In Praise of Cheap Seats

ON MISCELLANEOUS THEATRE ISSUES - by G.L. Horton

LS wrote: "RE: 'A student in my workshop just returned from London and said that Shakespeare Abridged was pretty good.' It is pretty good, but sophomoric. Don't pay too much to see 3 guys goofing off! If your friends or relatives are starring in it, the show is really fun. It's worth every penny of about 5 pounds. (I only paid 2 pounds to see the original in 1989, and was delighted. When I saw the American tour in 1999, I was really glad I had got in on a comp instead of a $65 ticket.)"

I want to put in a Good Word for Cheap Seats. The National has been running a successful "10 pound seats" season, trying to lure young people and the working class back into the theatre. West End London theatres are generally Old, built before modern architecture lost interest in accommodating the human voice. If the players are using the Queen's English, it may take you a few minutes to adjust for the pronunciation, but you can hear the unamplified but trained actor at the very back and under the balconies. The musicals that have been mounted by subsidized companies like the National and then moved to the West End for a long run are produced with reverence and continued with verve, and the best seats from which to see the choreography and hear the music -- in the balconies-- cost only a pound or so more than a movie and can generally be bought the day of the show at this time of year. At "Anything Goes", which I saw last year well into its run in a big house about 3/4 full, the choreography and characterizations were so dramatic and imaginative that watching it I wept from Pure Joy. The post-show music by the full orchestra was so good it alone was worth the ticket price. Much of the audience stayed past the curtain calls to listen and applaud-- and some were dancing in the aisles (yes, I was, too.)

BTW, I just read that the English National Opera has instituted some Cheap Seats-- and unlike the Met, they often perform in English translation. The big national museums that used to cost about $10 are now free! Take advantage! Don't miss the Theatre Museum in Drury Lane-- and I love the Victoria and Albert, a treasure trove of furniture, "costumes' and "props". There are excellent web sites with London theatre schedules and reviews-- I always read up before going over. (4/27/05)

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