The Playhouse on Rodney Square — Attraction in Wilmington

Went to the playhouse to attend a graduation ceremony for my nephew. I was one of the extra guests, so my seat was up and the balcony area. This is an older building and doesn't have many of the modern conveniences. The stairs are steep and narrow, and there is no elevator. I saw several elderly grandparents struggling to get up the steps. Once in my balcony seat my knees were right up against the seat in front of me...zero leg room. The seats rock slightly, so when the person arrive to sit in the seat in front of me... and every time he moved, the seat banged into my knees. The next day I had bruises on both my knees.

I think every seat was taken and it was crowded. It was very hot in the theater. It was sweltering in the balcony, and when I spoke to family members who sat down on the main level, they said it was hot there too. It would seem the air conditioning system cannot support a full audience.

And to top it off, the main entrance into the theater is undergoing Construction. So everyone had to arrive and leave through the Hotel DuPont Lobby. It was crowded and hard to navigate to the theater when we arrived, but leaving was a nightmare. It took me 35 minutes to make my way from my seat in the balcony out of the front of the hotel. If there had been any sort of emergency, people would have been trampled in the madness.

So while the venue is lovely, my next nephew doesn't graduate for four more years. I'm hoping by then the school will find another venue for their graduation ceremony, otherwise I may not attend.

If you plan to attend any sort of event at the playhouse, I strongly recommend you do not buy balcony tickets. I...

I went to see Eddie Izzard here. Brilliant performance, plenty of fun and laughter. I have no problem with the show. It was my first time going to the Playhouse theater, which is located inside the Dupont Hotel. It is a lovely building and theater with ornate architecture and pretty decor. The staff were helpful, and all of that was good.

I do have a couple of complaints. I had a balcony seat. Row B. There are a lot of stairs to climb to the balcony and there's no elevator. The seats are very tightly close together, and the rows are tightly close together. There just isn't any room for your knees. It's worse than the seats in coach on an airplane.

I'm 5ft 2". I could not face my knees forward without them being crushed up against the seat in front of me. It is pretty ridiculous. I had to turn my hip and legs to the side so my knees were not getting hurt. I have surgery scars on my knees, and so I had to avoid pressing them against the seat in front of me. There was a large man a couple of seats down from me who obviously couldn't fit in the seat properly or comfortably. Before the show began, the man left. I saw him later on, and he was sitting on a folding chair at the very back row of the balcony in the aisle. So, if you are a "fluffy" person, then I would advise you to avoid the balcony seats. If you are tall, then do not get the balcony seats. If you have any kind of mobility issue, bad knees, bad hips, or a back problem, then I would not get the balcony seats. I do not know if the seats on the main floor are any better and have more space. I didn't go and investigate...

I'm ONLY giving 2 stars because the performance was awesome. I'll say "our" because it was a family experience. We spent a good amount on tickets, only to be surrounded by a disruptive class or two. The loud talking, yelling, phone calls were very unexpected in a theater setting. The most unexpected was the fact that no staff members addressed this behavior. No matter how long someone yelled or how many audible phone calls took place, the behavior was never addressed. Once I made a complaint to the general email on the website, I was responded to and told what I should have done, and how they would have moved me. I explained how it's not my responsibility to address rowdy behavior, and I was met with "well that's not my department, but if you had complained we would have moved you". I honestly cannot believe the response, from a department that didn't need to respond in the first place. The performance was amazing, but the experience as a whole was a giant letdown. I'll certainly never attend another event here after...