7 or 8 o’clock curtain?

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 8:05pm

Which do you prefer and why? 

[tacotheatrelover]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 8:22pm

Honestly a 7 o'clock curtain. I live 30 from the closest theatre so i usually do a matinee with them and eveything else so i can get home. but if i had to choose it would be the 7 o'clock. Usually the show ends early enough so i can go get something fast and cheap but everything is closed for my mom (I'm 15 and can't get my license until my birthday on the 16th) to not have to go anywhere else as with 7 o'clocks we'd go out of town to the closet non-eq touring house on a school + work night. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 8:33pm

I prefer a 7:00 curtain most weeknights, and 8:00 Friday and Saturday. 

[Voter]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 8:47pm

I come from NJ and live about 1 hour from the city. I prefer 1pm and 7pm (for 2 sho days). The earlier the train, the better. I hate the crowd at Penn station late at night. Also I prefer 7 because shows are now starting 10 minutes past curtain 

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 8:57pm

I much prefer an 8 o’clock curtain, I feel better at night and there’s more buzz in the theatre at 8. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 9:04pm

Count me in as a fan of 7pm as well. 
I could be wrong but I think 8pm curtains are sometimes required on two show days, as part of AEA agreements to give performers a certain amount of time between the end of the matinee and the call time of the evening show. 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 9:18pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "I prefer a 7:00 curtain most weeknights, and 8:00 Friday and Saturday."

That's how I feel too. I think it's probably psychological more than anything but it feels more like an "event' to be 8pm on a weekend.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 9:26pm

I also like an 8:00 weeknight curtain but only if the show in question is under two hours. Just don’t want to be out too late. 

[smidge]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 9:29pm

BorisTomashevsky said: "Count me in as a fan of 7pm as well.
I could be wrong but I think 8pm curtains are sometimes required on two show days, as part of AEA agreements to give performers a certain amount of time between the end of the matinee and the call time of the evening show."

We’re seeing more and more 1:00 matinees.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 9:37pm

I don’t like seeing theatre when the sun is out. I prefer 8.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 9:41pm

I'm an overnighter, so it makes no difference at all, to me. I'm so beyond doing touristy stuff.

[hork]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 9:54pm

I hate 7 o’clock curtains and I hate that they’re taking over. 7 o’clock is dinner time. Why are you starting your show in the middle of dinner time?

[smidge]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 10:27pm

hork said: "I hate 7 o’clock curtains and I hate that they’re taking over. 7 o’clock is dinner time. Why are you starting your show in the middle of dinner time?"

Every hour is dinner time!

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 10:31pm

I prefer 8pm curtain. This way I can have 6pm dinner and go to the show. Then I will be hungry again for dessert somewhere around 10:30-11pm.

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 11:40pm

7pm are so much better for work/life balance of the people actually working in the theater.

I also love leaving a 7pm curtain and even after stagedooring I still walk in my front door by 10:30 sometimes

[bluetuna]

Posted: 7/2/24 at 2:24am

On weekdays, I prefer 7pm if it's a one act/90-minute show.  That way, you can have dinner after, and it's not unreasonably late.  If it's a two act/longer show, I prefer 8, so that I can eat something beforehand (and also not feel rushed leaving my office in Downtown Brooklyn at 6 or so).

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 7/2/24 at 7:09am

7 means I still get home early enough that it doesn’t throw of my sleep schedule (in Jersey). I also think the poster who points out how the 7 o clock curtain is better for theatre workers makes a BRILLIANT point. This goes into the industry question of creating a semblance of work life balance. I work in theater-not on broadway-but just convincing places not to end tech days at (or after) midnight when people have early calls for crew work the next day is a struggle. 

[Dreamboy3]

Posted: 7/2/24 at 9:03am

I eat after the theater on Saturday nights. Restaurants aren’t open as late as they were pre-Covid. So I definitely prefer 7 pm.  And if a play is long, 7 pm is definitely better since otherwise I’d be getting home after the time I go to bed ( and I live a very quick subway ride from the theater district). 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 7/2/24 at 11:51am

I'm generally flexible since I live/work in the city.  7pm lets me pretty much go straight from work and then head home earlier which can be nice (especially for longer shows), but I like 8pms on Fridays where I usually leave work earlier and there's enough time for a full sit down meal, which makes it a nicer "event" with friends.  I wouldn't mind seeing more 5pm curtains on Saturday/Sunday either.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/2/24 at 9:18pm

I prefer 8pm, 7pm is too early.

[RunnyBabbit]

Posted: 7/2/24 at 9:41pm

7pm. I live in Philly and a 7pm curtain means I can get the 10pm train home on a two show Wednesday. Otherwise I’m limited to what I can see for the evening show, or I have to drive to Trenton and take the train from there. 7pm is just so much easier all around for me.

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 7/2/24 at 10:17pm

Have u ever tried the megabus?  I used to take that in college and thought it was pretty reliable and cheap.