| rev:text
| - As mentioned repeatedly by other reviewers, the Benedum (which is apparently the 3rd largest theater in the country, according to a fellow fan) is an absolutely beautiful theater.
However, I can't honestly say this is my favorite theater, and my opinion has been emphasized after seeing "Les Misérables" last night at this place. I think the Benedum's greatest strength and weakness is indeed its size and scale. It can hold a massive number of people (there's almost 2,200 seats, again according to a fellow fan and reviewer), but as a result, a number of the seats are just, well, bad - in terms of viewing abilities AND actually being able to hear and understand what's happening in the show. Additionally, while it's stunning to look at when the light's are on, during a show, it feels like a very impersonal theater, I think. This admittedly may not matter to some people (and may not even make sense, I know), but for me as a regular theater-goer, bigger truly is not better, and this place is no exception to my rule.
Also, I try to avoid the second tier at all costs - one, because the seating area shrinks and taller folk in particular find that their knees don't want to work at the end of a show (as some of my friends remembered last night); and two, because, as I touched on earlier, the sound is truly awful in the back. This weekend was the third or fourth show where I've noticed that the acoustics are just plain distracting and downright bad in the back, and while it doesn't always matter when I want a relatively cheap ticket to a show I've seen repeatedly (i.e. I know the lyrics already), it will absolutely ruin a newcomer's experience. For example: once, a friend could not follow "Jekyll and Hyde" due to the bad sound in the back. For me, the poor sound absolutely ruined "Jesus Christ Superstar." To this day I can't quote a single lyric from that show, because I didn't understand a single word of it during my experience.
Just avoid the back at all cost. Cheaper it may be, but you will have wasted your money completely if you can't enjoy your show.
Ultimately, and naturally, the deciding factor for attending the Benedum is whether or not you truly want to see the show there. I consider their runs and shows hit-or-miss, but for the most part, my favorite shows (from "Wicked" to "Rent" to "Spamalot") have gone off without a hitch here.
On a final note: I can't comment on the small cash bar and snacks that are in the lobby during shows, because I never have the money to purchase these things - but, if you want to splurge, give them a go and let me know what you think!
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