Imperial Theatre: Seating, Access & What to Know
A classic Broadway musical house on 45th Street — a practical guide to where to sit, how the mezzanine works, and how to plan the rest of your night.
About the Imperial Theatre
The Imperial is one of Broadway’s most consistently programmed musical houses — a Shubert theater built in 1923 specifically for large-scale Broadway productions, and still delivering on that brief a century later. At 1,457 seats, it is a substantial room, but Herbert J. Krapp’s design is wider than it is deep, which is a meaningful detail: more seats are closer to the stage than the raw number suggests. It does not feel like a barn. It feels like a Broadway house built to put a lot of people in good contact with the show.
Right now the Imperial is home to Chess, the ABBA-composed musical that has had a devoted following for decades and is making its Broadway run this season. It is exactly the kind of score-driven, theatrically ambitious production the Imperial is built to hold. If you are planning a night around it, this guide covers everything you need to decide where to sit and how to get the most out of the visit.
Is the Imperial right for you?
The Imperial suits most Broadway visitors looking for a classic musical-house experience — but the mezzanine stair situation is worth understanding before you book if access matters to your group.
Musical theater fans who want a big score and traditional Broadway presentation
First-time visitors who want a classic, wide Broadway-house feel rather than an intimate playhouse
Groups or families where the visual scale of the production is part of what matters
Visitors who want a central Theater District location with easy pre-show options
Visitors with mobility needs — the mezzanine involves two flights of stairs with no elevator or escalator; orchestra is the access-safe choice
Visitors who want an intimate, actor-focused experience — this is a musical house designed for scale, not closeness
A short history worth knowing
The Imperial opened on Christmas Day 1923 as a Shubert replacement for the old Lyric Theatre on the same block. Herbert J. Krapp — the most prolific Broadway theater architect of the era — designed it in an Adam-style decorative idiom that gives the auditorium a warmth unusual for a house of this size. The theater became one of Broadway’s most active musical stages almost immediately and has remained so for more than a hundred years. Productions that played here have ranged from early-twentieth-century revues through the golden age of Broadway musicals and into the present. It is Shubert venue number 50 and is still part of the Shubert Organization’s actively managed roster.
Imperial Theatre Seating Guide
The Imperial has two seating levels: the Orchestra on the main floor and the Mezzanine above. There is no balcony. The room’s defining characteristic is its width — Krapp designed the auditorium to spread seats across a broad horizontal plane rather than stack them vertically, which means even seats toward the sides of the orchestra are not as far from the action as they would be in a narrower, deeper house. That said, section and angle still matter, and the mezzanine access situation is something every buyer should understand before booking.
The safest and most flexible choice
Center orchestra is the straightforward recommendation for most visitors — strong sightlines, step-free access from the sidewalk all the way to your seat, and wheelchair seating available. The wide auditorium means mid-orchestra seats carry less penalty for being off-center than they would in other houses. Front orchestra puts you close for a big musical; the middle rows give you the best balance of immersion and full-stage picture. Side orchestra seats are worth considering on a per-show basis — for a production that uses the full width of the stage, center is still worth prioritizing.
No steps from sidewalk · Wheelchair seating availableOften the best value in the house
Front mezzanine center is a genuinely strong seat at the Imperial — elevated enough to give you a clean full-stage picture, still close enough to stay connected to the performance. For a score-driven musical where staging and choreography are as important as individual actor detail, the mezzanine overview can actually be the better vantage point than front orchestra. The trade-off is the stairs: getting there requires two flights from the main lobby, and there is no elevator or escalator alternative. If your group can handle the climb comfortably, front mezzanine center is worth serious consideration.
2 flights / ~23 steps · No elevator or escalatorWorkable for the right show — plan accordingly
The rear mezzanine at the Imperial works better than rear sections at some other large Broadway houses, partly because there is no balcony above it pushing the sightline angle down. For a production with strong visual scale and a big orchestral sound, rear mezzanine center can still deliver. Side seats further back are where the angle and distance combination starts to matter more — worth checking against a seating chart before you book. The stair situation is the same as the front mezzanine: two flights up with no alternative for those who need one.
2 flights · ~2 steps per row within the mezzanine · Handrails at row endsThe Imperial’s wide auditorium is your friend — but it only helps if you are in a center section. Side seats at any level lose the benefit of the room’s design more quickly than center seats do. When choosing between a side seat in the front and a center seat further back, take the center.
