Theatre row AA?

Question:im about to buy tickets for a play and i noticed that row aa is cheaper than rows a-f. and this seems to be the case for many other plays and theatres. is it simply because its too close?? but i cant imagine that ONE row would make $20+ of a difference...

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: im about to buy tickets for a play and i noticed that row aa is cheaper than rows a-f. and this seems to be the case for many other plays and theatres. is it simply because its too close?? but i cant imagine that ONE row would make $20+ of a difference...

In large theatres like The Royal Alexandra if you are sitting in the very first row you will miss out on a lot of the action on stage. I have made the mistake of sitting in the front row for musicals and regretted it. I never really needed to see the cast of "Rent" drip with sweat or spit when singing! It takes away a bit of the mystique.

So in answer to your question yes, the price is cheaper because you can't take in the full span of the stage and you have to tilt your head back a bit to see. Along with that the sound is often distorted when you are sitting right up front. The orchestra is playing right beneath you in the orchestra pit and the speakers will be projecting out into the house but most likely a few rows back from where you are sitting. In smaller houses this is not as much of a problem and the height of where the audience sits to where the stage begins would not be as high. But in large theatres for large scale productions front row seats are not a great choice. However if you really want to save that $20 it won't be horrible, it just won't be as good as it would be if you sat about 5 rows back from there.

did you look and see if they were mezzanine seats?

In many houses A is close to the stage, and AA is right behind Z.

It's the first row of the balcony or mezzanine.

AA is usually the row after Z. So it goes X,Y,Z,AA,BB,CC,etc.

Row AA does tend to be a little too close. If you are watching a musical, then it is likely that you will see some, if not all of the orchestra playing. You will also spend the whole show looking up and might end up with an ache in your neck. Depending on the stage, occasionally you might miss little bits of action because you can't quite see enough of the stage in one go. However, if you can't afford to spend two or three times that to sit a couple of rows farther back, then it is worth it.

The closest seats are called the "crotch seats" because as you look up at the performers, you're staring right at their crotches. If AA is closer than A, that's why it's cheaper. But like others, I believe AA follows Z.