Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#1
Posted: 4/28/26 at 5:26pm
I’ve been thinking about some of the new shows this season and questioning their choice to schedule a Wednesday matinee - specifically for CATS: TJB and ROCKY HORROR.
Both are not typically shows I would associate with a typical Wednesday matinee crowd, which skews older and more conservative in their taste. I think specifically about CATS because it’s a ballroom environment and to be in such a vibrant and lively atmosphere on a Wednesday afternoon strikes me as odd. Why not have a Sunday and/or Monday night show in its place - since an evening show would lend itself more to the nature of the show.
(This is the stream of consciousness I’m on at the moment)
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#2
Posted: 4/28/26 at 5:51pm
ROCKY HORROR only has Wednesday matinees through June 3. Roundabout may have subscribers who gravitate to the weekday matinees (and that crowd will LOVE Rocky Horror!)
I don't know why CATS is doing one now, but in July they switch to a Monday-to-Saturday schedule (dark Sundays), which makes a weekday mat necessary. Maybe with the thinking that most tourists leave town on Sunday and they could get a good market share on Monday? CATS is also taking off Juneteenth, which is great.
Sometimes a weekday matinee is a Tony voter strategy. I don't know if it's a GOOD strategy, but it gives a daytime opportunity to those who have the flexibility to go then.
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#3
Posted: 4/28/26 at 6:09pm
I know out of town voters that go to matinees while there to get everything in.
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#4
Posted: 4/28/26 at 6:13pm
Those are good, salient points. I do love that Roundabout has some later night performances too. (They also have a 12:30 student matinee tomorrow but…what?)
I guess I’m just thinking about how Oh Mary and Titanique, both shows of a queer interest, have bucked that trend, but these two haven’t. Though I would assume it would work out for CATS since they seem most poised to win Revival at the moment
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#5
Posted: 4/28/26 at 6:40pm
Rocky having matinees won’t be as much of an issue since it’s a less participatory production. I can only remember ONE matinee of Rocky in twenty-three years in Pittsburgh’s scene, and it was a mistake not to be repeated.
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#6
Posted: 4/28/26 at 8:24pm
quizking101 said: I guess I’m just thinking about how Oh Mary and Titanique, both shows of a queer interest, have bucked that trend, but these two haven’t."
Well, if we're talking about older audiences, both Cats and Rocky Horror are titles that would ring a generational bell to a lot of folks in their 60s and 70s in a way the others obviously would not.
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#7
Posted: 4/28/26 at 9:08pm
I think they're useful in being the 'expected' performance schedule for both locals / domestic and international tourists, especially group sales --- during the summer, weekdays are usually a bit busier so a weekday matinee fits into a visitors' schedule (especially as hotel rates are frequently less expensive during the week.)
I do believe we are seeing a bit more schedule experimentation, mostly successful it appears --- Oh, Mary! having the late afternoon Thursday seems to be quite popular as well as having a multi-show weekend in lieu of a Wednesday matinee.
I also recall Thursday matinees becoming popular with tourist-focused shows --- Phantom would sell very well, and I believe The Great Gatsby still runs them.
And Monday nights are, again, very popular with tourists --- since so few shows play on Monday, there's vastly less competition. (I recall from a friend who worked in ticketing that Chicago would consistently sell out on Mondays being one of only a handful of shows to play.)
I hope for Jellicle Ball has similar success, and that we continue to see shows add more non-traditional performance times to give people lots of opportunities to fit one into a trip.
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#8
Posted: 4/28/26 at 11:43pm
Monday nights always feel very competitive because unless several shows are in previews, there isn’t much competition. I made sure to get tickets to Giant in advance when it was playing Monday previews.
As for midweek matinees, I love them as a tourist. Plus, there’s a different audience. I arrived early for Death of a Salesman on a Wednesday matinee and my entire row was filled with people at least a decade older than me - and I am 60. These were serious theatergoers who knew the play and the actors - and enhanced a subtle moment just by their quiet but audible response. On the next day, I saw a very different show, Heathers The Musical, and enjoyed the enthusiastic but perfectly behaved audience.
