Snapple Theater

The so called Broadway Performance Theater, located at 210 W 50^th ST & Broadway, is very misleading, and should not be allowed to be called a Broadway Show Theater! It’s very small, seating is tight, no leg room, and disappointing! We saw the show called: «The Fantasticks», and so very sorry we did! It was extremely disappointing, especially for the money we paid. It’s a rip off, and not worth it. It was more of a high school performance. It was so boring, we had to leave during intermission, and very happy we did. Sad, we can’t get a refund, but it was torturous if we had stayed. The money we paid was not worth staying for a miserable performance, and tight seating in this very small theater. I don’t recommend this theater, and I don’t recommend this play! Very amateurish, and a major let down. :(

The Fantastiks was painful. The 3^rd floor theatre is in bad repair, the seats are broken, the temperature was miserably hot and the production was not good. The stage was smaller than my dogs bed at home and I sooo wish I was capable of truly expressing my disappointment.
This is really sugar coating it but I hope to save some innocent folks from going thru what I just experienced.

Saw the Perfect Crime… I usually love and prefer off Broadway theaters due to the more intimate setting and less touristy crowd. The play is average, not much to complain or to rave about it. I do not regret that I went to see it!

FANTASTICKS — The theater is on the 3^rd floor above a pharmacy. It holds 150 people and about 25 showed up on a Friday night. There’s no stage and the props and set couldn’t have collectively cost $ 25. The theater looks like it was run down 15 years ago and no one’s worked on it since. What they call back to basics theater (like the Greeks intended), I call amateurish and just plain boring. My wife dozed in the middle of the play! I get it, tickets are cheap, but you don’t have to go to NYC to see this, just look for your local high school play and you’ll actually get a better set

The mute was amazing. Reason enough to see the show! Such a great night at the theater.

Fantasticks simply put… was fantastic!
Being from LA, we’ve seen our fair share of Broadway plays, but have never experienced «off» Broadway. One of the beauties of this play, it spans all ages. My 10 year old was equally entertained as we were — except for the kissing! Songs were feel good & catchy. Vocals were strong — especially El Gallo’s. Acting was superb, loved the up close and personal feel — El Gallo slapped my wife’s leg & Mortimer almost fell on top of my son! Doesn’t get any more intimate. Henry & Mortimer literally split our sides and had us gasping for air. Luisa and Matt’s journey and ultimate awakening was a delight. And, the Dad’s scenes were cementing. Last, the Mute’s props were” fantastic” — gotta love the WALL!
Went on a weeknite and sat front row, stage left. If you’re looking for tickets and a nice discount, go to your nearest TKTS (there’s one in Times Square). Venue was small, audience was small, but the play was HUGE! Actors really played to the patrons.
See this and you will know why it has endured for 52 years. BRAVO!!!

The Snapple Theater is a small venue located in the heart of the theater district, and offers two shows — on the third floor the Fantastiks and on the fourth floor, the Perfect Crime.
Both shows are somewhat historical — the Fnatastics being the longest running musical in the world, and the Perfect Crime boasting the same lead since the show’s debut.
The lobby for each floor has been made comfortable, with plenty of seating and bathroom capacity. Each also sports a small bar area where they offer cocktails, beers, soft drinks and an array of candy snacks (just like the movies).
You can take anything back to your seat which makes for an even more relaxing visit.
Seating is comfortable, albeit a bit tight if everyone shows up, but fine for a two-​hour show.
We enjoyed our visit and the show.

Saw «A Perfect Crime» here recently. Theater/​building has 2 stages contained within and is located right in the theater/​Times Square neighborhood. The theater that we were in was small but intimate and on the third floor (elevator was available otherwise you get a good workout). It had a high school/​auditorium like feel to it with all rows at the same level (no stadium seating) so we had to peek between the people in front of us to see the stage during certain scenes. Play was a little confusing and bizarre, but the theater itself was fine… nothin spectacular, just average. We were in the second row, end seats and theater was less than half full on a Sunday night of a holiday weekend. They clearly seat everyone in the first several rows instead of scattering people around randomly.

