Volume at Broadway Shows

You are asking a simple question that has a complicated answer.

I will try to mention the various considerations, but a deep dive is a subject for a full book.

First of all, you are looking at sound regulations of the venue. Some venues have a maximum sound level that you must abide by, so that blocks you in on the high volume end. The flip side is that the quietest your show can be is determined by the ambient noise in the room - the sounds of the HVAC, the white noise of machinery, etc has to be covered by the sound (sometimes shows even turn off a/c during quiet moments).

Those things set the dynamic range of your show.

From there it is a matter of style, taste, and desired effect. Modern audiences are used to blasting headphones and TVs and going to loud concerts and movies, so they expect the sound to come TO them, rather than being active listeners, so there is a tendency for shows to lean 'loud', while some directors and designs actively try to push back against that by keeping the show quieter intentionally.

Of course, ALL of that then has the wrench of a live audience thrown in. Attendance of a specific performance makes the sound vary quite a bit. When an audience is more full, their bodies soak up some of the sound where as an empty audience can make a show seem louder because the sound has more hard surfaces to bounce off of.

I'm curious on the locations of your seats at Dear Evan Hansen and Wicked. Seat location may be a factor as well.

When I saw Wicked. I was in the very rear orchestra and I felt I was missing a lot of the action. That seems to be one of the larger theaters on Broadway but the Music Box isn't as large and I've never had sounds issues there.

RWPrincess said: "When I saw Wicked. I was in the very rear orchestra and I felt I was missing a lot of the action. That seems to be one of the larger theaters on Broadway but the Music Box isn't as large and I've never had sounds issues there."

It is the biggest. Not trying to come off rude, just informing you.

I often have sound issues in BWAY theaters- and even in movies. My haring is also good. A lot has to do with the ability of actors to properly enunciate and talk slowly enough to be heard, Oftentimes, actors are simply not aware, it seems to me, how they are projecting, or how muffled they sound when they talk under their breath or talk extremely fast. I therefore, always get tickets in the second or third row of the orchestra- but this does not always insure a great audio. Many actors seem simply unaware of the issues of proper articulation.

mailhandler777 said: "I find Jagged Little Pill loud no matter where you sit. In the front row your feet vibrate from how loud You Oughta Know gets. "

yeah that’s one show I definitely had no volume issues with lol

I recently saw Aint too Proud to Beg in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace theater .

I also saw it at the Imperial Theater on Broadway pre-COVID.

The difference in the sound quality was striking.

Because of constant and sometimes debilitating tinnitus, I wear high-fidelity concert earplugs to every musical I attend. It doesn't really muffle the sound, but, rather, lowers the volume and makes it less piercing and strident, and well as takes the sting out of loud audience applause and screaming.

As a side note, I had no problem with the sound from second row orchestra center at A Strange Loop, and I have no doubt that the plugs helped in that regard. These are the ones I own:

https://www.earpeace.com/