Forrest Theatre — Attraction in Philadelphia

I was on theatre kick the last couple of months and I entered every lottery I found for play tickets. Well the old saying “reading is fundamental” is definitely applicable here, because I surely did not pay attention to the fact the play was in Philly when I won the tickets. Lol.

No worries though because bestie and I just looked at each other and said: “road trip!”.

When the day arrived we headed to Philly, a drive we have done multiple times for different events. However, on this Saturday in March we were fighting the elements. It was torrential downpours, and I swear we were driving in a monsoon the whole time. Luckily we left early, which allowed for the extra hour the weather added to our ETA. We arrived just before the curtain call, the theatre wasn’t crowded at all, plenty of empty seats.

The Forrest Theatre is gorgeous and quite quaint. A smaller theatre which makes almost every seat a good seat. While unlike most of NY theaters I’m accustomed to, not only was Forrest smaller, the ushers were much more pleasant. Even the whole intermission bathroom run, was ran with such ease and organization.

The play The Girl From The North Country was riveting, with both memorable performances and musical numbers. A group of travelers from different circumstances all cross paths at a guest/boarding house. The wife of the guest house owner was great comedic relief.

The show closed the day after we saw it (3/10/24), but check it out if it comes to your city, or if you make the same mistake I made a city close to you.

Just A Note:

Random Fact: Bob Dylan wrote and recorded a song by the same name. ...

We went to see Hamilton at the Forrest Theatre on Wednesday evening. We had to wait for a short time outside in the cold. They were pretty quick about getting us off the street. We we in the late row on the main floor and had an excellent view of the stage. No obstructions and comfortable seats. We had a good idea of our seat location so we did not need much assistance getting seated. Used the facilities before sitting so as not to have to get up later. Visually bathrooms were not stunning, fairly clean, did not cringe when I entered. The play was split up into 2 acts and got a reasonable break in between. So all in all the theatre handled the evening well. As for the Hamilton great singing and acting really a high energy production. We enjoyed the show immensely. A large portion of act 1 was primarily a Rap production. Ok for a while but because of the pace of the production, remember I said it was a high energy show, it got tiresome for me, a 68 yrs old. For the most part understandable even at the rapid pace of the show. By the end of act 1 the dialogue became dialogue with simple singing with some Rap tempo which was entertaining without having to sit on every word being sung. The show was worth the travel and the theatre handled it all well. I know big name productions can garner a high price but 200 a seat for the last row...

We went to see A Soldier’s Play yesterday at a matinee performance at the Forest. Our seats were in the orchestra section towards the back. We missed the first part of the play because of the noise of people still trying to find their seats. They were talking very loudly. About midway through the first 1/2 of the show, the noise finally settled down so that we could hear what was happening on the stage only to be disturbed by the crinkling of people opening and eating snacks all around us. This continued to happen through the remainder of the play and got worse following intermission. These tickets were very expensive for me (I am a teacher and had to save for months). This was my Mother in-law’s Christmas gift! My mother in-law is recovering from a car crash (by a drunk driver) in which another family member died of his injuries. Sadly, because of the noise throughout the play we couldn’t relax and just enjoy it. Why are the food rules different at the Academy of Music? Also, please consider opening the doors to the theater earlier. I will not be purchasing show tickets at the Forest in the future and I would not recommend anyone see a show at the Forest. I felt it was...