Top 3 favorite and least favorite Broadway theatres?

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 10/26/18 at 6:21pm

Thought it could be fun to discuss! Mine:

Favorite:
Shubert
St James
Music Box


Least Favorites:
Hayes
Jacobs
Kerr (I mistakenly sat in the balcony, one of the biggest mistakes ever)

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/26/18 at 6:34pm

Favorites:
- American Airlines (BEST LEG ROOM EVER)
- Booth (So many good shows and great sight lines)
- Friedman (Relatively new; good leg room.)
Honorable Mention: Circle In The Square

Worst:
- Studio 54 (Worst Rear Mezz EVER!)
- Broadhurst (Literally no leg room in any seat and the SRO is way too high)
- Shubert (Pretty Bad in terms of leg room unless you have an aisle seat and bad sight lines on upper levels)
Dishonorable Mention: Music Box (SRO is essentially standing in the aisle at the back of the orchestra peeking from behind a wall)

[Alex M]

Posted: 10/26/18 at 6:37pm

Favorite: 
Neil Simon 
American Airlines 
Belasco 

Least Favorites: 
Palace 
Lunt Fontanne  
August Wilson

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 10/26/18 at 7:34pm

Favorites

- Vivian Beaumont. Great view no matter where you sit.

- Circle on the Square. Unique layout allows a lot of immersive productions.

- Imperial - my favorite of the old-style traditional theaters. Feel like it's the perfect size and there's not a bad seat

Least favorite -

- The Schubert - the overhang from the mezzanine and balcony in certain sections makes it very hard to view

- Studio 54 - tiny and cramped theater. Not charming at all.

- Richard Rodgers theater - it's not a bad theater but it's not equipped to deal with the crowd control at any Hamilton performance. 

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 10/26/18 at 7:46pm

Love the Belasco balcony
Love the Walter Kerr balcony.
Love the St James balcony.

As others have said, upstairs at Studio 54 is atrocious.

Hate the Mallquis.

Sad that the Nederleander is hard to spell and feels like it's in an alley.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/26/18 at 7:51pm

Favorites

- American Airlines

- Marquis

- Vivian Beaumont 

 

Least Favorites

- Broadhurst

- Cort

- Studio 54

 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/26/18 at 8:03pm

The Belasco is my favorite, it’s so beautiful. Other favorites are the Beaumont and the Walter Kerr.

I don’t care for the Cort, the August Wilson is hideous and Studio 54 is a nightmare.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/26/18 at 9:16pm

Love:

-- Martin Beck, excuse me, the Hirschfeld.  I just love the gothic look, the upper lobby; and it is the only theatre I think I have ever been in where the box seats are great.  I also lie the way it is on its own on the wrong side of Eighth Avenue.

-- Plymouth...I have a mental block, in that I can't remember whether it is the Jacobs or Schoenfeld; but I love sitting in that theatre.  Part of it is the memory of so many great shows I have seen in the theatre; part of it is the intimate size.

-- Lunt-Fontanne...I love the upper lobby, and the lower lobby, where they have all the pictures from the Lunts' lives.  I admit that I don't like sitting the rear of the orchestra, but the front of the mezzanine represents the best seats in any Broadway theatre.  I just wish it would book some decent shows.

-- Honorable Mention: The Winter Garden, because I saw Follies, Mame and the Lansbury Gypsy there...my two all-time favorite productions and, in Lansbury's Rose, my all-time favorite Musical performance.  I know the mezzanine is too far from the stage and the lobby is nothing to speak of, but that marquee on Broadway always excites me when I arrive.

Hate:

-- Minskoff...what an ugly, characterless theatre.  When I saw Sunset Blvd. from the front row of the mezzanine, I felt like I was watching from a different state.  From the front row, you couldn't really see the faces.

--Marquis...entering a theatre from the dreary lobby of a hotel already diminishes from the theatre going experience.  

-- August Wilson...I have hated this theatre since the first time I was ever in it, when it was called the ANTA and the show was Spofford, a mediocre vehicle for Melvin Douglas which I was too young to enjoy..  The Orchestra is just awful, and the rear of the orchestra is REALLY awful.

