Theater seating
Dkgoose
Posts: 1,451
I am wondering if there are any theatre goers here, I use to go all the time in highschool but the seats were what we prearranged, I am curious as to what you would consider good seats. The Phantom of the Opera is going to be coming near me soon and I want to go see it but I'm finding the tickets are pretty picked out and debating on whether or not to pass up on going. There are a lot of seats available in the balcony way in the back, I've been considering those but not sure if it would be a waste to get those, I don't want the people to look like ants and not be able to enjoy it, and some of the other seats available in twos are pretty pricey, What seats do you guys prefer? Any to avoid or to go for?
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Depends on the theater. Is it a small (200-300), medium (500-1000) or large(2000+) space? Is it a school auditorium or a formal theater or a sports stadium? Extreme right or extreme left close to the stage might be difficult to see some action. Avoid seats behind pillars. Make sure you don't get a seat behind an 8 foot giant wearing a hat.
I've seen Phantom twice. First in a medium ("Queen's Theater", London) and second in a large (Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington DC).
It's a great show regardless. In London we sat in the "Orchestra" area down front. When the chandelier fell it zoomed right over our heads, and during the fog scene, the fog rolled off the stage and filled up the seating to about our chest. Cool beans, we're part of the show!!!! But I can't guarantee that experience for all theaters.
In Washington at the Kennedy Center we were in the balcony about half way up and back. Still a great show.
If you're in a football stadium I would think twice about paying for seats in the "nose-bleed" area way in the back.
If you don't do this type of thing often, this show is a treat. Get the best seats you can afford. If you have trouble with vision, a tiny pair of binoculars are not out of place if used discretely. Otherwise just enjoy the show. Have a good dinner before or after. Be on time!
Speaking of sports stadiums. I saw a big performance of the opera "Aida" at the "Sporthallen Zuid" in Amsterdam in 1991. Hundreds of Egyptian soldiers on the field during some of the acts, big pyramid props, great costumes, fireworks inside the building, and I had a premium seat (last ticket available when I asked at the ticket booth). During the performance of the famous aria sung by the lead actress she entered the arena by coming down the aisle of the stadium and stopped 3 feet away from my seat as she stood there and sung her heart out. I could have reached out and touched her. Great seat indeed!
I ended up getting tickets, I'm in the balcony towards the back, so I'll have to get binoculars or something, I seen the Phantom when I was in school but that was a long time ago and had been wanting to see it again but anytime it came remotely near I could never afford it or wasn't able to get there. The theatre I've been to plenty of plays back in high school but we always had decent seats so not sure how far back it goes, I posted a pic of the seating chart, I'm in Balcony Lvl 3, the purple one, in the very back, I guess in one aspect I will be able to see everything. The other pic I believe is where the performance will be at.
Which theater is that? Very nice!
It's big but doesn't look too huge. At least it's not as big as the place I saw Liberace once. I was so far back all I could see was this tiny glittery purple thing strutting across the stage. 8-(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberace
Pretend your binnoculars are "opera glasses" :lol:
yes that theatre looks quite intimate compared to some and no blocking columns like stadiums at least.
Greetings,
Just a note, I have a fondness for balcony, front row, vaguely middle-ish seats. Saw Wicked when they came to Seattle in those, and it was awesome! Spendy, though...
My wife's a big fan of musicals (and plays, but we mainly see musicals), but kids put a serious crimp in the ability to go catch a show... Both in budgeting the time, and the funds.
-- Morgan
I thought I recognized that theater. Again, Google is my friend. That theater looks like "Shea's" in Buffalo? I'm not positive but I think I was there in the mid-60s to see the movie "2001 A Space Odyssey" in Cinerama ("Cinerama" -- mid20th century's answer to immersive entertainment)
When I lived in Washington DC, I attended concerts at the Kennedy Center many times. The Kennedy Center complex has three major theaters, the Concert Hall, the Opera House and the Eisenhower Theater. The three theaters are arranged along the length of the building and connected by a grand hall facing the river with a large patio outside the glass wall of the building. On performance nights there would be several concessionaires in the hall selling drinks, programs, souvenirs, etc. The first few times we went, we'd stand in line during intermission to get a glass of champagne then go out on the patio. Unfortunately, the lines were long and the intermission short. We quickly learned that savvy attendees would make friends with the champagne vendor before the performance and purchase the drinks ahead of time and leave him a good tip and he'd have your glasses on a table poured and ready for you during intermission and you could spend quality time out on the balcony watching river traffic on the Potomac or going around the corner to the end of the building at the stage door and talk with the musicians and entertainers out having a cigarette.
I loved going to the concerts, opera and theater while I could afford it. For several years I had a pair of season tickets in a box over stage left of the Concert Hall and could look down on the pianists hands.
In 1995 I spent 9 months travelling around the US and Canada on motorcycle. When I got to San Francisco I stayed a couple weeks then flew to Sydney and spent 5 weeks travelling around Cairns, Darwin, & Alice Springs. While in Sydney the best clothes I had with me were my brand new, highest quality, custom made motorcycle leathers. So, dressed in $2000 of leather and with a Mohawk haircut and bursting with mature muscle, rugged good looks, and full of the confidence of personal success I attended a Mozart Piano Concerto in the Concert Hall side of the Sydney Opera House building. While walking up the long broad steps toward the building I got some nasty looks from a couple of old maids wearing mangy old fox furs. Didn't bother me a bit, and I had a great time.