Majestic Theatre — Attraction in New York

I saw a life-changing performance of Phantom at the Majestic Theatre. Until now I've only seen the stage production as a recording, and WOW. This cast gives the original West End cast a run for their money. Emilie Kouatchou is perfection. Everyone else was pretty cool, too. Finally seeing this show live, with this fantastic cast and orchestra, was totally worth the trip.

Literally, I flew in from Texas, rode a bunch of trains, went to the Majestic, saw the best show in the city, and then went back home.

If you haven't seen this show yet, you really should "GO. GO NOW!" It's only around for a few more weeks.

My only gripe: Much of the theatre is not accessible for people with physical disabilities--that's the fault of the building owner, and NYC as a whole, for not being more accessible. Perhaps the opera ghost needs to have a chat with the city about this issue.

NYC is old and seems to have little interest in providing a truly wheelchair accessible experience (broken subway elevators, potholes in the crosswalks, uneven edges in the doorways, etc.). Y'all are trying, kind of, but... try harder. I don't blame the Phantom company for this unsurprising disappointment. The ushers were wonderful with helping us to our seats and storing the wheelchair during the performance. They did the best they could with the building they had.

There is a single, nice bathroom stall on the main level for people who cannot climb stairs. If you have any form of bladder challenge, get in line ASAP as you might wait ten minutes or more.

A big heartfelt THANK YOU to all the staff, company, and crew who make this production possible. Your hard work, beautiful costumes, and countless hours of set maintenance did not go unnoticed. Whether you've been with the show for months or for decades, I am so grateful I got to see your hard work. I'm sorry to see this production closing after so many magnificent years. I'm really grateful y'all stuck around a few more months so more of us would get the opportunity to see this show.

May your memories of your time with your Phamily bring you happiness and pride. Y'all...

*Disclaimer: This review is in regard to the staff, not the show itself.

The Phantom of the Opera performance itself was amazing, but the treatment that I received from the ushers was extremely disrespectful and rude. Once my family and I got seated and were 5 minutes into the performance, taking in the joy that were finally fulfilling our lifelong dream to see this show, an usher approached our row and began yelling at us to get out of our seats and follow her without giving us a reason why. Once we were removed from our seats, we were told that another family had told another usher that we were in their seats and that family was promptly placed there. However, it was soon confirmed that the seats we were at were actually ours and when the usher asked the other usher if she checked the other family's tickets, she responded that she had simply trusted that family's word.

Even when that got sorted, we were forced to wait another five minutes for the ushers to get that family out of their seats. This all occurred while the show was still going on and we were forced to watch the show from the aisle until we finally were taken back to our seats.

This whole situation could have been prevented if the first usher had either checked that family's tickets or let us show her our tickets. It was an embarrassing experience and not only was our performance disturbed but so were the people around us. It took us completely out of the performance and it took me a while to get engrossed by the performance once more. We even had guests come to us apologizing for the treatment we received.

Not to mention that once the performance had ended, the ushers were promptly ridiculing everyone to get out of the theater, not allowing guests to take even a moment to take in what they just saw.

This was our first time in New York City and attending a Broadway show and it has been partially tainted by such rude and disrespectful behavior...

My rating of the phantom play: 5/5 My rating of the theater itself: 2/5

The only reason my score is even a 3 is because of the absolutely outstanding performance we watched. The transitions were flawless, Ben Crawford as the phantom is a treasure (he definitely didn't phone it in, not even for a Tuesday) and the sets were excellent.

HOWEVER, the majestic theater is in appalling condition for such a famous theater. Age is no excuse for the horrible flaws it has. (94 years old vs Proctor's in Schenectady NY's 95, clearly a theater this old CAN be in better shape).

Cramped seats with no foot room, you're basically on top of the person you're sitting next to. Two alcoholic beverages cost us $46. There were THREE nasty bathroom stalls for the women on the upper level and the line was nearly 60 girls long with an employee yelling at everyone that they will do a seat hold if everyone isn't back in their seats for the 15 minute intermission (literally impossible, also your customers paid hundreds of dollars for their seats. We are not school children to be scolded)

The stairs are steep and narrow for the mezzanine. No elevator, not handicap accessible on the upper levels.

No food in the theater either at all. Not a huge complaint but I really expected more all things considered.

Play itself was excellent, I recommend front row mezzanine for an unobstructed view and to fully experience the phantoms antics on the upper level of the structure.

It's a shame the majestic theater is too cheap to shut down for a period of time and renovate. But go ahead and let them tell you it's because it's historic. Tiny pink seats, nasty small bathrooms, and non handicap accessible upper levels are not...