Re-seating etiquette

A few years ago I saw “August: Osage County” in its final weeks. The audience was half full and immediately before the show began the ushers advised that those of us who were in the balcony could move down to empty seats in the orchestra. Is this a common practice with shows that are not well-attended? I ask because I’m seeing “The Glass Menagerie” this Sunday and the house looks half full. What is the etiquette for moving closer to the stage? While I understand that I didn’t pay for the more expensive seats, I’d think that the actors would appreciate seeing a full orchestra section instead of a whole bunch of empty seats. Thanks for your advice!

I worked in front of house for many years. Here's what I can tell you:

Obviously, if an usher is telling people it's okay to move, then it's okay to move.

Conversely, if an usher tells you that it's not okay to move (or that you cannot move before intermission), don't do it! It can cause problems during the performance if you're sitting in someone else's seat and they show up late.

If you're curious about moving to an empty seat before a performance starts, but the ushers haven't said anything, ask. If they say no, don't do it. That simple.

It's happened to me on plenty of occasions, and it's always a really pleasant surprise when it does. I've moved myself on a fair number of occasions, but never before intermission. If you REALLY want to move to a different seat before the show starts, I'd suggest keeping your eyes open right before curtain. If you see large areas of seating with no people (when a whole row is empty, for example), that's your best bet.

Also, just a note, Glass Menagerie will not allow you to sit back down if you get up mid-performance.

Dressing occurs way more often in Off-Broadway theaters. At one theater where I worked for years, we did it practically every night. PThespian is right that it rarely happens on Broadway, but it does happen sometime. I was at The Little Foxes recently, sitting in the rear mezz, and an usher came and offered to move the entire last row of the mezz to orchestra seats.