Tam M.
Yelp
It has been ages since I attended a play at the Ensemble Theater. What should have been a terrific night after seeing an exceptional play was spoiled by unprofessional characters called managers at the Ensemble.
First and foremost, buyer beware on the location of the tickets you buy because the Ensemble doesn't have a disclaimer on their website that states that some of their seats have limited viewing. I've seen such warnings on other venders' websites when I've purchased tickets, yet the Ensemble fails to provide such details on their tickets. Addittionally, the Ensemble disregards the thought of discounting limited viewing seats like I've seen on other vendors' websites. Therefore my guests and I were quite surprised to have paid the same price for our tickets, but had a limited view of the entire stage. Two of the three of us had an okay view from the 2nd and 3rd row, stage left, but we had to arch our necks and lift our heads to see certain scenes, so not really okay. However, my cousin on the front row could not see anything. Even when the actors were right in front of her, the height of stage versus her seat was too awkward and high. It's like sitting in front of a tv too long--it starts to hurt, so at intermission (which marked the halfway point of the show), she informed the manager, who seemed considerate and moved all of us to the upper center seats, but they were actually worse. Plus, management failed to find out that there were not three seats together before they moved us, so when we were scrambling at curtain call to find another seat. What's worse is that the the view was much more limited not because of the configiration of the stage or seating, but the people. Where we were seated the second time was not tiered, so we ended up trying to view the play between people's heads. In fact, I know for a fact that these were worse seats because we had two people sit next to us during act 1 and leave, but came back because they stated that there seats were better in the pit versus orchestra area that ended up going to. Luckily (so I thought), someone did not make it back in time before the doors closed at intermission, so I scooted over to an empty seat next to me to allow my couson to see, but I actually had a worse view when I moved. Pretty much gave up on the notion of having a clear view at that point.
At the conclusion of the play, my cousin who purchased the tickets for us asked of we had a better view after intermission. When we told her no, she also proclaimed that her view was not improved either. Before we left, she ran into the manager of the Ensemble and mentioned her concerns to her. Do you think that she was concerned?? Not in the least bit. She told her to call her Monday about it, but customer service is not handled the next day--especially if you're in a mangerial role. In fact, the manager incorrectly stated that the website informs patrons of limited viewing seats, but I am telling you, it does not. I was extremely disappointed that our money and time wasn't valued at the Ensemble. I will think twice before I purchase tickets here. If I do, it will be soon as they are available for purchase so I can get the best seat possible for my money.