This Theatre Should Be Obliterated!

Maybe the ghosts of the Walter Kerr were trying to tell you to stop smoking.

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i learned very early in my theatregoing never sit upstairs at the Kerr especially in the balcony. It's like K2 up there.

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Just to clarify a couple of points.

What I mean by uniform is a lot of theatres on Broadway have a mezzanine, a orchestra and a downstairs for restrooms and most theatres have exits that goes on side-walks either side.

Of all the beautiful theatres London has, we have one of the most ugliest in the world, The National Theatre.

I am 6ft, so if you are not tall say under 5ft 6" you probably would feel comfortable sitting in the Walter Kerr theatre, I didn't and as a consequence I had to stand at the back of the orchestra after the interval.

I am not partial to London or New York houses, in fact I love both.

No, the Kerr is miserable, especially upstairs. And if someone screams fire during intermission, everyone would die. doesn't help that management keeps only one door to the street open for people to both enter and exit.

The 2 row balcony requires oxygen & sherpa guides. Beware of these seats

The theater was designed by the same guy who did the Majestic. His name was, no kidding, Herbert J Krapp. Mull & discuss.

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I've only had problems in the very rear of the mezzanine at 54. The Kerr has awful leg room throughout the entire mezzanine and balcony. At least that's been my experience. The Balcony at The Cort is also pretty tight, although nowhere near as intolerable as 54 or The Kerr.

Unfortunately, tall people get the short shift at most Broadway theatres. I'm usually only comfortable if I can snag an aisle seat, which is almost impossible when you rely on rush/TDF/papering to see shows.

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Krapp was a t5heater specialist. There are a lot of Krapp theaters sprinkled around.

Remember, these theaters were built when the average American was, we, smaller. We're all at the least 20 pounds heavier than people in the 20s and teens when the Broadway houses were built.

From Wikipedia, here is the list of Krapp in New York:

Herbert J. Krapp (1887, New York City, - 1973) was a theatre architect and designer in the early part of the twentieth century.

Krapp was an apprentice with the Herts & Tallant firm, where he was involved with designing the plans for the Lyceum, Shubert, Booth, New Amsterdam and Longacre Theatres, among others. He departed the firm in 1915. Between 1912 and 1916 Krapp began working directly with the Shubert brothers; eventually he would become their primary architect. He also designed theatres for the Chanin brothers.

Krapp was well-known for his ability to use his building space to its fullest potential. For the Majestic Theatre, Krapp incorporated stadium seating into the plans for the orchestra level, creating better sightlines and allowing for the creation of larger lounge and lobby areas. He designed the Ambassador Theatre on a completely diagonal plan to fit it into a small space. Krapp was responsible for completely renovating the Winter Garden Theatre and the Helen Hayes Theatre in the 1920s. He also designed the Hotel Edison, the Lincoln Hotel (now the Milford Plaza), and numerous other buildings.

Although the stock market crash of 1929 brought an end to the theatre building boom, Krapp remained with the Shuberts until 1963, supervising the maintenance and renovations of the existing venues. He also experimented with inventing; one of the tools he created was patented and used by the U.S. Air Force. He died in Florida in 1973.
[edit] Current Broadway theatres designed by Krapp

* Ambassador Theatre
* Brooks Atkinson Theatre
* Ethel Barrymore Theatre
* Biltmore Theatre
* Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
* Broadhurst Theatre
* John Golden Theatre
* Helen Hayes Theatre (redesign)
* Imperial Theatre
* Majestic Theatre
* Eugene O'Neill Theatre
* Richard Rodgers Theatre
* Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
* Neil Simon Theatre
* Winter Garden Theatre (redesign)
* Loew's Woodside Theatre (currently the site of St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church in Queens, New York)

[edit] Other notable buildings by Krapp

* Ed Sullivan Theater (originally Hammerstein's Theater; New York)
* Forrest Theatre (Philadelphia)
* Hotel Edison (New York)
* Lincoln Hotel (New York)
* Morosco Theatre (New York; demolished 1982)
* The Sardi's Building (New York)
* Folly Theater, Kansas City, Missouri (renovation)
* Loew's Woodside Theatre (1926), partially adaptively reused as St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church (Queens, New York).


That's a lotta Krapp.

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Updated On: 4/3/10 at 08:05 PM

In the interval I made my way from my seat to go outside for a smoke, it took 12 minutes to achieve this, there is no room at the back of the orchestra to move, if there was a fire, I am sure it would be manic with many lives lost, this theatre does not care for patrons safety.

For the record, I have been in London for the week seeing much theatre, and I remembered this thread from a few days ago. I have to say, two of the West End theatres I have been in so far have been TERRIBLE for the same reason you cited above. Getting out of the Adelphi and ESPECIALLY the stalls at the Noel Coward was a DISASTER. Getting up from the stalls at the Coward (the entrance is on the royal circle/mezz level like it is at the Henry Miller) to the curb during intermission took me around 8 minutes. There are only two tiny staircases leading up the street level. It was very inconvenient. Seemingly the same problem you had with the Kerr.

I saw Doubt at the Kerr and sat in the balcony. It was a bit uncomfortable. When my best friend, who is 6'2", went back with me on vacation and wanted to see Doubt, I made sure to get him an orchestra seat on the aisle. He said it was a bit uncomfortable for him. I can only imagine what it would have been like for him in the balcony.

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It has nothing to do with discrimination. It is greed pure & simple.

Anyone who pays this should have their head examined.

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