box seats for Picnic: obstructed view?

[two ladies tickets]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 2:45am

my friend bought house right box seats for Picnic this weekend and asked me to go with him. The tickets are labeled obstructed view, how badly are they obstructed?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 5:41am

Most box seats keep you from seeing whatever may be stage on the extreme side of the stage (so in this case, stage r).

Also, it can vary greatly based on WHICH seats you are actually in -- even in the same box. Box seats are seldom "good".

I can't speak to THIS show since I haven't seen it -- and lots depends on blocking.

[AC126748]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 6:58am

The American Airlines has boxes on the orchestra and mezzanine levels. The orchestra level boxes are really bad. The mezzanine level boxes are also bad, but less bad. Either way, there will be some obstruction, for sure.

That said, when I saw Picnic there were about thirty people total in the mezzanine, so I imagine you could easily move to a full-view seat, probably even before the show began. (When I saw it, people were moving all over the mezz before the performance even started and the ushers weren't stopping them--even though it was empty I was surprised)

[mikem]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 11:14am

Picnic has scenes towards both sides of the stage, so I think the box seats would miss a fair amount. That being said, when I saw the show, the sides of the orchestra were very empty and the people in the boxes moved to the sides before the show started without being stopped (as was said before, the Roundabout ushers are usually hyper about people moving, but in this case, they weren't (maybe because there were so many empty seats)).

[SFFrontRow]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 6:27pm

I saw Picnic on Saturday night 1/26. The house was rather crowded and did not see LOTS of empty seats (if any).

Sat in first row side orch last seat against the wall (seat A5 if you look on seating chart) - on left side as you look at the stage (which I guess is stage right? sorry to be a nitwit about that terminology).

I saw the set design ahead of time, there was a streetlight and a "backyard" area in front of me. Some action occurred there (not much, but enough). The other side of the stage is a walk way between two houses for actors to enter and exit. If you are sitting facing the stage on the right sided (audience right, stage left?), you dont think you will miss much of anything. If you are sitting on the left side of the stage (audience left, stage right?), you could miss some action from the box.

Hope I did not confuse.

Updated On: 2/5/13 at 06:27 PM

[mikem]

Posted: 2/7/13 at 11:44am

With house right seats, the big question is whether you can see Ellen Burstyn's porch steps (the house on the right). If you can, you should be fine. If you can't, you should move.