The Duke On 42nd Street

Love the duke theater. So many new play come out of this venue. Very comfortable seating. Small intimate theater where u can see from anywhere. Elevator accessible from ground floor to theater. Shows tend to start earlier than some Bway shows. Check times as some days are 7:00.

What a great little theater off broadway, but yet so close to. Saw a wonderful play tonight called perfect arrangement. The actors played their parts very well and kept the audience entertained and laughing. The story line was interesting and really made you think about how the past was. The play is worth seeing. I know this is a review on the theater. The theater seating is very comfortable and elevated so the person in front of you doesn’t block your view. Acoustic are good. Extremely clean theater and on the newer side. So don’t rule this place out because it is off Broadway.

So The Duke on 42^nd Street theatre has been renovated with new seats. There is stadium seating as if in a movie theater. The stage is lower than the audience so there is really no bad seats. The theater is located in the heart of Times Square. It was hard to get to because of the congestion on the street but at least it’s really close to the subway since it is right next to about 9 subway lines. It’s only half a block from the Times Square subway station. How convenient is that! I just don’t like walking around the crowded streets to get to the theatre but it’s a necessary evil, I suppose.

READ THIS REVIEW FIRST!
All of the complaints about the seats can be put to rest, they have replaced the seating with comfortable and roomy folding seats like your local movie theater.
I went there yesterday with my Wife for Artist of Light worrying about the whole seating situation however I was surprised to see a comfortable setup.
The show was great and the theater was well organized, the staff very friendly and no worries at all really!
Frankly some of the older reviews should be removed as they are based on the seating and give an outdated impression of the theater’s quality now that it has been renovated.

Really entertaining show some with some hilarious bits. The intimate setting was intimidating at first with the actors walking around while trying to avoid stepping on your feet. Once I got over the fact that I was practically on the stage, I enjoyed myself. I took advantage of being so close and observing the facial expressions of the actors. Best part was making cock jokes the rest of the night. «I saw cock after dinner.» «Cock was really good.» You get the point.

This play was so good!!! I love love loved it. The actors were all incredible, the direction was great, the writing great. I was very impressed with how well the play pulled me into the emotions of each scene. And on top of that, it’s so funny!
The play had an extremely minimalist set (no set really, just a space), but even with that the world in which they were existing felt very big and real. I forgot entirely that at the beginning I had been slightly nervous about the lack of a more structured set. This play is also done in the round which I liked because you’re able to share in other people’s reactions to what’s happening.
All in all, highly recommend going to see this play! It was wonderful.

I really enjoyed this show that we saw last night.
I went in with little expectations because of the racy reviews and title and ready for anything. I have seen a few lower budget off-​broadway productions recently and was not expecting a great performance.
I was pleasantly surprised. The play was very realistic and the actors were quite good, emotions were flying. I would def. recommend this play– it’s very funny and bittersweet at the same time.

Really enjoyed the show, but the seats and the seating set-​up are ODD.
Seats:
The tiny theater is in the round, with disproportioned wooden bleachers adorned with small, numbered, square cushions. Your butt goes on the cushion, and your feet are directly behind the butt of the person sitting in front of you. I have no problem with this concept, but when the theater isn’t full, lazy patrons bring rudeness to new heights by climbing to different seats– effectively walking where other people will eventually sit, and sitting all the way back against the next tier so that their feet stick straight out and perilously close to your back. We even saw one woman un-​velcro an unused cushion so that she could make hers a double. Unbelievable!
Seating:
Because the stage is at bottom center of this claustrophobic set-​up, you can’t really leave the theater. If you do find a way to do so, there is no re-​entry. While I do think it isn’t too much to ask that people sit still for a show in its entirety, emergencies do arise. Speaking from experience, rather than missing the second half of the show, my fellow theater-​goers had to endure my 5-​minute coughing spell.
Other than that, really enjoyed the show– Cock!
Tip: if you find yourself on a really long line prior to show-​time, you’re accidentally waiting for Spiderman. Save yourself.

Most uncomfortable seats you will ever encounter. Like sitting in the bleachers at a high school football game. The seats have no backs — unless you pay for the most expensive seats. If you go, pay the extra amount!!! I am giving this theater 1 star because NOWHERE on their website does it warn you about the seats.

If you want to see «Cock» on 42^nd Street, you could do worse than seeing this show. It’s a very entertaining show in an extremely intimate setting. And I’ll try to avoid any more bad puns regarding the name of this show in the review.
This is an intense character piece imported from England. It’s performed in the round on an area that can’t be more than 15 feet in diameter. The seats are in five levels of circled tiers surrounding the performance area.
My opinion is that the name of the play is more for shock value than anything else. No need to worry, there is no nudity and not even much profanity, though the play does involve adult situations.
I don’t want to give away the plot (you can read the NY Times review for that) but most people won’t find it too hard to swallow*. The performances are fairly strong, with the father being the weak link. What’s interesting is that I heard all the performers are American but the characters are all British. To the playwright’s credit, the characters are more complex than you might think at first. After having a day to think about it, they aren’t as one-​dimensional as I thought and I found my feelings about them evolve. Except for John. He’s totally predictable and I hated him from start to finish.
If you like live theater where you’re close enough to see the actors spit, this is a good choice. Please note, the seats don’t have any backs, it’s just like you’re sitting on steps for 90 minutes with no breaks, so if you’re not comfortable with that, you’d do best to avoid the show.
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*Sorry, I promised I’d try not to make bad puns but I couldn’t resist just one

This place is absolutely wonderful — I want to give them 5 stars but I’ve only seen one show here and apparently there aren’t very many things performed at this location so unfortunately it doesn’t seem as if I’ll be back anytime soon… Anyway, the black-​box theater is very modern and clean, the ushers are all extremely helpful, and the one play I saw here was just outstanding — part of the Lincoln Center Great Performers «New Waves» series, the National Theatre of Britain’s presented their production of «Waves» (based on the work by Virginia Woolf)… It was a few actors some of whom at times were making sound-​effects and at other times were acting and at other times were moving around lighting and video equipment — the overall effect was exhilarating and overwhelming in its virtuosity, what a startlingly original concept, the execution was faultless, and the acting itself was just tremendous… Wish I could’ve seen it a second time… Am very much looking forward to returning to this space for any reason.