Any seat in here is a good seat! For those that like to wait for actors after the play, the stage door is indoors so you don’t have to wait in the freezing cold/​summer heat like other theaters. Intimate and small theater but very welcoming and full of history, which you will realize as you walk around and enjoy all the displays. Plus, Jerry Orbach is the man.

The Fantasticks is great! Talented cast, fun environment — it’s the perfect show for a tiny theatre, you actually feel like you’re involved.

Fantasticks — someone from the Discount boot tickets recommended this musical, and it was only $ 50, so we said sure! But now I wish I paid for a more expensive and entertaining show
PROS:
— cheap
— great singers and actors
— any seat is a good seat (because it’s small)
CONS:
— extremely small (less than 100 people)
— not a full orchestra (only piano and harp)
— not a full cast (only 7 people)
— comedy is a bit corny, but a lot of people were laughing, probably audience for an older crowd
So, NOW I know the difference between a «Broadway» and «Off-​Broadway» show lol. You really get what you pay for. I really just wanted to watch a show in New York, so it was a good experience to watch an Off Broadway show. But I’ll be sure to watch a BROADWAY show next time, even if it means «discount» tickets would be at least $ 150 =P

this is a really great small theater — very intimate venue with no room for performers to «hide.» i’ve attended small showcases here and the theater allows for good views from pretty much every seat. there is also a nice little space right outside the seating area for a little bar/​food space, but this venue does get crowded very quickly.

This review is for the Fantasticks at the Snapple Theater (since I didn’t see a separate Unilocal page for the show!) Came here with Melissa M. this past Tuesday because my brother bought me the living social deal for Christmas. (I always love the gift of an experience rather than a material thing!) Anyway, it wasn’t entirely what I expected (small theater, simple props), but I really liked the love story, the parable message in the end, and the songs. The talent was great and I was happy to read that the actress went to Penn State too! We were disappointed we missed Aaron Carter’s performance by a week, but we should have done our research a little better. Also bring cash if you want to purchase wine/​snacks — they let you bring them into the theater! Overall I’m glad I can say I got to see the longest running show in the world!

Bought tix from TDF for the Valentine’s production of The Fantasticks, which was supposed to have free champagne, according to their site, as well as many other sites on the net. We ordered two cups of champagne, was charged $ 14.00, paid a $ 2.00 tip. While seated in the lobby, we heard the man who takes tickets whisper to the girl at the counter, «only if they ask»!
As regular theater goers, we are furious that this theater would treat us this way, because of a very slow night.
We also left during intermission because of all the many, many shows I have seen in NY, Broadway, Off Broadway, Off-​Off and regional, this was the worst production I have ever seen. To be ripped off as well just added insult to injury.

I’ve only been here for acting class so I can’t review performances. I am only reviewing the facility.
First off, getting up the stairs to the higher floors is a Herculean effort so if you’re not in good shape or you’re having leg/​ankle/​foot trouble, you may want to take the elevator.
Second, the A/​C is very powerful inside the theater. If you’re not cold with it on, you’re either wearing a heavy coat or aren’t nearly as skinny as me (I’m usually cold). It may be one of the few places in NYC where the A/​C is as powerful as in most spaces in the suburbs. I definitely think you could see a show here in the summer without dying of heat stroke.
Third, the theater itself where I’ve taken my class is top notch. Comfy seats, a great looking stage area & the set designer for «Perfect Crime» should be commended for the attention to detail on the stage. It’s not huge but that’s good for an acting class & more intimate performances.
Finally, the waiting area has some comfy seats + the elevator is quite nice, though tiny.
I’d be motivated to see a show here if I could find one hubby would go to that didn’t cost too much.

