8 Shows a week - How long has it been like this?

[SirLiir]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 2:09am

As the topic suggest, when did shows start performing lengths based on the magic number 8? I assumed 8 shows are better revenue generators but I am curious to know if some of the most gifted performers in Broadway history had to regularly do so many shows a week.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 2:15am

There are people who will have a definite answer. I'm not one of them.

But I've often heard that "Ethel Merman did 8 shows a week for years at a time and never missed a performance." That was in the 60's, so sometime before that is when the magic number 8 came up.

Vaudeville shows had numerous performances every day, so I'm almost thinking that the number of performances went down to 8.


Margo?

[pab]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 2:48am

"Since the 1920s, Broadway actors, stage hands and production staffers could count on annual employment. All one needed was good health, a dependable professional reputation and enough stamina to dazzle through eight performances a week."
History of The Musical Stage

[SirLiir]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 2:50am

Thanks pab. The only question I have then is why a need for 8 shows a week as opposed to 7 or 9. I always considered 6 to be more than enough for a singer to perform and conserve their voice. I suppose the alrighty dollar saw otherwise.

[Steve2]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 11:45am

While we are on the subject, does anyone know how long the schedules of
Monday (dark)
Tuesday (one show)
Wednesday (two shows)
Thursday-Friday (one show)
Saturday (two shows)
Sunday (one show) has been around? Or have the 8 performances been allocated differently over the years? I realize that some shows have Sunday night shows also. In general, most have the above schedule.
Updated On: 11/27/05 at 11:45 AM

[Conor]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 12:08pm

Not all shows follow that exact schedule, Chicago has a performance on Monday and two on sunday and is dark on wednesday. Rent follows that same schedule.

[Plum]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 12:41pm

London shows often have Thursday matinees, rather than the Wednesday ones in NYC.

[Jon]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 12:46pm

The eight performance schedule is mandated by Equity, which states that actors have to have a day off, and there cannot be three two-performance days in a row. The only way to have more performances is to have two alternating casts.

Until the early 1960's, Sunday was the "dark" day for most shows. The schedule was Mon. thru Sat. eves at 8:30, Wed. & Sat matinees at 3 PM. The musical OLIVER was one of the first shows to add Sunday matinees and take Mondays off, since it was a "kid friendly" show. The switch to 8 PM curtain times also happened around the same time.

There has been plenty of variation in show schedule. I recall that KISS OF THE SPIDERWOMAN played a Monday thru Saturday schedule, since it was not the type of show that would be popular on a Sunday matinee. CRAZY FOR YOU took Thursdays off, which was nice because it enabled the cast members to see other shows.

Ideally, there is always something playing every night, as opposed to the old days when NOTHING was running on Sundays.

[Conor]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 1:09pm

yeah i've always enjoyed knowing i could see something on a Monday or Sunday night if I really got the urge. This is actually most likely why I've seen Rent as many times as I have because it's not really a favorite of mine, so I wouldn't have seen it nearly as much if not for monday night theatre cravings.

[SuddenlyTrey]

Posted: 11/27/05 at 2:13pm

Margo...we need your thoughts!