why is the BALCONY for LESTAT not selling??

Recent word is that the balcony would offer an extremely obstructed view, due to the set. Not sure if that is an official reason or not.

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so the Palace has two sets of balconies? or is just orchestra?

Strange. Have any of you been to both the Palace and the Curran? (I have no idea what the difference is in size or dimensions.)

I've seen Lestat from the back of the balcony at the Curran, and the view really isn't that bad -- the only thing you miss is Marius' big Elphaba moment at the end of Act 1.

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Updated On: 1/31/06 at 01:51 AM

designer or not, how can anyone take you seriously with your spelling and that avatar?

Updated On: 1/31/06 at 02:03 AM

That doesn't make it not a problem!

P.S. Is "Sapphire" supposed to be misspelled in your sig?

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The obstructed view is and always has been the reason for this. It was an publicized decision from the moment they announced the Palace for this show. The set that reaches out from the sides and above the stage is a major part of the design and the balcony seats at the Palace are very steep, much more so then the Curran. They decided they didn't want to sell any seats with severely restricted viewing. Some people have applauded that decision, not to take all the money that they can get at the expense of the audience (insert your easy audience size joke here), but not on here I'm sure.

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sand. vagina.

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Designers seem to only design shows for the center of the house. That said, if an ENTIRE section is completely obstructed, perhaps the designer needs to re-think the design. With the not-so-great word of mouth from this show, I would think they'd want to sell every seat available. It could possibly make or break the show. But also, it could also be a marketing strategy. Block out an entire section, then when the house is "sold-out", they magically have seats to sell.

My wonder (aside from the Spelling Bee on the thread) is how people who don't know the Balcony isn't on sale is going to affect their opinion of the show. I always like to get a look at the house, but if one looked up and saw a completely empty level, someone not in the know might think "Wow, this show isn't doing well at all!"

Conversely, does that affect a show acoustically? Or the effect on the actors, who will always see a third of the house empty from day one? It's interesting.

PS The view from Rear Mezz blows big time. I couldn't count the number of times during Aida where I had to crouch down in my seats just to see action upstage. Why not just cut out the last 3-4 rows and put those seats in the Front Balcony?

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I dont think they should have to comprimise the set due to the theatre they booked. If that was the only one they could get, than certain adjustments must be made. I saw most of Aida's performances from the Balcony and found them always to really not be bad. I had full view of the stage and always could see what was generally going on. I found it to be a pretty "bigger picture". My favorite seats in the Palace however are First Row Frnt Mezz. The absolute best view of that stage IMO.

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And you obviously don't understand irony.

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I think the obstruction is pretty pointless. The side seats at the Curran were that way too because of the "crinkly stuff" that bordered the stage. Pointless, but it impedes vision.

SECOND-yes, spelling is important, but people who constantly correct other peoples grammer and spelling are ANNOYING...and also pointless. Message boards/IMs are about sharing thoughts and feelings quickly. A person shouldn't spend 10 minutes proofreading and writing drafts of a 2 paragraph post.