Stephen Sondheim Theatre

Another theater another review. I’ve seen a lot of shows and each at a different theater! This time it was my daughters pick of Anything Goes. Good choice. Lots of music, singing and dancing. My favorite priorities in a show! She really wanted to see Sutton Foster. My daughter did not mind that Joel Grey did not perform at this show. I was a little disappointed. As long as the kid is happy I’m happy!
This show was my daughters birthday gift 2011. It was the usual theater experience. I read in the reviews that people have issues with the bathrooms in these old theaters. They are limited. I learned from the jump to go at the restaurant before I get to the theater. Here’s another theater goer trick. Eat before you go! No one wants to hear your growling stomach during the performance…

I am a New Yorker and have been to several performances at several different Theaters. The Staff here is AWFUL! We went to see Beautiful with my 90 Year Old Mother who uses a walker, EVERY theater we have ever been to has allowed us to find our seats early and then they put her walker away. Not here, she had to wait on line without any preferential treatment, She is 90 YEARS OLD and is still going to the theater, Really. During intermission I ran to the Ladies Room, there are two staircases leading to the bathroom, I would’v been the 5^th person on line, but I had to go around to the other staircase entrance, now I was about the 100^th person on line. I told the Staff Person who was miserably directing us that this was unfair and there should be two lines, she just waved me off. During intermission My Brother and I were standing up talking, again another rude Staff Person (on a Power Trip) showed us off to the side. I was appalled at the treatment by the Staff. At $ 169.00 in this economy for a show ticket, they should all but wipe my seat off.

Unless you are buying tickets from TKTS or winning the lottery, most Broadway show excursions are planned in advance. I had purchased my tickets based around an out of town guest.
Low and behold the big snowstorm hit on my theater night and all public transportation was shut down as well as a citywide curfew was set into place for safety. Broadway shut down and luckily I was able to exchange my tickets for another night. This was a relief but pickings were slim if you wanted an even exchange on a specific date without paying extra for other seats. I settled for a downgrade to the very last row of the mezzanine to accommodate the show into my guest’s itinerary.
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the mezzanine was street level. For once, I didn’t have to climb numerous flights of stairs to get to my seats. We arrived with just a few minutes to spare before the show started. I was able to make a trip to the bathroom downstairs in less than five minutes. FYI– If you’re late to the show, they lock you out for the first ten minutes.
If you are wondering if the mezzanine seats are okay, they are actually fantastic and we had a clear view from the very last seat.
Go see Beautiful, The Carol King Musical.

What a nice venue!
We saw Beautiful — The Carole King Musical the other night at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
The lobby? There was none, it wasn’t Broadway glitzy. They pushed you through after checking tickets and pointed you to where you should be. We had a loud lady yelling, if your in this section, please stand to the side so other people may get to their section.
Once inside, that’s where the beauty is. All seats have a great vantage point and we didn’t feel too squeezed.
When it was time for intermission, we all went downstairs to use the bathroom. What a cluster muck! There are people with headphones directing you, so if you have never been to the theatre before it can get frustrating.
I loved our seats and the play. The outside logistics are kinda kookie

I love this theatre. It’s very comfortable, beautifully styled and I find the staff of the theatre to be friendly and helpful. Not to mention the current show, Beautiful, is spectacular. If you are going to the theatre, make sure to take a look or a ride at the elevator. It is enormous and very cool.

Did u know there is absolutely no photography in this theater? This one lady is like the No Photography Natzi here. Can’t even take pics before the show?!? That’s ridiculous. So for all of the out of towners, and for all of the guests whose first time it is to see a musical, guess what — u can’t even have a memory of your experience here. She is yelling at every single person. It’s such a great way to start the theater experience. Lol I’m an avid Broadway musical fan and she is totally ruining my vibe already.

