Colonial Theatre

I am so glad we got to see a show here before they closed its doors. We saw «Book of Mormon» which was a lot of fun but more so enhanced by the beautiful theater that is … or was the Colonial. I saw many a show as a kid growing up in the area and coming here to matinees with my mom. I truly forgot how gorgeous this place is and what a gem we are losing. Even the bathroom was stunning and beautiful and evoked the golden age of theater. I hope Emerson does the right thing and preserves the theater’s integrity while still serving its own needs.

While one can appreciate the history that comes with such a venue, the seats were very uncomfortable. Think Fenway Park but worse somehow. And despite the fact that the venue has steep levels which makes for good sightlines, we also thought that the venue felt like it was 100+ degrees during the show. The seats felt bunched up on top of one another and everyone had to sit at an angle to accomodate their knees.
Very unpleasant, no matter how good a show is. I’d be hard pressed to return there.

This place is an utter disaster. I’ve been more comfortable on a United Airlines flight. Honestly, sitting in economy seems like a dream compared to the nightmare set up here at the Colonial. I’m 6’1 and sitting in the balcony, I had to fold my feet in and cross my legs under the chair because I just couldn’t fit. Many others were in the same position! On top of that, the theater was sweltering, I was pouring sweat. It’s a pretty theater but the amenities are truly sub par. I’ll try and avoid this place at all costs

Terrible seating and amenities experience. The plays are great but be prepared to sit in a space smaller than an airplane seat. Also in the intermission prepare for crowded hallways and few restrooms with huge lines. The place gets very warm too. Horrible experience as far as the facility. Please renovate this place or use other locations for great Broadway plays!

** petition to save this theatre included. Please sign for a good cause! **

Feel so lucky having seen one of the all time breathtakingly entertaining and brilliant shows ever — The Book Of Mormon — at the very Beautiful and Charming Colonial Theatre this past weekend. The occasion became even more nostalgic when we realized this weekend is the last showing of any show at the theatre when it closes down for god knows how long with talks about things ranging from doing away with the theatre completely, to transforming it into something else for Emerson College, etc. Total unknown when it comes to what the future holds for this historic landmark. Fingers crossed. Hope it opens up again with all the beautiful sculptures, the art, the beautiful stage intact — renovated to restore it’s original glory. It would be an absolute shame to loose this piece of art & history.
Can’t go on and on about anything and everything the place is about given it’s now uncertain future. Just being hopeful it reopens.

I saw the Book of Mormon last night — wonderful show, I absolutely recommend seeing this show.
The venue, however beautiful it is, leaves a lot to be desired however. On the upper levels, there is absolutely no leg room. With the seat pulled down, there is maybe 5″ of space between your seat and the seat in front of you. I am 5’9 and I found myself sitting sideways into my (shorter) friend — it was the most uncomfortable I’ve been in a very long time. I have no idea how taller people sit — not comfortably, I mean physically fitting into their seats — in the upper levels.
That and there was no air conditioning. By intermission, people were stripping layers and fanning themselves
Get a seat on the lower levels. While the show was fantastic, sitting in pain for 2 hours was not worth $ 120.

Venue is attractive but the acoustic on the floor all the way in the back were not good. Every usher we encountered was miserable and nasty. Not an enjoyable experience!

Piece of shit theater. Absolutely no legroom (literally, I had to slant my legs to fit in, and I’m 6’1″), air conditioning is non-​existent, and the acoustics are so bad that you’ll miss a lot of the musical. This theater experience will ruin any play/​musical, no matter how good it is. Seriously, don’t see a show here.

Beautiful theater but very old, very cramped, and very hot. AC was barely working on 9÷5÷15 and the audience was visibly sweating and many people were fanning themselves. Another reviewer said that it was completely busted by the time Sunday rolled around so I am very glad we did not attend Book of Mormon that day.
Also, it took forever to get out of here. Instead of letting people leave through the front they made us go down this tiny windy staircase and out a back alley. I shudder to think what would happen in here if there was a fire!

The fact that there is no room to get comfortable in the seats absolutely ruined my entire viewing experience! I’m sitting in the mezzanine with my knees crammed into the seats in front of me and I’m supposed to enjoy the show?! Forget it! Plan ahead anyone over 5’6″. Seriously!

Gorgeous, vintage looking venue. My friends and I came here for Book of Mormon, which was amazing. Colonial Theater was just okay, but this place is TINY. I felt so cramped in my seat and it was so hot in there. Not to mention I was pretty sweaty already from almost running late to the show, haha. The bathroom is also a hot mess — it’s so hard to enter the stall!
The plus side is the venue is pretty intimate. My friends and I bought balcony seats, but we were surprised how good the view was. I don’t know if it’s just for this venue, but buying tickets online was a pain on Ticketmaster. It’s very unintuitive and when you’re looking for a group of tickets, they don’t automatically find seats near each other. Just the number of seats for the section.

Book of Mormon was wonderful but the heat was so oppressive that my spouse had to leave the play. I am sad to see that someone else here wrote that the A/​C was not working on Sept 7^th. Given that we in the theatre almost a week later, the failure to fix the A/​C OR inform guests and allow them to attend a different night is rather shameful! I won’t be back. Would rather spend more in NYC. I see now why the Colonial is in financial trouble…

I just saw Book of Mormon at the Colonial Theater. While the show and cast were great, the theater was so hot it was almost impossible to enjoy the experience. Many people were fanning themselves or dripping with sweat. I tried to get a drink during intermission but could not because the line was so long. Seats are very small with little leg room. I’m not sure how anyone over 5’10″ can sit in the seats at all.