Came here to see «The Fantastiks».
The theater had positive and negative qualities about it.
The positives: Small theater, not a bad seat in the house. Even with tickets that had been purchased on
, we were given 3^rd row center seats. It was great to feel like the cast was literally right in front of me.
The negatives: Maybe it was just the day we went but the theater was sweltering. I was sooo hot and uncomfortable. i can only imagine how hot the actors must have been under the lights. Also, the seats are very cramped. My back and legs were aching and I’m not particularly tall. A 6 foot man would die in these seats. Also, there was no room to even put your coat anywhere so you had to keep your coat on your lap. By the middle of the show, I really just wanted it to be over so I could get up, stretch, and get some fresh air.

The Fantasticks was indeed fantastic: D
Yes, the theatre is small (max seats 150?), yes the stage is small, too, but they make it work! Most importantly, you have to use your imagination. The narrator makes it not too hard, too.
So there I was, expecting a sappy love story of boy & girl (cute that they were called «the boy» and «the girl»), we did get the love story part, but along with a lotta funnies, wittiness, weirdness (if you will), and awesome songs. Now, the music is just piano, harp, and vocals. But the handful of no-​frills songs are extremely catchy, lovely, and poetic~ ahh
Tonight’s show had one of the Gaston’s from the Beauty & the Beast show years ago, and he was charming along with being a great actor/​singer. My other favorite was definitely the 2 Dad’s, they really aren’t your cliché dads, and if you watch the show, you’ll easily find them lovable. Given the smaller production, they really had great use of props. It was creative, rich, and surprising!
If there’s a full crowd and enthusiastic audience, it’d be a much better experience. We had a fun time nonetheless. There’s a reason why it’s the longest running musical IN THE WORLD.

Intimate venue for smaller productions, although as I understand it, this theatre is now the permanent home of one or two productions, lending the place the same stagnant metaphysical air that pervades in the late 80s-​early 90s décor, lighting hook up, sound system … etc.
I agree with Nancy C. that you must be seated in the first few rows to enjoy a performance here. We were seated in about the 12^th-​15^th row (of at least 20 – 25 rows). The slope isn’t quite right, such that your view is way too obscured by what is in front of you. I am 5’8″ and was constantly straining to see what was going on over a series of big heads.
Add in the random gusts from the noisy AC system, the vibrations and sounds from the theatre below (performing the musical, The Fantastiks) and it makes for a less than ideal viewing of the relatively cramped stage.
The Perfect Crime was a great play and the actors made great use of the space they had to work with. If another play ever takes its place, I do hope they’ll consider renovating/​modernizing the theatre a bit.

The Snapple Theater Center is an easy-​to-​reach location. Depending on the entrance point selected you’ll either huff & puff up four flights of stairs or take a cardio-​free elevator ride. The staff is friendly, the bathrooms are neat but tiny. You can select a beverage from the super-​sized Snapple vending machine or from the bar & whatever you choose can be taken to your seat.
I saw «The Perfect Crime» here & while my attention was on the actors, I could faintly hear the production below («The Fantastics») or the elevator shuffling people up and down or people chit-​chatting away in the lobby.
At the Snapple Theater Center, it’s best to have a seat in one of the first three rows. There doesn’t seem to be a steep enough incline between the rows, people seated in the middle or towards the back will be playing the ‘Crane Your Neck’ game.

Up close and personal!
this was an interesting play off Broadway. We watched «The Perfect Crime». The theatre was small and intimate and the stage was just a few feet from row A. We were seated in row C so we were very close! There were only 4 actors and they each had credits in television. Two of them were from a soap opera. If you watched All My Children they played the roles of Tom Cudahy and James Beardsley… one of them was in Lionheart, This is Spinal Tap and had roles in other shows such as Law & Order, SVU, ER, The West Wing, etc)… the third actor also appeared in Seinfeld, Numbers, Cold Case. As far as the plot goes… I was totally confused but finally figured it out at the end with the help of my hubby. I won’t make a good detective :(