Disney on Broadway to Implement Unique Schedules...

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 4/12/09 at 10:25pm

As is commonly known, Disney on Broadway's schedules vary in accordance with the school year. However, this year there seems to be a leap into schedules rarely seen on the boards...

As of September 7th...

The Lion King will perform 7:00pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 8:00pm on Thursdays and Fridays; 2:00pm and 8:00pm on Saturdays; 1:00pm and 6:30pm on Sundays.

Mary Poppins will perform 7:00pm on Mondays and Wednesdays; 8:00pm on Thursdays and Fridays; 2:00pm and 8:00pm on Saturdays; 1:00pm and 6:30pm on Sundays. (What a crazy schedule for the actors...it's more like a 6-show weekend than a 5-show!)

The Little Mermaid will perform 7:00pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays; 2:00pm on Wednesdays; 2:00pm and 8:00pm on Saturdays; 1:00pm & 6:30pm on Sundays.

I know some won't care about this, but I am intrigued by the uniqueness of these schedules. I've never quite understood why Broadway scheduling has always been so formulaic with the standard Tuesday-Sunday, Wednesdays-Sunday, and Monday-Saturday schedules... These shows certainly aren't the firsts to use unique schedules, but it's something rare.

But it begs the question: Why is Broadway so formulaic?

[theatreguy]

Posted: 4/12/09 at 10:38pm

Tradition. Audiences (well, regular theater-goers anyway) know the usual schedule and producers know which performance times sell better than other for different types of shows. Nobody wants to try something new (Tuesday or Thursday matinees, for example) in case it doesn't work and they lose money.

Catered Affair did try adding Thursday matinees back in July, but they closed just a few weeks after those started so it's hard to say how much of a success they were (or could have been).

[TonyVincent]

Posted: 4/12/09 at 10:40pm

Makes sense. Disney knows it's competing with itself for a lot of the tickets, which I'm sure a vast majority are to tourists. The more different time slots they have, the more shows they can get tourists in to see when they're only in town for a couple days.

[BrianS]

Posted: 4/12/09 at 10:48pm

Yes, and the 8pm start is just too late for a lot of their audience. It does mean that you really have to check you tickets for the right showtime though.

[gypsy4]

Posted: 4/12/09 at 10:57pm

Crazy!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/12/09 at 11:03pm

The extra 7 PM start times make complete sense for them. I'm sure the actors would also enjoy being done with work before 10 PM most nights.

I also have to just say that I love how the Sunday evening performance continues to gain popularity. I love being able to see a show on Sunday evenings. It's the perfect way to begin the week or end a weekend, depending on your perspective.

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 4/12/09 at 11:04pm

Mermaid's and Poppins' is really weird.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/12/09 at 11:22pm

I am still waiting for them to build a ride or two in the Times Square Area, that Ferris Wheel in TOYS ARE US is so lame.
It starts in the basement.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 1:05am

Why is Broadway so formulaic? How many people work 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday?

It gives everyone in theatre a pretty consistent schedule and a "weekend" break. Everyone has Monday off, which is why most benefits, concerts and other events are scheduled that night.

If Disney wants to have their shows start earlier, that's sensible, but I don't understand why they couldn't just make a consistent schedule for all their shows for clarity sake.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 1:14am

It makes sense that they would want to try and make a night or two when only one of their shows is playing so they can sell out that house and they're not completing with themselves.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 1:37am

Orangeskittles: In comparison to London, Broadway is formulaic. Of course the weekend is the time to have at least one two-show day on both sides of the pond, but in London, schedules have always varied drastically. Go to the West End on Tuesdays-Saturdays and you will find yourself a matinee. Curtain times also vary, being anywhere from 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, 5:00 (matinees), and 7:00, 7:30, 7:45, 8:00, 8:30 (evenings).

I think it's a smart thing to create diverse schedules appropriate for one's audience...and it makes people pay a little closer attention to their listed times!

[Mark_E]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 6:10am

The main thing i don't like about Broadway theatre scheduals is that there are no matinees on Tuesdays/Thursdays/Fridays. I wish that Disney had decided to have different matinee days for their shows. One Tues, One Wed, One Thurs.

Matinee days in London depend on the sort of show.