--Dishonorable Mention: Studio 54.  I think it is the dreariest theatre and its location adds to the dreariness.  I satin the rear mezzanine for the first time ever -- at least I wagon the aisle -- and confirmed that everything that has been written about it is true.  Awful!!!!

On a final note, every one of the 'best' theatres pale when compared to the Colonial Theatre in Boston. It sin a league of its own.  The Boston Opera House -- a repurposed movie palace -- is also gorgeous, if a little too large.

[persephone88]

Posted: 10/26/18 at 10:31pm

Favorites:

The Music Box

Circle In the Square

The Neil Simon

 

Least Favorite:

The Belasco

The Cort

and I know it is not even in Manhattan, but I have to say the BAM in Brooklyn. The balcony feels so removed from the action, the ceiling is falling apart, and the acoustics up there are terrible. 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 10/26/18 at 10:31pm

Favorite:

Richard Rodgers-Mid Orchestra(elevated level-stadium seating style)

From the front row mezzanine

Imperial

Hudson

Hirschfeld

Honorable Mention: Vivian Beaumont

Least Favorite:

Studio 54

Minskoff

August Wilson

Honorable Mention: Marquis


 

 

Updated On: 10/26/18 at 10:31 PM

[The_Spielers_2017]

Posted: 10/26/18 at 11:39pm

Least Favorite:
3. The Broadway- Of the Broadway barns, this is truly my least favorite. Easily the furthest away mezzanine seating in any theatre.
2. The Ethyl Barrymore- Of the jewel box theatres, I find this one to be the most un-intimate and oddly set.
1. The Lunt-Fontanne- The side mirrors mixed with the extended mezzanine overhang mixed with the terrible wing space easily makes this my least favorite.

Others: The Minskoff, The Cort, The Sondheim

Favorite:
3. The New Amsterdam- Just stunning. Of the larger theatres, this is easily my favorite for its warmth, history, and class.
2. The Lyric/ Hudson- I combine these two, as they're both recent renovations by the same producing company. Intimate yet grand, and truly characters in/ of themselves
1. The Shubert- There's a certain charm to this theatre that you can't help but fall for. From the exterior to the stage, it's a theatre that can't help making even the biggest shows seem intimate. Everyone dreams of working here.

Others: The Vivian Beaumont, The Al Hirschfeld, The Belasco

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/26/18 at 11:46pm

How could anyone not like the Belasco?

[ilysespieces]

Posted: 10/26/18 at 11:50pm

Favorite
Lyric
Booth
Circle in the Square

Least favorite
August Wilson
Studio 54
Minskoff

[StardustsChild]

Posted: 10/27/18 at 1:12am

Favorites

• The Vivian Beaumont
• The Lunt Fontanne
• The Golden

Least Favorites

• The Winter Garden
• The August Wilson
• The Friedman

 

Honorable and dishonorable mention to The Shubert, in which I adore the lobby, orchestra, and backstage spaces, but the mezz's are just atrocious. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 10/27/18 at 1:25am

Favorites: 

American Airlines

Friedman 

Hayes

Longacre 

Music Box 

 

Least Favorites:

Broadway

Golden

Lunt-Fontanne

Neil Simon

Studio 54

 

You may notice a pattern among the theatres that I dislike. All of them have a "rear mezz" section instead of a balcony, which always makes the upper level feel way too deep, and by extension, very far away from the stage. I find that's even true with the smaller theatres like the Golden and Studio 54. It has less to do with the size of the theatre, and more to do with the shape. IMO, the nosebleeds at the Beaumont, for example, feel more intimate than the nosebleeds at the Golden. 

 

[geudupe]

Posted: 10/27/18 at 2:18am

Favorite:

-Belasco

-Schoenfeld

-Golden

Plus: Vivian Beaumont

 

Least Favorite:

-Palace

-Lyric

-Richard Rodgers

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 10/27/18 at 6:41am

TotallyEffed said: "How could anyone not like the Belasco?"

It's gorgeous, but the competition for "pretty theater" is pretty tough, and the theater itself has issues with wing space and (I think) upstairs leg room. It came close, but my list is:

Faves
1) Booth - for the playgoing experience, its intimate scale makes it a winner.
2) New Amsterdam - for the design. Thank you Flo Zigfield for building this terra-cotta fantasia, and thanks also to Disney Theatricals for restoring it.
3) The Imperial - Perhaps the best medium-sized musical house in terms of the seating, shows and experience.

