Stephen Sondheim Theatre — Attraction in New York

Large to medium-sized theater harkening back to the early 1900s in Times Square, off 43rd. There were several levels of stairs (lower level was a bathroom and i think the lounge, middle level the ground floor, and one level up was orchestra seating), but there's an elevator somewhere for accessibility, too. I'm sure this will change as Covid restrictions continue to lessen up.

Staff was friendly and accommodating, helping navigate the flow of traffic sufficiently during intermission and the close of the show.

Bathroom: During intermission, lemme tell you that bathroom line was LONG. I got out quickly, but by the time i left the bathroom, the line for it was going up the stairs. Only one way into the bathroom (though there's an exit door, it was closed), so you've gotta squeeze past a bunch of other people to go in and out. Automatic soap dispensers and automatic flushing, if you care (haha).

Seats: The seats are SMALL. I'm 5'3" and had adequate room to sit, but honestly not a lot of room. And there was someone next to me I'd say was about 6'0" to 6'2", and their knees were right up against the seat in front of them, and their body spilled over into part of my seat. And lemme tell ya... Even at 5'3", it was not comfortable having to crunch my already small frame up.

Views: I saw Mrs. Doubtfire (Broadway lottery woot woot) and had an Orchesta seat. The seats have a graduated height--slightly. But as a shorty, i was constantly craning my neck and missing parts of the stage because the person in front of me completely blocked my view.

Overall thoughts are that this is not a shorty-friendly theater, but it's got a lot of modern conveniences like...

Our young adult daughter wanted to see the lead actress in "Beautiful," plus we all love the music of Carole King, so I bought our tickets online in Seattle. The website was very helpful in choosing tickets, especially because it has a feature that lets you see the view from each specific seat. Without that, we would have purchased tickets a few rows closer to the front that would have had us looking at the feet of the actors. We felt like we had the best seats in the house, in the center of the row, about the eighth row; I believe that they were the next-most-expensive. The accoustics were terrific and the theater had been recently remodeled. The acting was crisp and fast-moving. The actors were truly great singers who could also act well. It was apparent by the make-up of the audience that the music appeals to all ages. At intermission, the buzz in the room was palpable joy. The costuming was spot-on for each venue depicted and each time period. We loved the authentic costumes of the the Rondelles and the other groups depicted for whom Carole (and her first husband) wrote--it was a huge reminder that she had written hit songs fo many groups before she started performing. We loved hearing so many songs that we had forgotten were hers. I realized how little of her life story I had known, despite the fact that her music was such a large part of of my life, starting with my teen years. As I write this, I am recalling and singing songs from the show without thinking. We all agreed that everything about the show, starting with the music, was fantastic. Go. You will have an...

The Stephen Sondheim theater is a pretty nice theater. The staff is personable and efficient. It’s very clean and brightly lit. The bathrooms are clean and the attendants are on the ball and get everyone moving. Elevators are in convenient places and very big. I was there twice in the last 5 months and saw “&Juliet” which I loved both times. Seating is adequate. I’m 5’5” and I fit just nicely and was comfortable as long as I didn’t need to move around much. I feel like the seats are more comfortable at the Stephen Sondheim than they are in a lot of other theaters even though they’re not all that big. I was there twice in the last 5 months and sat in different areas. The first time I was there in June I sat in row F left in the mezzanine and yesterday sat in row P center of the orchestra. I feel like the seat in the mezzanine was a bit more comfortable. Because it’s on a pretty big slant you can see from anywhere in the mezzanine as you’re looking down. No problem if a tall person is seated in front of you. The orchestra does kind of alternate seats so you’re not directly behind anyone in some seats in each row. But some seats are directly behind others so if that tall person is in front of you viewing can be difficult. All in all this is a pretty nice theater. Smaller than some but good seating for viewing purposes. And I highly recommend...