Front Row Report: Who Sat Where and Who Hissed

The seating chart for our July preview was a diplomatic masterpiece. Madame Sphinx von Pelt was placed beside the velvet curtain, Sir Basil Tufts near the snack table, and the notorious critic Marguerite Nightshade at the far end, where she could glare at everything.

Naturally, a seat was stolen within 90 seconds. By the second look, a Persian in a canary scarf was occupying two chairs and an unattended tote. The show, to its credit, was flawless. The hissing, which began at the third look and ended at the finale, was the ecstatic kind. I counted 14 gasps, 6 sighs and one small, tasteful faint.