The mezzanine is not the balcony. Or is it?

[CurtainsUpat8]

It seems to me that some theatres are starting to call both the mezzanine and the balcony "the mezzanine" I remember a friend bought be a ticket to the Ragtime revival at The Neil Simon Theatre. It said Mezzanine on the ticket. When we went to the theatre the tickets were in the balcony. There was a mezzanine as well, below the balcony. I made a complaint to the house manager in the form of a letter and he gave me tickets to another performance that were in the actual Mezzanine. That was really nice of him. But the point was the ticket said Mezz. For the many decades I have been going to the theatre the Mezzanine was the Mezzanine and the Balcony was the balcony. It didn't even say "Upper Mezz" or "Second Mezz"

But is this becoming more widespread? Often tdf will say tickets are in the "Mezzanine" but I fear they mean the balcony.

Here is an example from TDF for Big Fish.. It says
"SEATING IS most likely IN THE MEZZANINE and THERE IS NO ELEVATOR IN THIS HISTORIC THEATRE."

I guess my question is Are these seats in the Mezz or Balcony?

Ever since I have been going to the theatre ... the mezzanine was the lower part in the front of the balcony. Wikipedia defines is as:
"The term is also used for the lowest balcony in a theatre, or for the first few rows of seats in that balcony."

I like the Mezzz. I don't like the Balcony.

[macnyc]

I don't think the Neil Simon, where Big Fish is playing, has a balcony. So in this case you'll be safe.

[bwayphreak234]

The Neil Simon does not have a balcony.

[Gothampc]

When I saw Evita with my high school drama class, our tickets said Mezzanine. I had never heard that word before and thought it sounded so chic. Little did I realize that it was just the balcony with a fancy name.

A Chorus Line stated it simply. "Orchestra and balcony...." Mezzanine is just a fancy word that producers use to charge more for balcony seats.

[CurtainsUpat8]

The Neil Simon is where I saw Ragtime. There is a lower section of the balcony..the mezzanine.... and an upper section the balcony. There is a ten foot wide space in between where people walk. You either turn one way and go down stairs into the mezz or turn the other way and walk up into the balcony. So I guess I am confused. The Mezz refers to the Lower part of the balcony. Is that not correct?

[frogs_fan85]

The mezzanine and balcony are considered two completely separate tiers of seating. In most, if not all cases, the balcony will overhang part of the mezzanine In the mezzanine of the Neil Simon all of the seating is contiguous (despite the walkway you describe) making it one seating level not a separate balcony and mezzanine.

ETA- The rows in the mezzanine of the Neil Simon are labeled continuously from Row A-Row U in the center and on the sides (where the walkway you describe exists) the rows skip from Row E to Row H. Some theaters may in fact differentiate between Front Mezzanine and Rear Mezzanine. One that instantly comes to mind is the Barrymore, which has separate row labeling for each section, meaning that the Front Mezzanine and the Rear Mezzanine both have a Row A with the section being clearly marked on the ticket.

[Londonskyguy]

if a theatre has two levels technically the first floor is referred to as orchestra and the second level is the mezzanine,, if there is a third level that is the balcony. If the second level has several rows then a walkway then more rows behind the walkway then that is technically referred to as the front and rear mezzanine

[bwayphreak234]

"Mezzanine is just a fancy word that producers use to charge more for balcony seats."

I disagree. Mezzanines are about one to two stories up where balconie are about three to four. The mezzanine is lower and closer to the stage, so it makes sense that it is more than the balcony.

[CurtainsUpat8]

From Webster's
Mezzanine:
a : the lowest balcony in a theater
b : the first few rows of such a balcony

I would be happy if they wanted to say "Lower Mezz" and "Upper Mezz" but to call the WHOLE balcony the Mezz in misleading and incorrect, especially when you go into the theatre and you can clearly see there is a "lower Mezz".

[theatreguy]

Why didn't you just check the seating chart?

[frogs_fan85]

Calling the first tier of seating above the Orchestra the Mezzanine is not incorrect or misleading at all. They can't create a distinction of Front and Rear Mezzanine if the center section of seating is entirely intact from Row A to Row U. They would have to arbitrarily decide where that break occurs. It's not as if there is a structural part of the theater that provides a logical transition point between sections. There is also a clear pricing change at Row L and again at Row S.

In terms of your Webster's definition; multiple clauses in a definition do not necessarily mean that all clauses combined are the definition itself.

[dramamama611]

The first definition is the more widely understood definition.

[JohnyBroadway]

I thought if the theatre only has two levels, which most Broadway theaters are, then it's divided between front and rear mezz.

[theaterlyfe19]

[GiantsInTheSky2]

....this thread is six years old? August Wilson Theater labels it as mezzanine.

[everythingtaboo]

theaterlyfe19 said: "I wonder what it says for the August Wilson because it doesn’t have a balcony. I wonder if they just say upper mezz?"

If one took the time to see that the August Wilson doesn’t have a balcony, one could take two more minutes to say look further on Google, or look up Mean Girls on Ticketmaster, instead of searching for and reviving a six year old thread. 

[dramamama611]

Oh, silly Taboo -- why would anyone look something up themselves?

[theaterlyfe19]

[theaterlyfe19]

[theaterlyfe19]

People could just chill and actually be civil to people on these boards. Just saying.

[Wick3]

I'll admit I always got confused by the names when I first started seeing Broadway shows. 

My understanding is if there are 2 floors/tiers in the theater, then the first level is orchestra and the 2nd level is mezzanine. 

If there are 3 floors/tiers in the theater, then the first level is orchestra, 2nd level mezzanine, and 3rd level is balcony.

I've seen some theaters with large mezzanines where they divide it up to rear mezzanine and front mezzanine (i.e. Richard Rogers, Brooks Atkinson, Majestic, Broadway, Neil Simon.) 

What really really confused me is when I went to London's West End to watch Harry Potter at the Palace theatre back in 2016. I got a balcony seat thinking it was the 3rd floor/tier, only to realize it was located on the 4th floor! In that theater, what I normally consider orchestra was stalls, mezzanine was dress circle, balcony was grand circle, and 4th floor was the balcony. 

[OlBlueEyes]

Mezzanine comes from that Italian and the Latin and all that to refer to the middle. Originally you couldn’t have a mezzanine if you didn’t have a balcony. It had to be between the floor and the balcony.

But being in the balcony had a negative connotation. I think the current Madison Square Garden which opened in the late 1960s , before all the renovations, was one of the first major venues to call the balcony the mezzanine and simply have no balcony.

[Lot666]

theaterlyfe19 said: "“Searching for and reviving a thread” Do you honestly think I did that?? I saw a post on a recent page-I commented on it. Not a big deal. Calm yourselves and leave me alone. Its not a crime."

I don't understand why it's so difficult for some people to simply not read threads in which they have no interest.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

theaterlyfe19 said: "everythingtaboo said: "theaterlyfe19 said: "Searching for and reviving a thread” Do you honestly think I did that?? I saw a post on a recent page-I commented on it. Not a big deal. Calm yourselves and leave me alone. Its not a crime."

People were just pointing out that you could answer your own question with a 30 second Google search. No one said what you did was a crime - but your overreaction is also unwarranted. Have a great day.

[theaterlyfe19]