Chicago on Broadway: Your Monday Night at the Ambassador
The longest-running American musical on Broadway, in a 1921 house where the orchestra plays on stage and scenery stays out.
Chicago keeps an unusual week at the Ambassador. The night off is Wednesday. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday curtains go up at 7:00 PM, Friday at 8:00 PM, Saturday plays 2:30 PM and 8:00 PM, Sunday 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Eight performances a week, and holiday weeks add a Wednesday.
The house dates to 1921 and sits diagonally on a narrow West 49th Street lot, which left it hexagonal and short on wing space. This production works with that room: the orchestra plays on stage, and scenery stays out.
Monday is Broadway's usual night off, and Chicago plays it. If your trip lands early in the week, the Klook listing below books a set date and time from USD 71.85.
Chicago Broadway Show Ticket, New YorkFrom USD 71.85 on Klook. Ambassador Theatre, 219 West 49th Street.affiliate.klook.comNo sets, and the band is on stage
The stage sits inside a gilded frame with the lighting rig hanging in plain view, and the musicians play where scenery would normally stand. Nothing rolls on and nothing flies in. What carries the evening is choreography. Bob Fosse co-wrote the show and directed and choreographed the original; Ann Reinking's staging for this production took the 1997 Tony Award for Best Choreography, under Walter Bobbie's direction.
The look runs opposite to the 2002 film: black costumes, an open deck, and a jazz score played in front of you rather than under the stage.
The mezzanine is 38 steps up
The Ambassador divides into an orchestra of 573 seats, a front mezzanine of 264, a rear mezzanine of 250, eight box seats and 19 standing places, 1,114 in all.
Either mezzanine means two flights and 38 steps, then roughly two more steps per row once you are up there. The front mezzanine is entered behind row E, the rear mezzanine in front of row A. Wheelchair seating is in the orchestra only. The main entrance has two small steps up from the sidewalk; the side entrance has none, and the house asks that you alert the box office when you arrive.
What a ticket costs, and what moves it
Klook tickets start at USD 71.85, and the price moves with the night and the section you choose. The price shown when you book is the one you pay.
Getting there, and what the house allows
The theatre stands on West 49th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. The C and E stop at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue, the 1 at 50th Street and Broadway, the N, R and W at 49th Street and Seventh Avenue, and the B, D, F and M at 47th to 50th Streets and Sixth Avenue.
The box office runs 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM Monday through Saturday and 12:00 PM to 7:30 PM on Sunday. The production recommends the show for ages 13 and up, and the house does not admit children under four. Concession stands sit on every level, though only bottled water is allowed at your seat.
Running time is 2 hours 30 minutes including one 15-minute intermission. Latecomers are seated at the discretion of house management.
A 7:00 PM curtain lets you out around 9:30 PM, early enough for a late dinner a short walk west in Hell's Kitchen. Tickets are for one date and time, so check the exchange terms on Klook, then pick your night.