Any reason why Broadway plays and touring shows don't perform on Mondays? — Page 2

I think it has something to do with the rationale for theaters being open on Sundays. This probably came about because it allows families to be able to see shows together or out-of-towners to see a show in New York -- which is very good for business. But most shows open only for Sunday matinees and the cast and crew are free in the evenings. By making Monday their day off - it allows them a much longer rest period -- from after the Sunday matinee... to the warm-ups for the Tuesday evening performance.

Just guessing

Producers decide for their shows whether they think Monday or Sunday will be more profitable, sometimes by trial and error. Some shows (such as Les Miz, traditionally) purposely change their schedules for the summer season and then switch back in the fall.

Sometimes a big star can influence the dark day if they have a strong preference for one schedule or the other. Most theatre people have a preference -- performing on Mondays means you have one less matinee, but performing on Sunday means you get four extra hours on the weekend, which is especially liked by people who have houses out of town they like to visit.

As for why shows don't pick a random day and have everyone have a different schedule, I can think of two reasons -- one, it would confuse the hell out of everyone; and two, it would make things unpleasant for people who work on Broadway and Off- who would not be likely to have the same day off as their spouse or friends. Of course producers don't really care about that, so I guess somehow it must come down to $$$.

One of the great things about London is that the show times are so varied, and you can schedule a lot of shows in a short period. A play might have a performance at 6:15 on a Friday, giving you enough time to see another show at 8:45 that night! Sometimes shows will have a Tuesday or Thursday matinee. I wish it was like that here.

But as to the real reason why Mondays are usually the chosen night off, it's because after a 5 performance weekend, the actors are tired. Besides, there are less tourists in town.

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As I said in an earlier post on this thread, prior to 1975 no Broadway show had a performance on Sunday. Check it out as to why.

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once upon a time, in another era that ended in the early 70s, the Broadway work week went from Monday - Saturday. This had something to do with the historic blue laws that limited activity on Sunday (can anyone remember the days when the only stores open on Sunday were the mom and pop grocery stores). As times changed, so did people's recreational habits. People started doing things on Sundays. Day trippers began to flood NYC. so the shows slowly started doing Sunday Matinees. Suddenly the recreational choices in NYC meant more than the movies, Coney Island,or the Yankees. Sunday matinees still heavily rely on day trippers as many tourists return home on Sunday(hotels have the highest vacancy rates on Sunday and Monday evenings). Have you noticed how an increasing number of productions are experimenting with 2 shows on Sunday. I wouldn't be surprised that in a few years the typical broadway work week will be Wednesday - Sunday (matinees on Wed. Sat, Sunday). And how i hate those 'two a days'. How will Joe Allen's stay open?

Junkyard has it down pat. When I was a kid, the shows played Monday to Saturday, with blue laws ruling on Sunday meaning no performances. However, it was always well known that Mondays were the weakest days at the box office, so when the blue laws were lifted, the producers, to make more $$$, started Sunday matinees making Mondays dark. Some shows that rely heavily on tourists have Wednesday or Thursday dark as these are the days the tourists are traveling because of hotel package deals and not here to go to the shows.