«Beautiful» was really good… at least what I could see of it. Don’t ever sit in the front row of the mezzanine — -the safety rail blocks your view!!! A professional theatre company would disclose that these are obstructed view seats. Management must be getting lots of complaints becaus they were pretty rude when I suggested they should have disclosed to seay buyers that these are obstructed view seats… pretty amateur. Reflects poorly on am otherwise good play.

Beautiful/​Carol King was AWESOME. Great actors, dancers and singing. Finally a MUSICAL I can actually enjoy the music to! I wish I had more hands! Because I would give that show 4 THUMBS UP.

I’ve been to a number of theaters in my time and this one was very nice. It was not overly large but I was rather surprised to be told to go down 2 flights of stairs to get to our seats upon entry.
One flight down were the comfort stations. During the intermission, as expected, the line got unbelievably long, not just for the ladies, but also for the men. However, the woman directing the ladies was very proud that, apparently, this theater has the most stalls on Broadway in their women’s comfort station. Did I really need to know that? The woman directing traffic in the lounge was very polite.
Anyway, the seats were comfortable, there was plenty of leg room, acoustics were wonderful so we were quite comfortable while enjoying our performance.

Whenever I plan to see a show in Broadway, it is an exercise in scheduling restroom breaks and planning to see a chiropractor after the ordeal of sitting in close cramped quarters. Hurray for Sondheim theater. The bathrooms are centrally located, not all the way in the basement. There were quick moving waiting lines in the well attended modernly designed restroom because there were rows of comfortably sized stalls!
Near the rear of the orchestra, our view was unimpeded as all orchestra and mezzanine seats were. Even though the seats were streamlined, they were comfortable and there was enough room to cross your legs without having to go through contortions.
The entrance and exits were steady movement with appropriate staff to help the patrons navigate. This is a modern theater with an elevator!!! Mind you, it was for those that needed it, but I was happy to know that this theater catered to those in need.
The Show I saw was «Beautiful». What a fabulous production, beautifully and thoughtfully crafted! The story, music, lighting and acting were sheer PERFECTION. Thank you Carole King!!!

This is a fairly nice theater in the heart of the Times Square and Broadway area. The theater itself is the right mix of modern or updated with good lighting and amenities and pretty good access to facilities and yet also very classic décor and seating. The show was also fantastic.

Small yet charming, this easy to navigate theater doesn’t have a bad seat in the house. We were almost they very last row, and despite my poor eyesite, I don’t feel that I missed a detail. The one thing I do base a good theater off of is their intermission situation: bathrooms, drink/​food lines, mass exodus. The bathrooms are on the second floor and the bars are on the third. I was able to get to both in less than 7 minutes. That’s called efficiency. There are significantly more bathrooms than most theaters I’ve been in (save, The Gershwin) but the drink and food prices were way too steep. Despite the prices, I had a great experience seeing Beautiful: The Carole King Musical!

We came for their play ‘A trip to Bountiful’. Amazing!!! If you get a chance to watch it, you definitely should!

What an incredible theater. It had the best seating of all the theaters I’ve been too. Also, has the nicest restrooms.
The play we saw was also amazing.

My mom and I had our «dinner and a show» date and saw The Trip to Bountiful. The Sondheim theatre is very beautiful and centrally located. You can tell that it has been renovated recently. I’m a stickler for clean floors and always make sure they are absent of gum and other trash. (A little OCD). No petrified gum in sight! Clean bathrooms with polite attendants.
The theatre staff provided a free glass of wine to everyone. A pleasant surprise.
The Trip to Bountiful was a great show with an all star cast: Cicely Tyson, Vanessa Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr. Cicely Tyson and Vanessa Williams were outstanding! They had the crowd roaring with laughter. My favorite part of the performance was when Cicely Tyson sang «Blessed Assurance» and the some of the audience joined in the singing and clapping. Priceless!

