Majestic Theatre — Attraction in San Antonio

I had a really good experience watching Hamilton in New York, and since I'd missed bring able to enjoy the theater I was looking forward to Broadway at the Majestic. Broadway NY had wheelchair accessible venues, staff that were obviously familiar with a variety of accessibility accommodations, and a closed caption device so I could follow the plot even if I couldn't read the actors lips.

So as soon as tickets went up for sale I reserved some to take my sister and the kids to see Hadestown for her birthday. We called and got seats in a wheelchair accessible area for me, and they said the show was captioned so I could enjoy it too.

Except when we got there there were no captioning devices. Someone putting on the production unilaterally decided (presumably not someone hearing impaired) that this run of Hadestown didn't need them.

But there's an app! That relies on the battery life and connectivity of my phone to caption the show for me. It didn't function correctly for most of the show. Yes, I can tell when what the actors are saying didn't match up- I read lips. App skipped huge portions of dialogue and lagged behind terribly.

But there's headphones! In the same way that talking louder doesn't magically make people understand English or deaf people hear you, amplifying headphones don't help me understand what they're saying.

But there's a show on Sunday that's is captioned! It's Saturday. Also, that's not how accessibility works.

Then the theater staff that kept grabbing the handles on my wheelchair despite me denying them permission when they bothered to ask, repeatedly telling them to let me go, and actively trying to get away from them. They may have missed the sign on the back that says "DON'T TOUCH MY WHEELCHAIR" in the dark, but they actively ignored me.

Now I know that the theater is the venue and some yahoo in the production of Hadestown is responsible for most of the nonsense with the captioning, but the theater staff just kind of shrugged when I asked who I could talk to at the theater about the accessibility issues besides the DOJ. They clearly neither knew what to do nor cared to find out, or inform me.

Overall a...

The Majestic and Broadway Across America at the Majestic has declined significantly over the years, has not kept up with modern theater pateon expectations, and has now ceded the mantle of most famous and visited theater in San Antonio. The Majestic now does a very poor job on multiple fronts, especially in hospitality but also in programming. There are rarely popular shows anymore except a few times per year. The ticket takers outside routinely bark at patrons like TSA agents and demand you line up according to your ticket type(reminiscent of the airlines). The drinks are very bad, bartenders unexpereinced, and usually rude. They will try to push pre-made canned alcoholic beverages on you. If you ask for a real cocktail most bartenders will not know what they are doing and become irritated. Best to stick to beer and wine. There are no food options in the Majestic. There are QRA codes on seats as if there are waitresses. There are none. I'm not sure why they pretend that's an option for patrons. Even in VIP experience lounge, the food and drinks are scant and poorly made. Going to the Majestic has now become an unpleasant experience, which is unfortunate for San Antonio's. People are willing to pay for better service. When you charge $200 plus a seat for Broadway shows, one expects a higher level of standards. I have been a season ticket holder and a patron for years. Recently, a ticket taker physically accosted me and pushed back on my chest while I left the main exit because he needed to know if I was coming back in. That is completely unacceptable. I would spend my money at other venues in San Antonio and outside the city based on this and other recent experiences.

Recently, during a Mother's Day performance of The Wiz the orchestra was completely lost, and the musicians were clearly on different pages. The cost of the seats, when compared to the quality of the shows being performed, is not properly valued, and my assumption is that the Majestic keeps...

The experience at the Majestic theater was nothing short of awful. Starting with the entrance process, we were packed like sardines for a half an hour before being allowed into the seating area. The worst part of the experience was the availability of restrooms. Many patrons attempted to use the restroom at intermission, which I consider to be typical behavior. There were so few restrooms available that I decided to not use the facilities because I did not want to miss the performance. When you combine people trying to get back to their seats after the play resumed and poor management policy my experience viewing the show was significantly and meaningfully, interrupted by people returning to their seats throughout the first few songs after intermission. Merchandise was only available in the seating area, and even after waiting in a crowded lobby for half an hour and walking in as soon as we possibly could to the seating area, the line for merchandise was already unbearably long. I found the decor around the stage to be incredibly tacky, and mostly outdated not to mention entirely incongruent. I think having seats with armrests that are as wide as a pencil, and that do not have any cupholders in 2024 should be a crime. The snack food and beverage selection was basically nonexistent. We paid $10 for popcorn, which was mostly kernels and was supposed to be buttered flavored, but contained no signs of butter. I think the only barely redeeming quality of this venue is that it is in a nice location in San Antonio. Unless this theater decides to join everybody else in the 21st-century, I have no interest in returning. Sound system was such poor quality I sat in row R middle orchestra and had a hard time hearing dialogue over the...