Standing Room Only (houses, theater, dangerous)

[themaster]

I was wondering how sro tickets work.. I read you have to stand.. but I also read theatere stats that said the show I wanted to go to "marry poppins" only sold 80% last week.. so would they put in you in the seats.. or make yah stand?

[analyticalkeys]

I've never seen a Standing Room Only rule for shows like that.. but generally, you just walk in, and stand wherever there's still space for those kinds of shows.

[tpk-nyc]

I've only done it at the Met. There are assigned standing places (with numbers). It's not a random free-for-all. It's too dangerous (and against the fire code) to have people standing in the aisles.

You're not supposed to take an empty seat, but people do if one is available (especially after intermission).

I'm surprised that they're selling standing room if they're only at 80 percent capacity. Then again, the 80 percent is an average, certain performances may be sold-out. The point is to get more people in, not to discount tickets. Unless it's a really cheap ticket, you should go to TKTS.

[Carbro]

Different theaters have different rules. As far as I know, few Broadway houses sell standing room if they have unsold seats (many don't even have spaces for standing room), but I may be mistaken. I do know that the Met sells standing room regardless of ticket sales, because I regularly use it. My feeling about standing for a whole evening: If it's a good show, you don't notice you've been standing. If it's a bad show, you're uncomfortable even if you're seated. If it's a dull show, standing ensures that you won't fall asleep.