Went to see the Trip To Bountiful the other night at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. The theatre has been totally renovated and it shows. What I found interesting was that as you enter the theatre, it takes you directly to the mezzanine level vs. the orchestra level. We had orchestra seats and had to go down two levels to get to the orchestra. No big deal. Again, everything has been updated and it is quite nice.
As far as the show «The Trip To Bountiful» starring Cicely Tyson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Vanessa Williams and Condola Rashad, catch it before it closes on September 1^st. Cicely Tyson, who won the Tony for best actress in a Broadway drama for her performance, was incredible. The role was perfect for her and her acting dragged you right into this heartfelt story.
This was Cuba Gooding’s first Broadway performance and I really hope it’s not his last. He, too, played his part perfectly. And Vanessa Williams was brilliant as the pampered wife and daughter-​in-​law to Ms. Tyson. And finally Condola Rashad played a calming friend to Ms. Tyson and was quite impressive as well.
Without giving too much away, the play is about «going back» and trying to recapture the wonderful times from the past. It really was a masterpiece as performed by the cast. I was truly moved to say the least.
I highly recommend «The Trip To Bountiful»…

the Road to Bountiful! What an amaxing play with three great actors.

Rana and I decided to watch Anything Goes, as musicals and plays are our thing, especially any time she is here in the city.
The theater was actually one of the nicest I have seen thus far and in Row C of the Mezzanine we had a fantastic view. The bar was really cute and the line went fast, and along with your drink you get a sippy cup you can both take into the theater and keep later on.
The actual musical was cute and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I loved the venue and would come back to see performances here.

I love old theaters. So when I heard that the Henry Miller was shut down and that there was to be some crazy new renovations done to it, I was extremely disappointed…
…until I came to the redesigned Sondheim Theater, which was so spankaliciously modern, pretty and new and sleek that I forgot my disappointment at having missed an opportunity to have seen a show at the original Henry Miller.
Rather then being above ground (the top part of the building is now a… Bank of America *shudder*), the entire theater is below ground, which is pretty spectacular.
I was lucky enough to procure 2^nd row center tickets for the PeeWee Herman Show for my BFF’s birthday…5 days after the reopening of the theater as the Stephan Sondheim Theater.
The seats were roomy and comfy, with a decent amount of legroom between our seats and the row in front of us. It’s weird, but the part about the theater that stood out the most for me (besides the actual show was hilariously awesome) was how well the bathrooms were designed! I know, it’s bizarre, but the way the bathroom entrance and exit was designed, there was a much better «flow» (if you’ll pardon the pun) so that there wasn’t a cluster fuck clogging up the doorway. Nice.
While I’m still sad that I wasn’t ever able to experience the Henry Miller Theater in all it’s original neo-​classic splendor, I am really glad that the new theater was so well designed.

Originally named «Henry Miller’s Theatre» and built in 1918, the current venue is an entirely new building. The only remaining aspects of the original theatre are the façade and various items integrated into the interior design of the theatre (including busts, doors and other hints of its former life).
The Stephen Sondheim Theatre is the newest theatre to be built as a Broadway house. It is inside the newly constructed Bank of America Building and is entirely underground. Aside from extensive sound-​proofing efforts to protect it from passing trains, the theatre is the first LEED-​rated theatre to be built in NYC. Its «green» construction and environmentally sustainable design is also comfortable and a far cry from other «new» Broadway houses to be built since the golden age of Broadway.
All the seats… even the ones to the far sides and back… offer a good view of the stage. The design takes into consideration every possible sight-​line (what seems to be an afterthought at almost every theatre).
The only complaint people could possibly have is that you have to go down a LOT of stairs (or wait for an elevator) to get to the orchestra level. Patrons who get their tickets in the mezzanine will be happy to know that they will have the easiest time getting in and out of the theatre.
There are 22 stalls in the women’s bathroom. Most theatres have about 8.
Operated by Roundabout Theatre Company, the Stephen Sondheim Theatre is a welcome addition to the other 30+ Broadway houses in New York. It’s new, comfortable and a great venue to see theatre.