A reader writes:
I enjoy your reviews in the Journal even if most of the shows don’t make it to Minnesota and we don’t make it to NYC often.
My wife & I went to the Producers at the St. James on Feb 14. I liked the show (she loved it) but I was very uncomfortable throughout the show with the closeness of the seats. I’m 6’2″ and was jammed into the seat. My shins had dents from the seat in from of me and every time the woman leaned back it mashed my shins. My knees stuck over the top of her seat. My back also hurt too. I’ll never go back to that place again. The play was not worth the pain.
Here’s my questions:
(1) Are all Broadway seats that close?
(2) Did they add extra rows in the theatre to sell more tickets?
(3) Are the seats better on the floor? We sat in Mezzanine N 15 & 17.
(4) Am I the only one to complain?
I work for an airline and so don’t expect too much room but it was way too tight for comfort. Even my 5’2″ wife could not cross her legs.
Well said, sir. My answers:
(1) No–seat pitch varies widely from theater to theater–but some are way too close for comfort.
(2) I don’t know whether the St. James packed in additional seats for The Producers, but I wouldn’t be a bit surprised.
(3) I haven’t sat in the balconies of most of the major New York houses (critics always sit in the orchestra), but I do know some houses where the upstairs seats are appallingly cramped. I nearly had to call an ambulance a few years ago after spending an evening in the back row of the Vivian Beaumont, for example.
(4) Probably not, but I’ve never seen such a complaint in print, and so am happy to post yours. Send the management a letter!