Two "King and I" ticket questions

Hi all...

1. We have "Aladdin" tix for a Sunday night performance at 6:30. Thinking of seeing "King & I" at 3:00. (first weekend in Nov.) Will we have time to get from Lincoln Center to the New Amsterdam without a complete stress-out? Is "King" is fairly long?

2. Best seats I see for the "King" matinee are front row of the right or left orch side, both sets of tix right on the inside aisle. Will those be decent, or TOO close?

Thanks!

Updated On: 7/19/15 at 01:05 PM

It is about 3 hours but bear in mind shows sometimes start 5-10 minutes late. Plus the area around the new Amsterdam is a zoo and it takes longer to get everywhere than you think. If it were me I would not do it--I'd see something shorter and/or see TKAI another day. But I also don't like to be stressed/rushed and like to get in my seats 10-15 min early.

I sat in the loge and I thought the seats were ideal. I haven't sat in the orchestra to compare but if I went again, I'd try for center loge again. It is a huge production and I personally feel there is something to be gained from that vantage point.

(Without giving anything away I think the opening scene in particular would be better from the loge.)

Updated On: 7/19/15 at 01:22 PM

For those of you who sat on the orchestra on the 100 side and in the first few rows, were you even able to see Anna and Louis perform "Whistle a Happy Tune"? I decided to sit in the near center Loge because I was worried about not fully seeing The Small House of Uncle Thomas Ballet from the extreme sides, but I'm glad I did because of "Whistle a Happy Tune" and for being able to see the whole set, the backdrop, and the fact that a lot of the action utilizes the deep stage.

Updated On: 7/19/15 at 07:41 PM

Sounds like you have a great lineup! Enjoy!

"For those of you who sat on the orchestra on the 100 side and in the first few rows, were you even able to see Anna and Louis perform "Whistle a Happy Tune"? I decided to sit in the near center Loge because I was worried about not fully seeing The Small House of Uncle Thomas Ballet from the extreme sides, but I'm glad I did because of "Whistle a Happy Tune" and for being able to see the whole set, the backdrop, and the fact that a lot of the action utilizes the deep stage."

Price-wise, seating for The King and I has turned into chaos, except for the central theme of LCT milking this hit for all it's worth. Premium seats at first in most theaters were a relative handful of the best seats. For this production Orchestra Center, Left Center and Right Center rows E through L are all premium seats. But there are now two levels of premium seats, plus a surcharge for Friday and Saturday nights. Some single seats in a premium area are premium, some are regular. Sometimes row M of the orchestra center and center right are premium and sometimes they are not.

I see for those days that there are seats in row A of the loge center available. These seats are very prized, even if you wouldn't think there was much difference between them and row B behind them or row A of the loge center left and right.

I also see that there are seats available in row M of Orchestra Center Left. If you are searching with the premium seats enabled, you can see that they are charging about $340 dollars a ticket for row L right in front of you, while row M is going for the "regular" price of about $172. So row M seems like quite a bargain. (Hopefully by next year they will have some new categories of tickets so one row doesn't save you so much.)

As for the first few rows of the orchestra sides, I sat in the second row of Orchestra Center Left on the side aisle. Since I'm pretty starstruck and like being close to stars, and since my vision falls far short of a naval aviator, I loved being that close to that stage. Almost as if I were in the production. (A long time ago, when I saw the famous David Merrick production of 42nd Street, from row two on the side I could see the spit coming out of Jerry Orbach's mouth as he sang. A great memory.)

The initial view of "Whistle" is probably not very good, but when Kelli starts singing they move right up to the front of the ship and you get a decent view. I can't recall anything else being obstructed although I wouldn't guarantee it. The first four seats from the aisle of the first few rows of the Orchestra Sides I don't believe are obstructed at all, and I think are good bargains if you don't mind being so close.

As I was saying, from where I was sitting Kelli and Ruthie Ann delivered their songs from only about fifteen feet away from me. Kelli sat on a little stool right in front of me to watch the ballet and every time the actors in the ballet would run on to or off the stage she would sweep her gown in towards her so it would not get in their way.

Silly to get a kick out of that maybe, but if you see the show twice try it once from the first or second rows of the orchestra. You may find it memorable and you don't need binoculars to read the expressions on everyone's face. At this theater the actors are not "up on the stage." The stage is at the level of the first row of seats, and adjacent to them.