I assume Cats: The Jellice Ball has a different audience and atmosphere at a midweek matinee and have read as much in the show thread. I did prefer going on a Friday night.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#9
Posted: 4/28/26 at 11:59pm
quizking101 said: "I do love that Roundabout has some later night performances too. (They also have a 12:30 student matinee tomorrow but…what?)"
Students from Ralph Devine's Laboratory Of Life?
(RTC probably gets grants to do the student matinees for every show. Hopefully in this case they're college students or at least high school seniors.....?)
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#10
Posted: 4/29/26 at 7:50am
This is anecdotal, obviously, but I saw Cats: The Jellicle Ball on a Thursday matinee. It was full, with a very receptive crowd that was diverse in terms of age, gender, and racial demographics. In other words, very far from the "matinee ladies" stereotype. As someone who doesn't work a typical 9-5, Monday-Friday job, I appreciate midweek matinees, but I am also a fan of the way many productions are modernizing the performance schedule. (I love the 5pm "matinees" that have become somewhat common.)
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/03
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#11
Posted: 4/29/26 at 8:58am
Since 90% of what I see is via TDF, I'm a Wednesday matinee die-hard. I have seen Both Jellicle Ball and The Lost Boys at recent Wednesday matinees, both packed, both cheered to the rafters. As others point out: both of those shows appeal to those having experience with their origin stories. I like to remind people that Lost Boys came out when boomers were in their early 30s. It was one of our movies, too; particularly those of us with a yen for horror, so it should not surprise people that Lost Boys appeals to people over 60 or 65. We didn't give up our taste in pop culture or rock when we crested over 60. This idea is floating around that boomers become barco lounge squatting residents of assisted living (and nothing's wrong with such denizens). Remember, Tommy and Jesus Christ Superstar are generational touchstones for us. Our teen experienced shows. We're often painted as Rodgers and Hammerstein loving traditionalists; we can be but it's not in our DNA any more than Gen X's. The Wednesday matinee is our opportunity to get cheaper seats to everything. We seize 'em.
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#12
Posted: 4/29/26 at 9:19am
Got here on Saturday, and seeing 15 shows, including many a matinee - "Fallen Angel," "Ragtime," "Cats," "The Great Gatsby," "Two Strangers," Oh, Mary," and "Death of A Salesman." Love a matinee day, and a 3 show day on Saturday with OM's 5pm curtain.
Updated On: 4/29/26 at 09:19 AM
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#13
Posted: 4/29/26 at 9:37am
I like Wednesday matinees during the summers. I have off Wednesdays and by the time I get off during the week it's around 9 or 10, so almost no time for theatre unless I specifically request off a day or to get off work early to see a show.
Though, my regional theatre has gone from a Wednesday to Sunday schedule to a Thursday through Sunday schedule, with Monday and Tuesday student mats, so there goes my matinees until the summer show.
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#14
Posted: 4/29/26 at 12:27pm
I'm always looking for chances to cram more shows into a trip and wishing there was somewhere to find performances outside the standard Broadway schedule. I probably wouldn't have elected to see The Great Gatsby if not for its Thursday matinee. Any advice on finding a Tuesday matinee or what have you off-off Broadway when I'm in town?
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#15
Posted: 4/29/26 at 1:08pm
SidebySidebyLogan said: "I'm always looking for chances to cram more shows into a trip and wishing there was somewhere to find performances outside the standard Broadway schedule.I probably wouldn't have elected to see The Great Gatsby if not for its Thursday matinee. Any advice on finding a Tuesday matinee or what have you off-off Broadway when I'm in town?"
There's a newish website here that collects unusual scheduling times for shows: https://bwayrush.com/five
Are Wednesday matinees still useful writ large?#16
Posted: 4/29/26 at 2:04pm
chrishuyen said: "SidebySidebyLogan said: "I'm always looking for chances to cram more shows into a trip and wishing there was somewhere to find performances outside the standard Broadway schedule.I probably wouldn't have elected to see The Great Gatsby if not for its Thursday matinee. Any advice on finding a Tuesday matinee or what have you off-off Broadway when I'm in town?"
There's a newish website here that collects unusual scheduling times for shows:https://bwayrush.com/five"
OMG thank you so much! This is going to transform my next trip
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