis (hotel hell of a lobby & of all the StUpId places to put FOLLIES!)
It's not easy to really assess this kinda thing since long-running shows keep you from checking out the various theaters AE: (Majestic/Phantom, Winter Garden)
Also, what with various shows strong scenic designs, your sense of the space can always be different (Nederlander/Rent, Winter Garden/Cats.)
Most missed: The Mark Hellinger (but ironically, the easiest of the grand old theaters to checkout inside: ON SUNDAY if you can tolerate the religious folk.)
Updated On: 11/1/12 at 04:34 PM
I was recently in the Ambassador (never a thing I do unless I have to) and good god is that theater ugly. Impressionless marble slabs and a thoroughly uneasy white-and-blue decor. But what offends me the most is something that doesn't come up on these threads: asymmetry! There isn't a single section of that theatre that corresponds logically to another one. The mezzanine access is a maze of stairs and hallways that make little sense.
I find symmetry, along with ornate beauty and gorgeous detail, to be an important factor in making theatres like the Broadway and the Music Box so attractive.
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