Changing seats during intermission?- Page 3
Changing seats during intermission?
#50Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 4/24/17 at 6:44pm
I had a terrible experience moving during intermission when I brought a friend to see Beautiful. We moved from side orch to the empty row in the center. Everything was fine until about 10 minutes into the second act the couple behind me complained that we didn't pay for the seats. They were literally yelling in the middle of a book scene and people around them were trying to calm them down. I moved one seat to my left (closer to the side orch) and they yelled that I should've moved closer to the center. Guess it had more to do with blocking their view than "worthiness" of placing our butts in these seats then.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#51Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 4/24/17 at 6:51pm
What's weird is that the poster joined today to yell/chastise a three year old thread
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
AntV
Broadway Star Joined: 12/23/12
#52Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/30/18 at 12:53am
Tonight at intermission at Hello Dolly I moved to an open aisle seat in the orchestra I had seen from my partial view mezz seat. Right before the lights went down an usher telling people to silence their phones asked if this is my seat and said he saw me coming from the mezzanine into the orchestra at the start of intermission. I said it's not my seat, but I asked may I sit here, yet he still wanted to see my ticket anyway. He looked at I'm guessing the price and made a face and said no you can't sit here, people paid $500 to sit here, you have to go back.
So now the lights are going down and I have to grab my stuff and run upstairs. Well I guess my phone was on my lap and while in a rush I didn't realize it so it must have fell on the floor by that seat. I noticed it was missing when I got back to my seat and then couldn't pay attention the rest of the show just wanting it to end so I could run to look for my phone. Thankfully someone found it and saw me looking for it so I got it back.
Okay, my fault for moving my seat and not realizing I dropped my phone, but the usher didn't have to be such a jerk and make me move right as the act was beginning.
Elegance101
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/24/17
#53Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/30/18 at 1:00am
AntV said: "Tonight at intermission at Hello Dolly I moved to an open aisle seat in the orchestra I had seen from my partial view mezz seat. Right before the lights went down an usher telling people to silence their phones asked if this is my seat and said he saw me coming from the mezzanine into the orchestra at the start of intermission. I said it's not my seat, but I asked may I sit here, yet he still wanted to see my ticket anyway. He looked at I'm guessing the price and made a face and said no you can't sit here, people paid $500 to sit here, you have to go back.
So now the lights are going down and I have to grab my stuff and run upstairs. Well I guess my phone was on my lap and while in a rush I didn't realize it so it must have fell on the floor by that seat. I noticed it was missing when I got back to my seat and then couldn't pay attention the rest of the show just wanting it to end so I could run to look for my phone. Thankfully someone found it and saw me looking for it so I got it back.
Okay, my fault for moving my seat and not realizing I dropped my phone, but the usher didn't have to be such a jerk and make me move right as the act was beginning."
Hello Dolly has the strictest rules out of any show, all across the board. My friend sometimes does the merch booth and you aren’t allowed to watch the show if you work there. While this story is annoying, I would assume the usher was instructed to handle it in this manner.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#55Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/30/18 at 6:25am
PThespian said: "As an usher I would've done the same thing. My manager shares the philosophy of "you sit in the seat you paid for.""
Sorry, Ant V, he was just doing his job.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#56Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/30/18 at 11:07am
PThespian said: "As an usher I would've done the same thing. My manager shares the philosophy of "you sit in the seat you paid for.""
Most of us have no doubt been at a show where there were unoccupied seats in better sections, and it certainly seems a "victimless crime" to move to a better seat. But at the same time, if I paid $300-$400 for my seat and someone who paid $49 plopped down next to me, I'd probably feel ripped off. Then again, it's no secret that different people pay different prices for similar seats due to affinity discounts, purchase date, or ticket source, so I guess it all gets down to whether you're explicitly made aware of the disparity in price.
"Michael Riedel...The Perez Hilton of the New York Theatre scene"
- Craig Hepworth, What's On Stage
kaykordeath
Stand-by Joined: 4/14/17
#57Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/30/18 at 12:11pm
I don't object to moving seats but I do object to a sense of entitlement to an empty seat.
If an usher or house staff asks you to not sit in a seat that's not yours, that should be the end of the conversation.
lightguy06222
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/3/06
#58Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/30/18 at 1:49pm
Eff the ushers. always talk to a house manager, they care more.
ive moved dozens of time during intermission.
the excuse "I left my glasses at home accidentally" reaps the best benefits.
#60Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/30/18 at 2:28pm
I've done it many times in NY and here in LA, and never had an issue.
ScottyDoesn'tKnow2
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/22/14
#61Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/30/18 at 4:27pm
I think this is such a weird practice that people do it so many times and are proud of it. I know it's a nice life hack or whatever, but I'm sure some of you would be complaining if you were told "no" or to go back to your seat if caught trying to get a free upgrade without paying for it.
ArtMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/10/08
#62Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/30/18 at 4:44pm
I am guilty of this, mostly at concerts, so I can't say anything about anyone else. I'm never greedy with it. If I am in an an upper section and there are empty seats further down in the same section, I will move down. I never move from one complete section, to say, the floor. As a former volunteer usher (who thankfully doesn't do it anymore) if i saw someone do it,and they asked me, I would let them (cause I do it). I would tell them in advance if the people show up they will have to go back to their seats. But what I hated the most, is for the latecommers to arrive and the people sitting in their seats would ignore me, when I asked to see their tickets. They knew they were in the wrong seats, but refused to budge. Many a time I would have to finally threaten to get security/police for them to get up. And the attitude I got!!!
ArtMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/10/08
#63Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/30/18 at 4:44pm
double post
Updated On: 3/30/18 at 04:44 PM
ArtMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/10/08
#64Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/30/18 at 4:44pm
triple post
Updated On: 3/30/18 at 04:44 PM
RemlapLBC
Featured Actor Joined: 12/16/07
#65Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/31/18 at 3:17pm
My best upgrade. Blithe Spirit staring Angela Lansbury at the Ahmanson Theatre.
We had purchased cheap balcony seats for I believe $30 each. Plays are never sold out at the Ahmanson, so we took at seat at the rear orchestra, about two rows back from the general flow of people.
About 5 minutes before show starts someone in a suit walks up to us. We're both thinking the gig is up, and instead he says, "We have two empty seats in the front row we would like filled, would you like to move up" and he walks us up there.
Most shows ive been to have said you can upgrade at intermission, but not before because we don't know who's running late. Yes it looks like an entire section is empty but a group bus could be running late.
Phantom on Broadway was odd that the ushers said the balcony people could only move up to the front of the balcony, but not into the Mezz. As I had only paid $26 for the last row of the balcony, I wasn't complaining either way. :)
kade.ivy
Broadway Star Joined: 7/28/13
#66Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/31/18 at 6:55pmI’m a large man, so the most I ever do is move to a seat in a more empty aisle in the same section to give myself-and the person next to me-more room.
#67Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/31/18 at 7:20pm
AntV said: "Tonight at intermission at Hello Dolly I moved to an open aisle seat in the orchestra I had seen from my partial view mezz seat. Right before the lights went down an usher telling people to silence their phones asked if this is my seat and said he saw me coming from the mezzanine into the orchestra at the start of intermission. I said it's not my seat, but I asked may I sit here, yet he still wanted to see my ticket anyway. He looked at I'm guessing the price and made a face and said no you can't sit here, people paid $500 to sit here, you have to go back.
So now the lights are going down and I have to grab my stuff and run upstairs. Well I guess my phone was on my lap and while in a rush I didn't realize it so it must have fell on the floor by that seat. I noticed it was missing when I got back to my seat and then couldn't pay attention the rest of the show just wanting it to end so I could run to look for my phone. Thankfully someone found it and saw me looking for it so I got it back.
Okay, my fault for moving my seat and not realizing I dropped my phone, but the usher didn't have to be such a jerk and make me move right as the act was beginning."
Hello Dolly! for whatever reason (Scott Rudin? IDK) has the rudest, strictest ushers and house employees. I wasn't allowed to bring a tiny little bottle of water into the theater. I couldn't just drink the water either. I had to throw away the bottle. They were incredibly rude about barking these orders too. Idk if they've loosened since Bette left but when I went there I thought all the staff were incredibly rude.
#68Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/31/18 at 7:44pm
They've gotten less rude, but they are just as strict at Dolly.
#69Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/31/18 at 8:02pm
At first I thought it was a Shubert Organization thing but it isn't because I was at DEH when people were moving heaven and earth to see Ben Platt in the role and there wasn't anywhere near this amount of rudeness. I was never told, for instance, that not only could I not bring a water bottle inside, I had to throw out the entire bottle undrunk in front of the door checkers.
Fosse76
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/21/05
#70Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/31/18 at 10:03pmDear Evan Hansen is in a Shubert Organization house.
#71Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/31/18 at 10:10pm
Fosse76 said: "Dear Evan Hansen is in a Shubert Organization house."
Maybe I was unclear. At first I thought these draconian rules were across the board for all Shubert Organization theaters (and more so at "hot tickets" like Hello Dolly! and DEH) but at DEH the ushers and door-men have never been as rude as they are at the Shubert for Hello Dolly! To be honest the rudeness of the staff there is what is making me not want to go back to see the new cast. Strict is fine, but the rudeness of everyone at that theater is a turn-off. I never got such attitude, for instance, about inquiring about what the back of a T-shirt looked like.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#72Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/31/18 at 11:33pm
No one seems to think its a big deal to be refused seating in First Class if you haven't paid for it. No different here. That being said, I've sometimes ASKED to move seats.....sometimes I'm given permission, sometimes not. I do it so infrequently that I couldn't really tell you any percentages.
I did, however, use to have someone that would "chaperone" with me for my HS trip (the husband of one of the other educators). As "group rate" ticket holders, we nearly always get the worst seats in the house - no matter what the show. EVERY time, he would just leave the group to try to steal a seat in the orchestra. (and I mean steal). The wife would awkwardly try to laugh it off -- to find out he would do it even when they went as a couple to the theater.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
Cat Guy
Leading Actor Joined: 3/17/17
#73Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/31/18 at 11:38pm
I have never changed seats. Not something I think is my right to do.
A slightly-related story. In the 1960s, when I was a teenager, a friend and I went to a theater-in-the-round in Salt Lake City to see Ray Bolger's show. It was winter, the weather was nasty, and the theater was probably just more than half full. After Mr. Bolger came out and performed his first number, he invited everyone in the back rows to move closer to the empty seats in front. It was a kind gesture, and one that the audience appreciated. His show, by the by, was wonderful.
Danielle49
Broadway Star Joined: 10/28/17
#74Changing seats during intermission?
Posted: 3/31/18 at 11:48pm
I get why many people move seats, but I just can't bring myself to do it. If I was unhappy with my seat, I could've paid more to get a better one. I especially feel this way with rush/discounted tickets. There's a reason for price tiers and I'm fine by it. Empty seats closer to the stage are unfortunate for the performers, but they're also not mine to fill.
The only time I've moved up was because an usher told our whole section to when there was a ton of empty seats in the front balcony. This was in San Francisco seeing Sean Hayes in An Act of God.
