Are Shows Starting Later These Days?

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Are Shows Starting Later These Days?

Posted: 5/24/26 at 7:25pm

With Broadway’s 2025-26 fiscal season ending today, I just thought I’d ask a general question:

Is it me, or are most performances getting started a bit later in recent years? Pre-pandemic it often felt like the house lights would dim 5 minutes past the time listed on printed tickets at the absolute latest. In more recent seasons, I’ve been at shows that started about 7-8 minutes late tops. (The exception here being HARRY POTTER, which started at exactly the time listed on my ticket.)

Thoughts?

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Are Shows Starting Later These Days?

Posted: 5/24/26 at 7:28pm

The thing I've noticed is that many shows have switched to a much earlier curtain time (especially Friday nights/Sunday matinees) and yet they all start roughly 10 minutes late.

Are Shows Starting Later These Days?

Posted: 5/24/26 at 7:35pm

The tradition in past years used to be the dim the house lights for a play 7 minutes after the scheduled time to allow for latecomers, for musicals 5 minutes to the downbeat of the orchestra which still allowed for late seating. Maybe they have gone back to that old custom/tradition.

Are Shows Starting Later These Days?

Posted: 5/25/26 at 12:35pm

merle57 said: "The tradition in past years used to be the dim the house lights for a play 7 minutes after the scheduled time to allow for latecomers, for musicals 5 minutes to the downbeat of the orchestra which still allowed for late seating. Maybe they have gone back to that old custom/tradition."

As someone who worked front of house for 16 years, it didn't matter if it was a play or musical. It was always five minutes past the printed time. Nowadays it definitely is later. Currently, Buena Vista Social Club is the worst offender. They regularly start eight to ten minutes after the scheduled start time. And from what I hear it has nothing to do with the front of house.

Are Shows Starting Later These Days?

Posted: 5/27/26 at 2:48pm

Yes, totally feel as if all shows on Broadway and on tour and starting later and later past the advertised start time. I always assumed it is on the audiences lazy attitude about getting to seats on time.... folks used to be seated and ready and nowadays it seemed like everyone likes to stand and drink and chat until the last moment.

Are Shows Starting Later These Days?

Posted: 5/27/26 at 2:53pm

For a long time, I always heard that shows started at eight minutes past the posted curtain time. But this season, I saw ten shows on Broadway, and they all started at five past the hour.

Just remembering you've had an "and" When you're back to "or" Makes the "or" mean more than it did before

Are Shows Starting Later These Days?

Posted: 5/27/26 at 2:54pm

Twenty years ago, it was 8 minutes after showtime for Jujamcyn shows.

Are Shows Starting Later These Days?

Posted: 5/27/26 at 2:57pm

Longest start was The Trip to Bountiful. I think it was a good 20 min

Are Shows Starting Later These Days?

Posted: 5/27/26 at 3:17pm

Back during the Golden Age of Broadway, shows started at 8:30pm as people commonly had dinner and drinks prior to a great evening of theater. This is where the famous “11 O’Clock number” stems from as shows commonly let out after 11pm. During the very late 60s/early 70s when NYC and the whole Times Square area was getting too sketchy and people didn’t feel safe that late, it was switched to 8pm.

#10

Are Shows Starting Later These Days?

Posted: 5/27/26 at 3:24pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Back during the Golden Age of Broadway, shows started at 8:30pm as people commonly had dinner and drinks prior to a great evening of theater. This is where the famous “11 O’Clock number” stems from as shows commonly let out after 11pm. During the very late 60s/early 70s when NYC and the whole Times Square area was getting too sketchy and people didn’t feel safe that late, it was switched to 8pm."

I didn’t know shows started at 8:30. That’s interesting.

#11

Are Shows Starting Later These Days?

Posted: 5/27/26 at 7:24pm

When I worked at/around Broadway theatres in various capacities from around 2011-2018, shows almost always started about 7-8 minutes after the scheduled curtain time.

Recently, I’ve noticed shows start earlier in more ways than one- as others have posted, closer to 5 minutes after the scheduled curtain time, AND most evening shows start at 7pm whereas 8pm used to be more common (or evenly distributed with 7pm/7:30pm curtains) except for on Tuesdays.

#12

Are Shows Starting Later These Days?

Posted: 5/28/26 at 7:31am

CATS usually starts around 8-10 minutes late. While they have a God Mic 5-minutes warning informing people to get to their seats (occurring at the stated curtain time), the biggest impediment of that theatre is the fact that they have only one set of bathrooms located downstairs, compounded by the uniqueness of the seating arrangement.

It really would behoove them to open maybe about 5-10 minutes earlier. Whoever goes to see the show, I always tell them that they should use the bathroom before they go and buy their merch before heading to their seat.

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Updated On: 5/28/26 at 07:31 AM

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