Seating in Manhattan Theatres
 

I'm wondering if anyone can help me with booking tickets to broadway shows.

I don't live in New York, and am wondering about the seating in the theatres. For instance, I'm trying to book tickets for Wicked for me and my 14-year-old daughter. I see that for the centre orchestra seats, there is a substantial difference in price between row P - $230.00 per ticket, and row Q, just one back - for $150.00 per ticket.

What is the difference in view? Are neither of them good? It's so difficult to get an idea of the seating, whether it's tiered, whether sitting higher up in mezzanine but farther back is better, or whether orchestra is better.

At what point is an orchestra seat not good anymore? And same for mezzanine?

I prefer to wait until I get there and speak to a real person, but I understand it's best to book in advance (coming in August).

Thanks so much for any advice!

Unfortunately this is the new Broadway theater scam, pricing seats like the airlines do now. Not all that long ago the entire orchestra was priced the same, than they began saving the best 2 or 3 rows of seats for premium pricing. Now half the orchestra is considered "premium". Take the row Q seat and save the money, the one row will make no difference. Neither seat is worth the money in my opinion.

Thanks Frank - but can you see in that row Q seat?

Do you know about the mezzanine seating - in other words, is mezzanine which is the same price (depending on the row) any better?

Can you see from the sides of the orchestra (ie. orchestra right or left - which is also same pricing as mezzanine, again depending on row?)

The Gershwin theater is a big barn of a theater so if you can get Front Mezz it's probably a little better than row Q, since it overhangs Row N of the Orchestra. Extreme sides of any section might be limited viewing, I'd try for center.

Orchestra is always better than mezzanine IMHO = unless you are talking abuot the far sides of the orchestra. Then center mezzanine - but in the first few rows is better.

Thanks again.

nytraveler, I'm assuming the orchestra is tiered? Is back orchestra also better than mezzanine in your opinion? Even front mezzanine?

We just saw Wicked about 10 days ago...we were in Row Q and felt like the sight line there was excellent since it's the first row of the back section so there were no seats directly in front of us, just the aisle. Do try to get as close to the center as possible; our seats were the first two in our row in one of the side sections so we were quite close to the middle section.

I'm a big fan of orchestra seating as well, but only up to Row Q or so (any theater). Farther back than that and I feel totally disconnected from what's happening on stage.

musicfan, thanks. I was thinking of Row Q because I can get row Q in the central Orchestra section - do you think for a 14 year old it wouldn't be too far from the stage? Row Q seems so far back! But everything else is so much more expensive (As I said above, even one row up to P is a HUGE difference in price).

No, I don't think it would be too far back, especially with the improved sight lines from that row. We had seen Wicked once before, locally, and the seats we had in New York were so much better. We both thought we had good seats and could see the stage well.

Wicked is a big show in a big theater, so as long as you're seated in the center, I don't think there's a big difference between N and Q. But there can be a big difference with side seating, and this theater has a lot of minimally limited sightlines because it's so big and because there's so much going on.

I remember the first time I saw How to Succeed (with Matthew Broderick). I was in the middle of the mezzanine but toward the back. I could not see him when he entered the stage on the window washing unit. You'll discover something similar with Wicked when you are in the back of either the orchestra or mezzanine. Lots of stuff happens above the stage as well as on the sides.

Generally, I prefer front mezzanine for all shows than side seating, even when it's fairly close. And I prefer front mezzanine to rear orchestra as well for the same reason.

For a "small" show like Once, however, you could probably sit on the sides or almost anywhere.

FYI: Your daughter would probably like Mama Mia as well. To me, it's a bit tired, but I've taken out of town guests, and they have all uniformly loved it. I'd also recommend Newsies and Godspell if it's still around. Les Miz closed long long ago.

But if you don't have a lot of experience with Broadway shows, you might also want to consider taking in more than one on your trip. You can line up for discount tickets at TKTS. The best time is actually around 5pm for that evening's performances, and you can usually get a ticket without much of a wait. There is always something even if it's not your first choice, and many times it's something good, though with seating in the back.