Such a great location with great acts that roll through it’s a shame the seating, acoustics, air temp, and drink prices are so poor.
I recently saw Book of Mormon here which was a stellar performance.
The good: Expendient checking in and lots of guides helping people get efficiently seated. Love the location and they always bring in great acts. The interior ceilings and original moldings are beautiful.
The bad: Unfortunately a lot. If you are over 6′ you can absolutely not sit in the upper section. And you might not be comfortable even if you’re shorter. This is seriously worse than even budget airlines. It’s atrocious. Nearly as bad is the poor ventilation and air conditioning. People were constantly fanning themselves and while it was a temperate evening it wasn’t a scorcher outside. The acoustics weren’t great up top and often people were looking around at each other to try to determine what was being said. I think the lower balconies may have had better acoustics before. As many have mentioned, the water/​soda/​booze prices are pretty ridiculous. Think IMAX and SuperLux pricing but double it. I hope they’re not taking advantage of the poor AC to gouge people with drink prices because many folks at intermission upstairs went to get drinks just to cool off.

My family and I attended a 6:30 PM showing of the Book of Mormon on 9÷6÷15 at the Emerson Colonial Theater in Boston.
The show itself was excellent.
However the Air Conditioning was broken and by intermission, the temperature, at least in on our section (Mezzanine — Row J), had to have been close to 85 or 90 degrees. My son and I had to take our shirts off to watch the rest of the performance without sweat running into our eyes. Furthermore, the leg room afforded by the seats was even less than that offered by a low-​budget airline. I am tall and had nowhere to put my legs. People around us were also commenting on the remarkable lack of leg room.
Between the oppressive heat and the lack of leg room, my family and I were very disappointed by our experience at this theater.

The show was fantastic (Book of Mormon) and the staff were super friendly. The seats are on the smaller side, as you would expect. I am a large person and found it somewhat tight but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the show.

I’ve heard that Emerson is going to reevaluate the theater’s purpose in the world and I couldn’t agree more. A renovation is badly needed and I hope they are able to upgrade it for the 21^st century.
We visited this past week for a production of Book of Mormon and had less than a stellar experience. The seats are cramped, the acoustics left me missing half of the jokes and I was constantly leaning into the aisle in order to see around the gentleman in front of me. Worst of all it was hot — by the end of the second act I was wiping gobs of sweat from my forehead and couldn’t wait for the show to be over.
Drinks were priced higher than expected — $ 18 for a bottled beer and a meh glass of wine — and we were told the credit card machine was conveniently «out of tape» so it was «cash only right now».

I realize this is a very old theatre but some modern upgrades are desperately needed.
If you are unfortunate enough to be in the balcony I suggest hiring Sherpas and aim for base camp on the first day and summit on the second.
Very steep and high getting to your seat in the balcony, I saw several elderly guests struggle, some hand rails would definitely help.
Seats are very close together leaving me feeling more like a praying mantis than a theatre guest.
That being said, the staff were wonderful and very attentive, hats off to them.
The show we saw was the Million Dollar Quartet, the Sun Records story of the day Elvis, Jerry Lee, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash had an impromptu jam session at the old, car parts store in Memphis that became the Sun Records recording studio with the legendary Sam Philips at the helm.
The show was incredible, the performers paid homage to the originals in the best way they could and I’m sure looking down, the boys from Sun Records would be smiling.
I’d go see this show every week if I could.
The entire cast were terrific, great story, memorable songs and a nostalgic tear jerking finale, especially for those of us that appreciate the magic these guys created.

You can definitely tell that people were a liiiittle smaller back when they made this theater. The mezzanine section is a wee bit cramped but nothing a few cups of wine won’t fix.
I recently saw Jersey Boys and thought the theater was lovely. The perfect bit of class and elegance to make the trip to the theater feel extra special. I’ll definitely come to the Colonial for another show.
The only bit that I would actually whine about is the concession in the balcony/​mezzanine section. There are very few concessions and with the amount of people, the line is very long.
Other than that, the theater is wonderful and I can’t wait to go again!

«Jersey Boys» blew «Cats» out of the water! It felt like a two for one deal of a show and concert all rolled up into one, and since I love the Oldies (the true Oldies, as I think of them…), I had a grand time!
We selected seats way up in the Balcony since I had heard somewhere that the lower Mezzanine section would be a bit tighter a seating. I’m not sure whether that part is true or not, but be forewarned that the Balcony rows are significantly more sloped, and even the most steady of us made our way down those steps with great care in order to avoid pitching ourselves down and over into the seats below. In fact, if you have any issues walking, you might want to use the handrails that are only located against either wall.
With seats in Row D, my knees nearly touched the back of the seat ahead of me, and I had to stand up in order to allow row mates to pass by. I felt bad for the rather tall gentleman seated diagonally across the aisle from us, but was glad for him that he had an end seat. When the seats in the row ahead of me filled, I was pleased to note that on the whole their heads did not block my view as long as they did not lean forward as they concentrated on the show.
On our way up to the Balcony Level, we passed our level’s entrance to the ladies room, which was quite convenient for me as a female. It is situated just beyond the refreshment bar, however, which unfortunately led to greater crowding in the foyer. The ladies room itself consisted of 4 stalls set directly across from the entrance and two additional stalls set to the right of the door — those two stalls are the prime choices as they are significantly roomier, and I found it much easier to shut the stall door upon entering.
This is a glamorous more intimate theatre over a hundred years in age. This gran dame was built when people came in smaller sizes — not for today’s taller and chunkier American sized averages. So if you care about comfort, I would suggest paying a bit more than I did and getting yourself some seats in the Orchestra level.
PS — if you find yourself in a line upon entry, and you already have your tickets in hand, make sure you’re not accidentally caught up in the Will-​Call line, where upon presentation of your ID, you will receive the tickets you had pre-​purchased within 90 minutes of showtime.