The thrust stage of the Vivian Beaumont is unique among almost all theaters in the country and gives the audience an opportunity that they won't find anyplace else.

Updated On: 7/22/15 at 04:02 AM

"Thanks, all! Gonna get the tix for Sat eve instead.

Already have Hamilton tix for Fri night (fly in that AM), seeing Something Rotten on Sat at 2pm, K&I on Sat at 8pm and Aladdin on Sun at 6:30. May try for Misery on Sunday at 3pm since I'm guessing it'll be shorter than K&I and closer to the New Amsterdam.

"

Fun Home would be another good option for you if you wanted a musical. Only one act and under 2 hours. You'd have time to eat in between as well. I would assume they have the traditional schedule with a Sunday matinee. But Misery is also sure to be a great choice--can't imagine it will be 3 hours. I'm hoping to see that one too.

Sorry if I was mistaken. I knew a stage manager for the last Les Mis revival and she told me that was the case then for that. Out of curiosity, iis this an equity rule bypassed for not for profit productions? Also, I can tell you the May 27 performance ended around the 2:50 mark and Kens final performance, which Michelle Obama was attending, had the audience walking out at the 2:47 mark.

We got left side H 101 & 102 yesterday. Non premium... Nothing left was listed as "premium" I don't think. Were $162 each.

I know the loge is supposed to be good, but I like seeing the actors' faces from a reasonably close distance; always get way more involved in a show in the first 10-12 rows orchestra than the few times I've sat balcony or loge. Far less chance of missing lyrics too when I can actually see their faces better.

Thanks for the Fun Home rec, but saw that last time. It's one I would see again in a heartbeat, but only there three days. Last trip was Fun Home (a devastating/emotional knockout for me), Finding Neverland (BAD but still somewhat enjoyable), Curious Incident... (amazing -- great adaptation of the book), The Visit (so glad to witness Chita's likely last Broadway role -- and she was so sweet after!), and "On the 20th..." (dumb fun.)

Not silly at all Ol'Blue. I am in complete agreement with you. We sat in C103, 104 and it was thrilling to be so close to those glorious voices. Row C is the first row on the extreme left side. They removed rows A & B so we were also able to look right into the orchestra pit.

Glad you agree with me Melissa. You paid less to be closer to the players, and probably didn't have to wait as long to find a show where these seats were available.

jpbran, you got a bargain. No real difference between your seats and the seats right across the aisle from you in Orchestra Center Left except you paid about half of what they paid.

We've been talking about mostly orchestra seats, but the loge here is only five rows deep and gives you a good view with comfort, unlike the rear balcony seats in some of the rat trap theaters.

I am buying tickets for the show in October and I'm torn about where I want to sit. Typically I choose front row center because I love the view of the orchestra, seeing and hearing the actors up close and I feel more involved in the action. I am a huge Kelli O'Hara fan and this will probably be my only chance to see her live. I have read a lot of posts about the opening sequence with the ship coming out over the orchestra and how the front row orchestra seats have an obstructed view but on the flip side they offer an intimacy especially in scenes that fully utilize the Beaumont's thrust. In another thread, one person had mentioned sitting mid orchestra or rear orchestra and that it was a fantastic view. I am considering rear orchestra, front loge or close to the front of the orchestra. Is the rear orchestra or loge too far to feel the intimacy of the production? I don't want to lose much of the vastness of the staging but I also want to be as close to Kelli as possible. Any advice for the best seats for my dilemma? (I should mention I am avoiding premium seats as they are out of my price range.)

Updated On: 7/21/15 at 11:59 AM

The pricing and seating can get a bit crazy for this production. I also had a hard time choosing a spot. Ultimately, I decided I'd rather be in the loge than rear orchestra. I sat in the last row, center loge and was really very happy with it. The first five or so rows in the loge were $50 more than the last few which wasn't worth it to me, plus I got an aisle seat. Another bonus of that seat location was being first into the loge level bathroom at intermission!

I normally enjoy sitting closer in the orchestra to see facial expressions, but for this spectacle I was very happy to take it all in from afar. I used opera glasses to get a closeup view and it worked well.