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| - I hate to be that person, but I don't particularly love Heinz Hall. At least, not as an event venue. I DO love Heinz Hall as a historical site, particularly since it's a true cornerstone of our amazing cultural district. Plus the architecture in this building is downright gorgeous - there's ornate details everywhere on the ceilings and walls wherever you turn. Not to mention the chandeliers, red velvet, smooth arching domed roof..."stylish", "classic" and "glorious" are the words that come to mind when I picture this theater. But beyond that it's honestly really hard to describe the splendor of Heinz Hall.
Unfortunately, I ultimately have to rate Heinz Hall as an event site, and on that side of things this place tends to frustrate just as much as it wows me. A huge downside that comes with the theater's age is the size of its seats, which I don't think were expanded on too much the last time the theater went through renovations. As a result Heinz Hall has some of the most uncomfortable rows of seats I've ever experienced, even moreso than the Benedum. This is particularly true in the higher level seating areas. My legs (and sometimes my back) can hurt for hours after I leave a show here. It's another classic case of beautiful old buildings not quite meeting the needs of modern day life. Then again, the acoustics are amazing (no problems here like I've experienced at the Benedum), so maybe complaining about old buildings having tiny seats is a moot point when this is a concert hall and its acoustics are flawless.
While I can deal with my seating complaints during a truly wonderful concert (which, hey, they all are - this is the home of the Pittsburgh Symphony, after all), I've admittedly also been known to get frustrated with the ushers, as well as with other aspects of Heinz Hall. While most of the ushers truly are kind and dedicated to the theater, I've unfortunately seen one too many bad apples in the group behaving inappropriately for me to offer a praise of perfection to them at this point. I'm also not really a fan of the fact that I've repeatedly ended up on a donation solicitation call list for Heinz Hall, despite asking never to be added back onto this. (I keep hoping that one day a system is put into place that prevents my name from being added back onto that list after I attend a show.)
But honestly, frustrations with Heinz Hall aside, I have to say that I do keep coming back because the shows they offer really are spectacular - so spectacular that it really often is worth dealing with the leg and back pain and the occasional not-so-perfect usher. Anyone reading this should ultimately know that I really do love our symphony, and I do love everything that the staff here does for our city's cultural district and programs. Believe me, I will 100% continue to support Heinz Hall as the home of the Pittsburgh Symphony. It's just the seating and some previous bad experiences that have admittedly put a bad taste in my mouth. So while I will forever be a fan of our cultural districts, arts programs and symphony, I'm just not really a die-hard fan of the building as an event venue. Hopefully you can understand and we can remain friends, fellow 'Burgh lovers?
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