Severance Hall has always been one of those mystic unicorns that you hear is super amazing but somehow never seen- making it even more alluring. I've read that "all seats are good seats" but some of the pictures and the seating chart made me question that- I was wrong. Even up in the middle of the balcony is was cozy and intimate and our seats were still great.
The interior is such a combination of styles which makes it an interesting form of beautiful. They also decorated for the holidays extremely well which made me happy. I know nothing about acoustics but more acoustically gifted people say the way the sound travels in this building is phenomenal. When you go to a show most people go to see and hear something beautiful. So that's a check and a check.
I took my mother to see the orchestra and bought the prepaid parking. It was perfect because it's connected to Severance which means you don't have to waddle like a penguin outside across snow and ice in insensible shoes. They also had staff directing the traffic out afterwards which helped alleviate the mass chaos we started out in.
Some people have qualms that the seats and rows are too small but this building was completed in 1931. That was 85 years ago!!!! Humans have gotten larger (in every direction) in the 90 years from when they made the blueprints. Expecting big seats is like wondering why your 1967 mustang doesn't do as well as your wrangler in the snow. Appreciate the discomfort and marvel at your show!