Best seats by visitor type
Step-free access, strong sightlines, at the heart of the house.
Best full-stage picture for choreography and production design.
No stairs, accessible restroom on main level, most flexible seating.
The room’s width and lack of a balcony keep rear center viable for a big musical.
Accessibility at the Imperial Theatre
The Imperial is step-free from the sidewalk to the orchestra — which is a meaningful advantage for a theater of its era. The mezzanine, however, is a different situation. There are no elevators or escalators in the building, and reaching the mezzanine requires two full flights of stairs. If mobility is a factor for anyone in your group, orchestra seats are the clear right choice. Read the specifics below before booking anything above the main floor.
What you need to know
If you have specific access needs, the Shubert Organization’s accessibility team is the right point of contact before you book. They can confirm wheelchair locations, advise on companion seating, and help with any assistive technology needs for your specific performance date.
Getting to the Imperial Theatre
The Imperial is at 249 West 45th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue — deep in the Theater District and within easy walking distance of the block’s best pre-show dining, the main Times Square transit hub, and most of the neighborhood’s hotels. It shares 45th Street with several other active Broadway houses, so the block tends to be busy in the hour before curtain.
By subway
The 1, 2, 3, N, Q, R, W, and 7 trains all stop at Times Square–42nd Street, about a four-minute walk north to 45th Street. The A, C, and E trains at 42nd Street–Port Authority are similarly close. Either cluster works well for the Imperial from almost any direction in the city.
By rideshare or taxi
Drop-off on 45th Street is straightforward before the show. Post-show is more complicated — the Theater District generates real gridlock between 10:30 pm and 11:15 pm when multiple shows let out at once. Consider walking a block or two east toward Sixth Avenue before requesting a rideshare to avoid the worst of the pickup congestion.
By car and parking
Several parking garages are within a few blocks of the Imperial. SpotHero covers the Theater District and is worth checking for pre-paid rates before you drive. Midtown Midtown parking is not cheap, but pre-booking beats circling. Arriving early is especially important if you have mezzanine seats and want time to get settled before curtain.
Plan for a real arrival buffer
If you have mezzanine seats, give yourself at least 20 to 25 minutes before curtain after you arrive at the theater — enough time to find the entrance, get through any line, climb the stairs, and locate your seats without rushing. Orchestra visitors have more flexibility, but earlier is still better on a busy night.
Build the Night Around the Imperial
West 45th Street is one of Broadway’s most concentrated blocks for pre-show dining and post-show options. Hell’s Kitchen is a short walk to the west, and the Theater District’s main restaurant corridor runs along both 45th and 46th Streets. The Imperial’s location makes it easy to build a full evening without much logistical planning beyond timing.
How to time dinner before a Broadway show — and what actually works in the Theater District.
Named picks for pre-theater and post-show dining, organized by type and occasion.
What’s on the streets around the Imperial — hotels, bars, restaurants, and how the neighborhood moves at night.
Where to stay if the Imperial is your anchor — Times Square, Hell’s Kitchen, and beyond.
Subway lines, rideshare strategy, and what to know about arriving in the Theater District.
Garages, rates, and timing advice if you’re driving to the Theater District.
The bottom line on the Imperial
The Imperial is one of Broadway’s most dependable musical houses — a room that has been delivering large-scale productions for a century and still feels purpose-built for the job. Its wide auditorium keeps more seats in useful contact with the stage than the seat count alone would suggest, and the orchestra-to-mezzanine choice is genuinely interesting here because front mezzanine center is one of the better seats in the building for staging and score.
The stair situation is the one thing to plan around. If everyone in your group is comfortable with two flights, the mezzanine is absolutely worth considering. If stairs are a concern for anyone, book orchestra and do not second-guess it — the orchestra is strong, and the step-free access all the way from the sidewalk makes the evening easier from start to finish.
Imperial Theatre at a Glance
- Now Playing Chess
- Theater Type
- Address 249 West 45th Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue
- Opened 1923
- Capacity 1,457 total seats
- Seating Layout Broad orchestra and mezzanine layout built for large-scale Broadway musicals
- Accessibility Orchestra is accessible without steps. Mezzanine is up two flights of stairs (23 steps), with about 2 steps up or down per row. No elevator or escalator.
Imperial is a classic Broadway musical house with a strong full-stage feel, but it still rewards careful seat choice if stairs, comfort, or overall distance from the stage are a concern.