Please Be Seated: Six Great Indy Theater Chairs

Clowes Memorial Hall

Seat Size
19 to 21 inches wide, 35 inches tall
Good to Know
All the seats in the boxes are movable, so you can adjust them to get the angle you want.
Best Seat in the House
“I prefer the main floor only a few rows back,” says marketing director Josh Lingenfelter. “There’s a nice break in Row E: Rows A–D are on a riser, so people who sit in Row E have a little more leg room.”
4602 Sunset Ave., 317-940-9697, cloweshall.org
 

The Coliseum

Seat Size
18 inches wide, 21 inches tall
Good to Know
One section of the lower arena features the original 1930 seats that were taken out, restored, and reinstalled. They look different than the other 6,000, but there’s no price difference.
Best Seat in the House
Front row, natch!
Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1202 E. 38th St., 317-927-7500, in.gov/statefair/fairgrounds
 

Hilbert Circle Theatre

Seat Size
22 inches wide, 32 inches tall
Good to Know
Plusher than most.
Best Seat in the House
The nicest—and spendiest—spot is a theater box, left or right. “Comfy chairs, only eight seats total, lots of leg room,” says ISO spokeswoman Jessica DiSanto. “You can see the whole hall, the whole orchestra, and feel like a king.”
45 Monument Circle, 317-231-6798, hilbertcircletheatreindy.org
 

Indiana Repertory Theatre

Seat Size
19 inches wide, 23 inches tall
Good to Know
The only way IRT could afford new seats (in 2001) was to recycle most of what lay beneath the old ones.
Best Seat in the House
Want more leg room? Reserve an aisle seat or the back row of the balcony. The best view and sound, though, is—surprise—up in the balcony.
140 W. Washington St., 317-635-5252, irtlive.com
 

The Palladium

Seat Size
18 to 22 inches wide, 33 to 34 inches tall
Good to Know
Orchestra and gallery seats come in three different sizes: 18, 20, and 22 inches. You can ask to buy the option you like best.
Best Seat in the House
The orchestra seats and box tier seats are the most popular—they’re close to the performers and have great views of the audience, too. (Yay, people-watching!)
355 City Center Dr., Carmel, 317-843-3800, thecenterfortheperformingarts.org
 

Phoenix Theatre

Seat Size
18 inches wide, 36 inches tall
Good to Know
Seating is first-come, first-serve.
Best Seat in the House
“The space is so small and intimate, there really isn’t a bad seat in the house,” says sales director Ryan O’Shea. “But most people gravitate right to the middle.”
749 N. Park Ave., 317-635-7529, phoenixtheatre.org
 
This article appeared in The Ticket, a 2014 special publication.