St. James Theater Seating Chart | Present Laughter Guide

Present Laughter, adapted from Noel Coward’s 1939 comedy, has been getting rave reviews from critics and Broadway enthusiasts alike. With Kevin Kline working his magic and bringing the house down with his comic chops, the show is this season’s breakout hit. If you’re planning on watching the play, our St. James theater seating chart is exactly what you need.

Some of theater community’s top talents, Kline, Kate Burton, and Kristine Nielson headline the cast, along with How I Met Your Mother and Avengers starlet, Cobie Smulders in her fabulous Broadway debut, making Present Laughter, Broadway at its unmissable best.

With introductions out of the way, we present to you, the St. James theater seating chart and price maps!

St. James Theater Seating Chart

Established in 1927 as The Erlanger, the St. James theater finally came into its own in 1957, moving from housing just musicals to live theater of all kinds. Over the years, this New York City landmark has hosted everything from Oklahoma! and Hello, Dolly! to Gypsy and Bullets Over Broadway.

With a seating capacity of 1,710, St. James is one of the bigger Broadway theaters, while still offering patrons an intimate viewing experience. Redesigned in 1958 by famed interior designer Frederick Fox, the show became the perfect embodiment of technical prowess with a touch of class. The theater exterior showcases a Georgian design, with marble, stone, and stucco adoring a granite foundation.

The interiors are equally classy, featuring a marble lobby and ornate walls flourished with beautiful murals. Post the 1958 renovation, the theater was equipped with a new marquee, modernized dressing rooms, a closed-circuit TV system, and a smoking room to boot.

The seats in St. James theater are spread across three (four, if you include the 20 box seats) sections, namely Orchestra, Mezzanine, and Balcony. The box seats are available on either sides of both the orchestra and mezzanine section, if you prefer a relatively private theater viewing experience.

Given the size of the theater and effectively the number of seats available, picking one that is both cost effective while offering a great view of the stage can be a tad challenging.

Not if our handy St. James theater seating chart is available! Let’s look at all three sections of the theater, starting with the orchestra.

St. James Theater Orchestra

The orchestra section in St. James theater has a total of 705 seats, spread across 21 rows, titled AAA to S. The section is further divided into three parts, orchestra left, orchestra centre, and orchestra right. The seats in orchestra left are odd numbered, starting with 1 and ending with 29, moving right to left. The orchestra centre subsection has seats numbered 101 to 114, again, moving right to left. The last subsection, orchestra right is even numbered, with seats numbered 2 to 28, moving left to right.

Given its proximity to the stage, the St. James theater orchestra offers some of the best viewing angles. The front and centre rows typically offer a great view of the stage, without any obstructions, being in the direct line of sight of all the stage proceedings. The extreme corner seats of the left and right orchestra are avoidable, given that you would need to turn your head slightly throughout the show. But, if the seats are available for cheap, we would still recommend going for them, instead of something like the last few rows of the balcony.

The last rows of the orchestra are not too shabby and can be opted for if you’re looking for reasonably priced seats. If you happen to have extremely tall people in the rows ahead, well, that can potentially cause an obstructed view.

Pricing

The center rows in the orchestra section (A-M) are understandably the most expensive of the lot. Next up are the first couple of rows of left and right orchestra (A-S), followed by the orchestra centre rows (N-Q) and the far side rows (K-T).

Reviews

Saw Something Rotten here with the original cast (except for Brian d’Arcy James, replaced by Rob McClure). Got 4th row centre orchestra tickets (which were really good seats) for reasonable prices. Whole experience from start to finish was thoroughly enjoyable.

Bought Broadway Week tickets to see “Something Rotten.” The theater is beautiful. The seats are a little skinny. We sat in the Orchestra section, stage left about 12 rows from the stage. The sight lines and sound were great.

St. James Theater Mezzanine

The first of the two elevated levels in the theater, the mezzanine section has a total of 656 seats, making it almost as big as the orchestra. The overhang begins from Row F of the orchestra section and extends to the end of the theater.

The seats in this section are uniformly good and most offer a pretty clean view of the stage, barring the extreme corner seats, of course. The front row, centre seats are some of the best in the theatre, providing a complete look at the main stage, without any obstructions, in both material or human form.

This section, like the orchestra, is divided into three subsections as well. The centre orchestra has 16 rows in total, starting from A and ending with Q (like most theaters, St. James also skips row I). The seats in this subsection are numbered between 101 to 114, moving right to left. The left and right subsections are odd and even numbered respectively with seats numbers starting from 1 and ending with 35.

If you have a choice between rear rows of the orchestra and middle rows of the mezzanine, we would recommend going for the mezzanine seats. First, because, the natural incline offered by any elevated level makes for a better viewing angle and helps you avoid the issue of someone tall sitting in front of you. Second, the value for money for the mezzanine seats would be more, given that the prices for both categories of seats fall in the same range.

Pricing

The front mezzanine seats are the most expensive for obvious reasons, available for around $20 to $30 more than the side section seats of the orchestra, making the choice quite clear. As expected, the price falls as you move further back in the section, with the middle row seats available for the same price as orchestra side row seats. The last rows are the cheapest of the lot, at below $70.

