Theatres

Of the current 41 Broadway theatres, what is your...



Favorite/Least Favorite Location?

Favorite/Least Favorite Exterior?

Favorite/Least Favorite Lobby?

Favorite/Least Favorite House?

Favorite/Least Favorite Stage?

Favorite/Least Favorite Seats?

Favorite on all counts except the seats: THE LYCEUM!

I really love what they did with the Hudson. There's just something about it I find very zen and elegant. Maybe doesn't qualify as favorite, but definitely the most aesthetically pleasing to me.

Favorite/Least Favorite Location? Favorite: The Booth or Shubert, right on Shubert Alley. Least Favorite: Nederlander. I hate going to the Nederlander. Despite being one street south of 42nd, it feels like the end of the world and not a good end of the world. Almost tied: Studio 54...it just isn't in the theatre district to me. I can see a show there and never see another marquis.

Favorite/Least Favorite Exterior? Favorite: Al Hirschfeld. Don't ask me why. I think because it is in the middle of things, but just a bit away. I like the way the signage fits over the theatre. Tied: Winter Garden, mainly because of the huge space above the theatre. I loved to walk past the WG when MAME and Follies played the theatre. Least favorite: Gershwin, Minskoff or Marquis...are they really theatres? Tied: Studio 54...is just ugly to me.

Favorite/Least Favorite Lobby? Favorite: New Amsterdam just wreaks of glamour. Tied: Friedman...when they re-designed the Biltmore and made it the Friedman, they did an incredible job. Tied with the Lunt-Fontanne. Mezzanine and Lower Lobby are great. No one ever seems to look at the pictures of the Lunts, but they are fascinating. Almost tied: Hirschfeld. I love the gothic look, the postings of old productions. Least favorite: Marquis: is there a lobby? Tied: Minskoff: just ugly. Almost tied: despite the fact that I love it, the Richard Rodgers lobby always seems ridiculously crowded whether it is housing a monster hit or a show about to close. Finally there are several houses that don't really have a lobby; the one I think is the biggest problem is the Imperial...great location, lousy or non-existing lobby.

Favorite/Least Favorite House? Favorite: Al Hirschfeld. Tied: the Music Box. Almost tied: The Friedman. Least favorite: August Wilson: I have always felt it was ugly, when it was the ANTA Theatre, the Virginia Theatre, or now that it is the August Wilson. Terrible auditorium layout (too long and narrow), clumsy approach to the seats unless it has been changed since I was there some time during the run of Jersey Boys. Tied: Nederlander (location! location! location!); Tied: Studio 54: dark, cramped, and isolated.

Favorite/Least Favorite Stage? Favorite: Winter Garden. I don't know if it is the biggest, but it sure feels like it. Maybe it is because three of my all-time favorite shows were all at the WG and worked beautifully on its stage: Follies, Mame and Gypsy (with Lansbury). Tied: Vivian Beaumont. I am not sure that I have ever seen a show at the Beaumont that didn't benefit from that stage. Least Favorite: Circle in the Square. You are close, but half the time you are looking at the performer's back.

Favorite/Least Favorite Seats? Favorite: Richard Rodgers, the first part of the raked orchestra are the best seats in any theatre anywhere. Tied: Front Mezzanine of the Lunt-Fontanne. You feel like you are practically on the stage, with minimal risk of a site obstruction so common in the orchestra. Almost tied: the Friedman Theatre as well...the seats are actually comfortable, even if you are not on the center aisle. Least: Shubert Rear Mezzanine -- you are paying a lot of money, you haver to sit sideways, the top of the stage is clipped off AND you can develop serious claustrophobia. Tied: Mezzanine in the Ritz is so steep and the rows are so tight that you put your life in your hands. I don't even count the balcony as seats, because they aren't.

Favorite/Least Favorite Location?

Favorite location: Majestic - so close to 8th ave and port authority

Least favorite location - Vivian Beaumont: a bit of a trek from the others


Favorite/Least Favorite Exterior?

Favorite exterior- Lunt-Fontaine

Least favorite exterior - Marquis (doesn't really have an exterior per se)


Favorite/Least Favorite Lobby?

Favorite lobby - Gershwin (interesting theatre history displays, and large enough to let people in an hour before showtime, avoiding the last-minute pressure on early-arriving patrons that some other theatres inflict).

Least favorite lobby - Shubert theatre (see above re inflicting long line-ups on early-arriving patrons)


Favorite/Least Favorite House?

Favorite - Gershwin (comfy seats, civilized timing letting people in early enough to use washrooms, read programs, get settled in)

Least Favorite - Shubert (giant middle-finger behavior toward disabled patrons, long line-ups that they inflict on their customers, even those who arrive half an hour early)


Favorite/Least Favorite Stage?

Favorite stage- Gershwin: wide enough for good viewing angles and raked (easy to see from audience)

Least favorite stage - Vivian Beaumont: The back portion is not visible from the side sections, which have more than half the seats. Nothing should ever be staged back there. During the King and I, whole scenes in the throne room were fully invisible to large portions of the audience.



Favorite/Least Favorite Seats?

Favorite seats - Gershwin - so comfy!

Least favorite seats - Broadhurst - don't bother going there if you have knees or are over 4'10".

