Several theatergoers have shared similar experiences involving duplicate seat assignments at Resorts World Theatre, following a social media post describing a ticketing issue during a recent performance.

The comments appeared in response to a public post recounting a seat allocation problem at the Newport Performing Arts Theatre, where two parties were reportedly found holding tickets with identical seat numbers.

One commenter wrote:

“This is not right. How could this happen.”

Another commenter said:

“If we want competitiveness at par at least with our neighboring ASEAN countries, our old ‘Pwede na Yan’ mentality and continuing practices on Quality of Service / Customer Experience must end now.”

A separate commenter shared a similar experience during an earlier production at the same venue:

“The same thing happened to us when we watched Shrek last month, also in Resorts World. A couple were already sitting in our seats and we found out they bought their tickets through Ticketmelon, we got ours through Ticketworld.”

The commenter added:

“It’s the first time something like this has ever happened to us, we thought it was just Ticketworld selling the tickets.”

Another commenter wrote:

“Knowing this has happened to others as well, it’s impossible to say it was merely an accident. Something is really wrong with the system and it should be fixed.”

One theatergoer also commented that they experienced a similar situation on the same night but chose to accept reassigned seating to avoid missing the performance:

“Aww, we have the same case yesterday. Fortunately, they found a seat same row nung binooked ko. Don’t want to miss this musical, so I just agreed to be seated nalang agad cause the show is about to start na nga.”

A frequent theatergoer who regularly attends productions at major Metro Manila venues said seating concerns often shape how audiences remember an evening at the theater.

“For many people, the experience begins with ticketing and where they’re seated,” the theatergoer said. “When there’s confusion at that stage, it can affect how the entire night is perceived, regardless of the performance.”

A consumer rights advocate familiar with service-related issues said seat-specific tickets create clear expectations.

“When a service includes specific details like seat assignments, customers reasonably expect those details to be honored or clearly explained if changes are necessary,” the advocate said. “How the situation is communicated and resolved plays a significant role in how the overall experience is perceived.”

Management of Newport Performing Arts Theatre has acknowledged the incident and apologized for what it described as a “mix-up.”

In an earlier email response, Ms. Joy Andre of Corporate Communication and Marketing for Newport World Resorts said, “Please know that this concern is already being addressed. This is not the experience we intend for our guests, most especially for colleagues who have long supported Philippine theater and the industry.”

She added, “We are reviewing what went wrong and tightening our internal checks to ensure this does not happen again. Thank you for flagging this. Your feedback is fair and appreciated, and we take it seriously.”

Newport Performing Arts Theatre regularly hosts musical productions, concerts, and live performances and is one of the primary performing arts venues within the Resorts World Manila entertainment complex.