Reviews

This is a small Broadway Theater with great acoustics. We sat in the Mezzanine near the middle of the theater. We could see the whole stage with no problem. There wasn’t a lot of leg room. A tall person may have their knees against the seat in front of them. I liked that there was a lot of pitch to the Mezzanine, so I didn’t have to stare at the heads of the people in front of me.

The St. James, current home to the hilarious “Something’s Rotten,” provides a great NYC theater experience. We sat in the lower mezzanine–totally perfect location to experience the intimate artistry of musical theater. While it has the same problems with inconvenient traffic flow, just as all older district theaters, they’ve done a pretty good job remodeling and providing adequate bathroom facilities both upstairs and down.

St. James Theatre Balcony

And then there was one. The last section of the St. James theater is the balcony, with a total of 326 seats. The section is again divided into three parts, like the other two sections of the theater, with 8 rows in total, titled A to H.

Being the last section, you can’t expect a great view of the stage, but surprisingly, the St. James theater balcony is not that bad. The front few rows, while quite far back away from the stage, offer a good, clean view. The last few rows can be avoided, though, since audience reviews have complained of the lack of audibility around those seats.

The only issue with the balcony section is that the height can be a bit too much for some guests, especially since you’re looking down at the stage proceedings from such a great height. We would recommend avoiding the last section completely if you suffer from vertigo or simply don’t enjoy being at great heights.

Pricing

The balcony section is the cheapest of all three sections for a simple reason; being the furthest away from the stage. The front row of this section is priced similarly to the middle rows of the mezzanine section and centre rows of the orchestra, with the price reducing as you move further back.

Reviews

The theater is a classic! The balcony seats were very, very high. Row F was at eye level with the chandelier! We were really way above the stage. I would recommend mezzanine or orchestra seats for a better view. The picture is eye level from our seats.

Loved the show!! We sat in the first seats of the first row of the 1st balcony. They weren’t so bad. Expect the usual high prices and tight spaces, but the seats were ok, and the building itself is very historical.

Pro Tips

1. Given that the theatre is pretty old, there are no lifts anywhere. You’ll have to climb a lot of stairs to get to your seat, especially if you’re seated in the balcony section.

2. The staff at St. James theatre is very accommodating, according to multiple user reviews, so if you have special requests or are physically disabled, special arrangements can be made as per your requests.

3. If you’re expecting to make a quick trip to the washroom during the intermission, don’t. The queue is generally far too long, which means you might spend the first few moments of the second act waiting in line.

4. Speaking of restroom, there are wheelchair accessible restrooms located on the main level. There are ladies’ restrooms located on the orchestra, mezzanine and balcony levels. The men’s restroom is located on the orchestra level and balcony.

5. The leg room in most seats is average at best, so if you or anyone accompanying you is tall, the first row of either the orchestra or the mezzanine section will be ideal for you.

6. If you’re afraid of heights, we would recommend skipping the balcony section altogether. The section is at a great height and the slight downward inclination is bound to make things worse if you’re wary of heights.

Restaurants Nearby

Located in prime theater district, the St. James theater has some great eating options. Here are a few we have selected for you:

1. Barilla Restaurants Radio City: Fine Italian fare with a delectable selection of pastas in a contemporary yet rustic setting.

2. Kellari Taverna: A wine collection for days, Greek cuisine to die for, and a bright, airy, bistro-setting, make Kellari a theatre district classic.

3. The View Restaurant & Lounge: A revolving American restaurant on the 48th floor of the Marriott Marquis, overlooking the glorious Times Square.

4. Sardi’s: This iconic, continental diner is lined with caricatures of showbiz celebrities making it a hit with locals and tourists alike.

5. Aureole: An upscale, contemporary restaurant serving fine New American fare with a twist. Make reservations before visiting, though!

6. Hakkasan: A chain of the famous London-based, Cantonese serving restaurant, Hakkasn has great food and a calming ambience in spades.

Looking for more options? Our theatre district restaurants guide has everything you’re looking for and more!

Accessibility

Like most Broadway theatres, the St. James is also quite close to Times Square, which means getting there is actually quite easy. The theater is located at 246 West, 44th Street and there are multiple ways to get here.

If you want to avoid the hassles of parking, you can take the subway to 42ns Street in any of the following trains, A, C, E or 1, 2, 3, 9, 7, N, R, and S. If you would rather bring your own vehicle, there are plenty of parking spots available, but we forewarned, they’re not cheap.

Summary

That does it! We have covered pretty much everything from the St. James theater seating chart to the best restaurants around.

Now comes the most important part. How to get the best seats at an unbeatable price? Visit Headout.com or download the Headout App, which is an online concierge for wonderful experiences across the globe! Choose your show, select your seats, and show up at the theatre on the day of the experience. In the meantime, a Headout representative will take care of the legwork and meet you at the theatre before your show to hand-deliver your tickets in person.

Have questions about the St. James theater seating chart? Want details about specific seats? Leave a comment below and we’ll help you out.