Flops
3) Cort - when will the promised remodel materialize?
2) Marquis - it has no soul
1) Studio 54 - From the subway rumbling beneath, to the lack of orchestra pit, to the torture chairs in the balcony. The worst.

(Full disclosure - I've not yet visited the Hudson, Gershwin, Majestic, Ambassador, Winter Garden, or Minskoff)

Updated On: 10/27/18 at 06:41 AM

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 10/27/18 at 7:25am

TotallyEffed said: "How could anyone not like the Belasco?"

 I had two railings blocking my view from a third row aisle seat in the balcony. But it’s beautiful. 

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 10/27/18 at 7:33am

Love:
Booth: Classy and a great, intimate size with excellent acoustics.
Shoenfeld: Ditto above.
Hudson: A perfect jewel box with blessedly comfortable seats and gorgeous lobbies.

Strongly dislike:
Marquis: Charmless.
Minskoff: Ditto above.
August Wilson: Ditto above, and the mezzanine is a torture chamber in the ninth circle of no-legroom hell.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 10/27/18 at 7:53am

I don't think I've been to EVERY Broadway theater but with that being said:

WORST

The Court - that janky, musty decreped theater needs a full on remodel.  I won't buy a ticket to sit in that theater

Broadway Theater - Only have been once - for the Fiddler revival a few years ago - and was horrified what a gaudy large barn that it is

Marquis - Theater is so meh from Saturday Night Fever to Evita, that theater lacks a proper aesthetic 

Lyceum - needs work

BEST

Samuel J Friedman

Shubert  - Gypsy (twice), Hello Dolly

Neil Simon

Schoenfield 

Golden

[goodlead]

Posted: 10/27/18 at 12:10pm

I agree that the shape of the theater makes a difference.  The long and narrow ones, such as the Lunt, the Golden, and the August Wilson present problems unless you sit far forward.

Like Jarethan, I can't help thinking of some of these theaters by their former names.

[wonkit]

Posted: 10/27/18 at 12:17pm

Great question!

My three favorites are the Beaumont (excellent views from everywhere), Belasco (beautiful, and magical to sit on stage there), and Barrymore (feels intimate, and I have seen so many of my favorite shows there - like coming home). 

Least favorites: for the same reasons most people give, Marquis, Palace, Studio 54, and the Golden. I have been so disappointed by shows I have seen at the Golden, and I think that gives me the negative reaction.

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 10/27/18 at 12:31pm

Can't pick 3!

I love the stadium seating in the rear orch of the Majestic and Richard Rodgers Theatres. I wish more theatres were like this.

For a play or small musical, there's nothing better than the Schoenfeld or Booth. I'm going to go out on a limb and say any Broadway show could work in the Schoenfeld (as long as the space works for the set/musicians/actor accommodations).

I love the grandness and intimacy of the Beaumont (and that it's out of the theatre district).

I love the interior decor of the Belasco, but in general I hate second balconies. As a result, I would probably say my least favorite are the Lyceum and Cort, for location and balconies.

[Itonlytakesajourney]

Posted: 10/27/18 at 12:40pm

Favorites:

Shubert- it’s so charmingly characteristic. I love the stage and backspace areas, and if you sit in the right places, the sightlines are spectacular. The leg space is an issue though

Circle In The Square- in general, I’m fond of theaters in the round, but there truly is no bad place to sit in CITS. The acoustics always sound beautiful in there

Beaumont- again, I have no issue sitting anywhere in the theater. Sometimes the sound is a little iffy but overall it’s a great theater (that always houses top rate productions, no less)

Lyric- god what a gorgeous theater. It’s my favorite broadway barn, partly because of the grandeur but also for the balance it achieves between intimacy and space

Least Favorites:

Cort- it’s hideous

Studio 54: it’s so...bland and lifeless. The seating is not exemplary

Marquis- the exterior looks more like a movie theater than a broadway theater. it’s characterless and boring

[ilysespieces]

Posted: 10/27/18 at 2:52pm

I posted my answer before having stepped foot in the Cort and I want to add it to my list but in both spots. The leg room is great, I like the layout, but the seats are literally falling apart and it just screams "please, renovate me, I'm dying".