An fully restored old movie theater is re-opening in my hometown. When I was discussing it with my father on the phone, he mentioned that when he went there as a teenager that he had to sit in the balcony section due to segregation. My only experience with balcony seating is with plays. Balcony seating is cheaper than stage level. Yet, I can’t see a thing on stage level and enjoyed the play from higher up. Weren’t balcony seats considered a luxury in the past such as at the Globe Theatre and operas (going by film depictions here). So, when did they become the cheap seats?
Well, for the Globe Theater, the balcony was covered and had seats, whereas the floor was open to the hot sun or rain and was standing only. For operas, I don’t know, but I’m wondering if the balconies aren’t more private and spacious, like box seats for a baseball game.
I’d assume when that stopped being the case, and balconies just started being normal seats farther from the action, was when it changed.
There’s a distinction between “boxes” and a balcony. For an example of this, look at this photo of Symphony Hall in Chicago. There are four seating “levels” in front of the stage; the three “large” ones, with oodles and oodles of seats, are the main floor, the “balcony”, and the “gallery”. However, between the main floor and the balcony, you can see the “boxes”; these are semi-enclosed, more private seating locations, with about eight people at most to a “box”. And, of course, you pay through the nose for them; a 10-concert subscription for a box seat costs almost twice as much as any other ticket in the hall.
That said, the seats in the very front of the balcony in Symphony Hall actually cost more than any seat after the boxes. This is primarily a matter of acoustics; the way Symphony Hall is laid out, if you’re sitting on the main floor there, all you can see is the front few rows of strings. There are reflectors above the stage that help with getting the sound from the back of the stage to the main floor, but if you want a good view and a direct line of sight (line of hearing?) to the infamous CSO brass, you’re better off sitting in one of the balconies.
there were 2 theatrs in philly that had balconies into the late 70’s and one into the '80.
the first few row of the balcony were wonderfull. esp. for someone 5’ tall. no one’s head was in my way, and if you were in the center of the row in the balcony you were nearly dead center of the screen.
the one theatr was torn down. the other stopped letting people in the balcony when food and beverage would cascade down onto the lower level. the last time the balcony was used for movie watching was during the premier of “philadelphia”.
that theatr went into disrepair and finally closed after star wars 2 came out.
i always try to get into the first few rows of balcony seating.
Yes, boxes are very different from balconies. Boxes held only a few people and had better, wider, and more comfortable seating.
Balconies did not. Except for a row or two, they were distant, often had poor sight lines, sometimes had poorer quality seats. The acoustics were worse for music and the actor’s faces rarely could be seen. Because they were cheaper they drew a rowdier or less respectful segment of the audience.
And here’s something that people never need to think about anymore. Heat rises. And before air conditioning, balconies were far more uncomfortable. Many theaters closed down in the summers because they were simply unbearable: closed, windowless, dark boxes full of heat-emitting crowds. And the balconies would get that way before the orchestra seating.
When?
Since at least 72AD, when the Flavian Amphitheatre (Coliseum) was built in Rome by the Emperor Vespasian. The seating there was divided, with the Imperial Court in ringside seats, then the noble families, then commoners, finally women in the highest (furthest) seats.