Posted: 10/26/18 at 6:21pm
Posted: 10/26/18 at 6:34pm
Posted: 10/26/18 at 6:37pm
Favorite:
Neil Simon
American Airlines
Belasco
Least Favorites:
Palace
Lunt Fontanne
August Wilson
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.
Posted: 10/26/18 at 7:46pm
Posted: 10/26/18 at 7:51pm
Favorites
- American Airlines
- Marquis
- Vivian Beaumont
Least Favorites
- Broadhurst
- Cort
- Studio 54
Posted: 10/26/18 at 8:03pm
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.
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.
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
Posted: 10/26/18 at 11:39pm
Posted: 10/26/18 at 11:46pm
Posted: 10/26/18 at 11:50pm
Posted: 10/27/18 at 1:12am
Favorites
Least Favorites
Honorable and dishonorable mention to The Shubert, in which I adore the lobby, orchestra, and backstage spaces, but the mezz's are just atrocious.
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.
Posted: 10/27/18 at 2:18am
Favorite:
-Belasco
-Schoenfeld
-Golden
Plus: Vivian Beaumont
Least Favorite:
-Palace
-Lyric
-Richard Rodgers
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
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.
Posted: 10/27/18 at 7:33am
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
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.
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.
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.
Posted: 10/27/18 at 12:40pm
Posted: 10/27/18 at 2:52pm
