Thurs, 10 March 2016, 2:09 pm: I’m stoked to get inside the Victoria Palace Theatre and claim my seat for Britain’s best-reviewed musical of the 2000s.
2:25 pm: And it’s not just any seat, either. Sorry, is my front row showing?
My years of West End theatre-going have taught me tricks to getting the best seats. In this case, the trick was simply to stake out the BILLY ELLIOT website. If you recall, I shared this amazing deal in a blog post, knowing it could be the final push that some of you needed to commit to the spring 2016 London adventure.
I paid $31.71 (tax and fee inclusive) for this front row seat. Here’s what the lip of the Victoria Palace Theatre stage looks like from that close.
Here’s one of my comfortable black walking shoes (the only type of shoe you’ll be happy exploring London in, just so you’ll know when you’re packing), so you can see exactly how close I am to the action. 
BILLY ELLIOT closed on 9 April, a month after I saw it. A touring production began making the UK rounds soon afterward. Tickets for it are readily available, but nothing beats seeing the original production in its original theatrical home.
Pre-show and during the intermission, this curtain hides the stage from the audience.
You don’t think they’d notice if I borrowed this mixing board for the return of the MATT RADIO internet show, do you?
crane your neck…
Now that BILLY ELLIOT is gone after eleven years, the Victoria Palace Theatre is hosting… HAMILTON! The Broadway show that has critics genuflecting opens live onstage in London this November.