Thank you Doug_Stallings- I definitely am going to take her to a few shows as we'll be in NY for about a week. Its my daughter's first time in NY and as we live overseas, she's not likely to be returning very soon. I have another thread going asking for advice on great shows for a really bright 14-year-old who is also fun and loves music and dance. There are so many choices and I so want to choose right!

For instance, (I asked this on my other post so I'm sorry if this sounds repetitive), but since you've seen Once, would you say it would be enjoyed by a 14-yr-old?

Any other suggestions?

When you say you prefer front mezzanine, do you mean the first row only?

Thanks again!

I concur w/Doug re front mezzanine. However, not necessarily the first row as many theaters have a bar across that is a view deterrant. I usually book 2-5 rows center.

Not sure about other shows for a 14-yr old...possibly
Phantom but Doug can advise further.

Anyone have thought on phantom for a 14-yr-old?

Only a 14 year old boy who is determined that theatre is for losers or sissies and who thinks opera is painful to the ears and corny would not like Phantom. The way you describe this kid, he will LOVE it.

I should clarify. I haven't seen Once, but it's not a big special-effects laden show, so that's why I made that suggestion. If your daughter has seen the movie, she'd probably like the musical, but it might not be enough for her. I found the movie a bit boring, but the play is supposed to be very good (and if you want to see it, you need to buy tickets before this Sunday because it's likely to win a Best Musical Tony and will then be a hot ticket once again ... though it's selling well even now).

A lot of people like Phantom, though I'm with NeoPatrick on that one. It's not my favorite. I think I mentioned in the other thread that she'd probably like Mama Mia, Newsies (though that may be gone by the time you come), and Godspell (though that too is closing soon or perhaps has already closed). Anything Goes is a great old-fashioned musical, as is Nice Work If You Can Get it. Sister Act got very good reviews, though I see that a lot of people on the boards didn't like it; I haven't seen it. I have seen Mary Poppins, and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would, though it's not "great".

NeoPatrick - thanks for the encouragement, and especially because my 14-yr-old is a girl, I'm optimistic!

Doug- thanks for clarification. It's funny, when I read your first post re Once, I thought I might be making an assumption that you had seen it and that there was a chance you didn't! I guessed incorrectly. And thanks for the heads-up re the Tonys. Interesting that you're not keen on Phantom - I loved it, but am not sure for my daughter. Really undecided. I think it's a classic but not sure if it's good for her. Maybe a bit too dark and heavy.

At one point I also thought of Sister Act, but as you say the reviews here aren't stellar. I guess I'm looking for a "gotta-see absolutely-not-to-be-missed play", since again, we won't be in NY for a while. Of course, it's so subjective - one person's gotta-see is another person's dud, but there have got to be some across the board must-sees I would think.

I'm pretty sure Newsies is shifting to being an open run show. Since almost the entire cast is male, it's been very popular with the girls, from what I read, and what we saw when we saw last week. The dancing is VERY athletic and energetic.

The cast of Anything Goes did a tap number on last year's Tony Awards that was incredible--see if you can find it on YouTube. It's one of the reasons I've saved last year's awards on my DVR for almost a year!

Thanks musicfan. On my other thread - again sorry for repetition - I also heard the tap dancing in Anything Goes is amazing. But I hear the story is really really silly. It's a dilemma, especially since she tap dances! Also, I understand it's really old-fashioned - not sure it would go over well with a 14-yr-old...

The male issue though in Newsies sounds promising...! Did you love it?

Yes, we DID love it, but I am not a naturally critical person and we went in expecting to like it. I think it's done much better commercially than anyone expected it to. And it's in a very small theater so our seats were quite good. There is one incredible tap number in it. Here is a link to a recent article in Entertainment Weekly:

http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/05/16/ne...-run-broadway/

And their review:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,2036...582165,00.html