Baruch Performing Arts Center — Attraction in New York

I just got back from an excellent production of Dead as a Dodo at Baruch PAC. I want to advise anyone else attending this theater not to listen to the advice of the box office staff on the phone because they badly, and I think deliberately, misled me.

I had booked four seats at this show for a Friday night performance, two in the regularly priced seating and two at a higher price point, since my partner and I were attending with another couple who didn't want to spend as much. Unfortunately for all of us one of my friends ended up having a conflict on that Friday, and since the show was about to close, we had limited options If we wanted to reschedule to see it together. I called to find out if I could possibly change our tickets to a different night.

The person I talk to on the phone said that four seats together in the very back row of the theater were available on Saturday. I was extremely skeptical about the quality of these seats, especially since the online seating chart depicted them as being in the back of the balcony. The person I spoke to on the phone explained that there was no balcony in this show, that every seat in the theater was on risers to assure clear sight lines, that he had sat in the back row many times, and that the view would give us a clearer overall view of the composition of the stage than our original tickets. I initially pushed to put two of us in the orchestra and only the cheaper two tickets in the back row of the balcony, but it seemed like he didn't want to deal with the complication of placing us in different parts of the theater even though we had already paid for different tiers of tickets... and he was specific and passionate enough in his advice that I decided to trust him. That was clearly a mistake, and one I will never make again.

Pro-tip, Baruch PAC: there is no reason to lie to someone if you already have their money! It's okay to say you cannot change someone's tickets or just tell them you can only offer them vastly inferior ones that no one who cares about their seats would accept. Lying does not help you in any way!

The far left seat of our four was positioned next to a sound booth, and the curtains for it obstructed the full third of the stage for the entire show. The back row of the balcony (which absolutely was a balcony) also wasn't on risers as high as literally every other row in the theater, which meant that the person in front of me blocked much of my view for the entire production as well. At times I had to stand or kneel on my seat to see what was happening downstage. We were not offered any refund or discount even with this obvious downgrade. Honestly I do not think it is right for these seats to even be sold for full price to anyone because they are obstructed all the time.

I would not have changed my tickets if I had realized that this was what I was agreeing to. Honestly, the high quality of the production made me upset because I realized I was having a terrible experience watching something that I normally would have loved and fully immersed myself in.

Never ever book a seat in the last row of this theater unless you are doing so at a steep discount. Never ever trust someone in the box office who is advising you on where to sit. You will waste your money and your time and you will also write an angry Google review when...

I'm not sure how to rate this because the venue is lacking, but the show was saw was fantastic. Having never seen a show here, I'm not sure if the productions they show are typically as outstanding as the one we saw. If so, then it deserves more stars. The venue was tiny, which is fine, but unless you are a slight person, you will not be comfortable. They have locking folding chairs that do not allow for any separation from the person seated next to you. I felt bad for the people who sat next to anyone who was not a small child or small adult. However, and this really has nothing to do with the venue, the show we saw was absolutely outstanding (Dead as a Dodo). So, while I was there, I could overlook the lack of comfort and inconvenience getting down to the theater and the uncomfortable seating. (It was also only an 80...

I got an opportunity to participate in a Nuclear Energy Symposium that was held for the United Nations General Assembly Science Summit. The Symposium used this theatre hall, as well as the mezzanine outside for food and networking. The facility was very nice and has the capacity to fit large amounts of people. A few improvements would be to add charging ports to the Chairs (due to convienince) as well as more lights in the mezzazine area in case people are interested in networking. I believe we had a very positive experience at...