Theatre Development Fund – TDF: It happened to me once. I had tickets to see Jane Fonda in 33 Variations on a weeknight and a work meeting ran late. (Granted, it had transferred to a Ninth Avenue bar, but it was still business.) I thought I gave myself enough time to make it to the theatre, but between getting my waiter's attention, settling the bill and dodging tourists, the curtain had already gone up by the time I reached the box office.
3 comments:
This brings up a very interesting conversation. The immediate thought that you think when someone is late is that it is their fault, they are being disrespectful and that they should learn theatre etiquette. At least those are my thoughts. While in reality, it can happen to anyone. From very bad traffic to having a meeting run long, anything can happen, and the show will still go on. I have been late to two shows in my life. The first one, Newsies, was at the CLO. It was caused by a chain of events, from having to leave a little late, to hitting very bad traffic. We ended up being 5 minutes late, and after the hold, it was about 15 minutes before we were sitting. To add to that, we also were sitting in the middle most inaccessible seat. The second time we were late, we knew we might be late due to a prior conflict. So we planned ahead and purchased tickets on an aisle in the back. This worked out well. Overall, I think that people who are late should have to wait until a good moment and try to be very respectful and apologetic to anyone whom they cause discomfort.
Arriving late to show can be very distracting to other audience members as well as the cast and crew and so it is essential that one's entrance is done in an efficient and subdued manner. While this might seem to be the most basic theater etiquette I have experienced many shows (including Broadway musicals) where people arrive in the middle of the show and loudly attempt to locate their seats which can ruin a theater-going experience for someone. Ultimately theater-goers should have the basic education to understand to be quiet and respectful as well as to listen to the ushers and other front of staff personnel.
Kaisa Lee
I understand that sometimes being late to a show is not avoidable but honestly, I don’t understand why people believe that when they are late, they feel as if the number one priority in the theater is that they get to their seat. Sure, they are also paying for the show but so is everyone else in the theater and its not fair to everyone else if they interrupt the show. I believe that they should have to stand and wait until there is some sort of scene change when they can get to their seat without disturbing too many people and I think that it’s a good thing that this is what happens for the most part. If you miss basically all of act one, there is an argument that you shouldn’t be allowed in the theater at all but this is not common practice yet and maybe it never will be.
Post a Comment