I'll add a category:

Favorite bathrooms: Sondhein theatre - so many stalls makes for a very civilized intermission experience, and elevator provides disabled people with access

Least favorite bathrooms - i forget the name of the theatre, but it was one of the ones on 44th or 45th streets, i think. The bathroom situation was dire - only 2 stalls, and they were extremely cramped, and they were non-accessible.

The bathrooms at the Lyceum may be the ones you're thinking of, they are totally medieval and definitely not accessible (either in the basement or at the top of the balcony).

Honestly, The Hudson puts every Broadway theater to shame. It was such a pleasant experience.

And having just been to London, the theaters there are gorgeous and, for the most part, it's pretty inexpensive. I think ATG is nailing it. I went to a few of theaters in London, and it was such a lovely experience. I mean they offered us a bottle of wine for like twenty five pounds, and it was waiting for us at intermission. It would never happen here because people are crazy, but it was such a lovely experience.

Favorite/Least Favorite Location?

- Booth. And all of the Shubert houses on 44th & 45th

- Least favorite location - Studio 54. And the Nederlander

Favorite/Least Favorite Exterior?

- Shubert. Although the Lyceum and, from what I've seen behind the scaffolding, the Hudson, are beautiful, there's something about that lead position on Shubert Alley that screams "Broadway!"

- Least Favorite Exterior - Palace. Where is it? I thought there was a historic theater here.

Favorite/Least Favorite Lobby?

- Sadly, I can't think of one. Most lobbies have been given up to seating or merch. However, I love the downstairs of the Barrymore, the upstairs murals in the Belasco and all the decoration everywhere in the New Amsterdam. And although I hate the Lyric, the lobby and restrooms work very well.

- Least Favorite Lobby - Booth. I adore the theater, especially for plays, but the lobby is non-existant.

Favorite/Least Favorite House?

- I love so many for their own reasons (Belasco for the ornamentation, New Amsterdam for the glory, Booth for the intimate experience, Sondheim for the legroom.)
I'm voting for what I consider to be the quintessential Broadway theater. A mid-sized Shubert house on 45th St. Designed by Herbert Krapp, the Schoenfeld. As the quintessential Broadway house.

- Least favorite house - Studio 54. Not great seats in orchestra and worse upstairs, No pit and sounds of subway below.

Favorite/Least Favorite Stage?

- Vivian Beaumont (LCT) - So expansive, with a huge pit beneath. When its assets are used to their fullest by a production like Bart Sher's revivals or War Horse, it's a world-class experience that literally cannot be equaled.

- Least Favorite Stage - Palace. Something about that high proscenium seems to make the productions seem small.

Favorite/Least Favorite Seats?

- Stephen Sondheim. But I've heard great things about the Hudson.

- Least favorite seats - Because of my bad knees, we sit in orchestra. However, I dread the Golden, O'Neill, and Hirschfeld for narrow width.

Disclosure
I've not yet been in the Gershwin, Winter Garden, Majestic, Minskoff, Ambassador, Hudson, or American AIrlines theaters.

Updated On: 7/25/17 at 12:01 AM

Has the Palace ever shown its actual facade?

LOCATION: For location, it's really tough to beat the Shubert. It just feels like the heart of the district and everything radiates out from it, especially when you've got a show like Dolly playing. My least favorite locations would be the Nederlander and the Broadway - they just feel a bit removed from the action.

EXTERIOR: I love the drama of the Lyceum, and the Brooks Atkinson is another favorite. Exteriors I'm not wild about are the Palace (it gets truly lost in the mayhem surrounding it) and the Shubert - for it's status as the heart of the district for me, I wish it was a little more beautiful-looking

LOBBY: Not really lobbies per se, but I rather enjoy the outdoor breezeways of the Minskoff and the Gershwin, and one can get spoiled on the spaciousness of the lobbies at the Gershwin and the Beaumont; and of course the New Amsterdam is gorgeous; least favorite lobby is the Palace - the chaos outside seems to ooze into the cramped lobby and I usually try to hightail it out of the lobby and to my seat pretty quickly.

HOUSE: I always associate favorite houses with especially treasured show experiences - so for me, the Neil Simon, the St. James and the Lyric are personal favorites; least favorite would probably be the balcony of the Shubert and the mezz of the Hirschfeld

STAGE: The Beaumont is pretty glorious when used to its full effect, especially with that pit for The King and I

SEATS: seating only sticks out for me usually if it's just really uncomfortable - I felt especially cramped in the Beaumont's loge

Why doesn't the Circle in the Square feel like a "Broadway lobby?" I think it's quite spacious and well laid out. Sure it's very "dull" as far as character goes, but most of the Broadway theaters - The Court, The Lyceum - barely have a lobby/merch/bar area to speak of.

Location:
Favorite: Broadhurst or Schoenfeld
Least favorite: Vivian Beaumont

Exterior:
Favorite: Lyceum
Least favorite: Marquis and/or American Airlines

Lobby:
Favorite: Belasco or Hudson
Least favorite: Marquis

House:
Favorite: St. James
Least favorite: August Wilson

Stage:
Favorite: St. James or Schoenfeld
Least favorite: Palace

Seats:
Favorite: Gershwin
Least favorite: Golden or O'Neill

And, as a bonus, overall:
Favorite: St. James and Schoenfeld
Least favorite: Marquis