Tuesday matinees are mostly plays then some musicals (Woman in Black, Mousetrap, 39 Steps, Phantom, Jersey Boys and the soon to open Legally Blonde)

Wednesday is still the most popular day to have a matinee with most of the big shows (Les Mis, Oliver, Lion King, Wicked and the soon to open Sister Act)

Thursday is a day for alot of musicals (Billy, Hairspray, La Cage, Blood Brothers, Carousel)

Friday matinees tend to start at 5/5:30 and are shows aimed at a mostly teenage/party going audience (Avenue Q, Chicago, Grease, Dirty Dancing, Mamma Mia!)

This means that on a Monday-Sunday week in london you could quite easily see 13 shows with the right timing.
Updated On: 4/13/09 at 06:10 AM

[winston89]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 9:12am

For Broadway I have gotten to know the typical schedule of shows for a given week. Example, when I go to the the theatre on a tuseday I am aware that the show will start at 7, an hour earlier then it normally would. Therefor, I would get dinner prior to the show etc earlier then I would if I were seeing a show any other night of the week. I can understand the whole idea for shows doing a performance at 7 on tuesdays. However, I also know that there are a couple of shows that don't perform on 7 on tuesdays and perform at the typical 8 PM start time.

I do think that this is going to throw a curve ball to those who are regular theatre goers who do decide to see a Disney show. Ia am not sure that this would work. But, only time will tell.

As for the start times in London. Both times I was over there I knew that shows started around 7:30. However, I never really paid much attention to the typical schedule of London theatre and mostly paid atttention to whatever show it was I was seeing. I wouldn't be shocked to find out that that is what tourists are doing when they are visiting NYC and seeing a show on Broadway.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 9:21am

I love the West End variety in the scheduling, and always took advantage. A week of theatergoing could be more like two in NY. (And it used to be cheap...) These days, we could benefit from a London schedule. Certainly the Disney shows would be smart to vary their mid-week matinees, so that parents of tourists could see two matinees, say, a Tuesday and then a Wed. or Thursday. Why not? After a while, no one will care. The family shows build their profit margin around matinees.

As for the demands made on actors ... well, actors like to work. Like to be paid to work. Actors like long runs when they can, you know, work a long time and get pay checks, uh, a long time. It's to their advantage to embrace whatever makes shows run, helps shows make profits (that's the goal, folks). This discussion about Broadway as a kind of day job, so that actors are "free" to do concerts sort of makes me giggle. A broadway gig is primo employment.

[winston89]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 9:27am

Auggie, no one was saying that an actor doing a show wasn't important. orangeskittles was saying that most cabarets etc are scheduled on Mondays because it is the day off. It would be too difficult for the actors to do a cabaret or their own concert on a day of a show without missing it. No one said that the cabarets for Broadway performers/singers or concerts came first. the poster was saying that they take advantage of the Monday day off so that they can do them.

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 10:22am

London has cabaret throughout the week (inc Sunday) with no performers complaining!

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 10:28am

Its possible to see 3 major West End shows on a Saturday.

[Amalia Balash]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 10:31am

I loved the West End's scheduling variations. As a tourist I scheduled my week in London to see the maximum number of shows and the extra matinee days helped enormously. As long as the schedule is clear about start times, I think it would work great for tourists in NYC too.

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 10:42am

Not all tourists want to go to a matinee on Weds.
Matinees on other days would help slow shows as not all tourists will flock to the biggies on that one Weds.
For most tourists a visit to New York is a once in a lifetime experience and to be given the chance to catch an a extra Broadway show on a Tues or Thurs would prove invaluable.
I visit New York 4 or 5 times a year and certainly wish I could get in an extra matinee, be it on a Tues or Thurs.

Midweek matinees in the West End are mostly very, very busy throughout the year.

Sunday opening, which is rare in London is due to become the norm from later this year.

[Mark_E]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 10:49am

Really Mama? I know the national does Sundays, as does Lion King and some of the more obscure shows like Stomp etc but I never knew this would become a norm for other shows?

Does this mean alot of the big musicals will start doing Sunday shows?

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 10:53am

Equity and other unions are still in negotiations but they are close to a deal and in 2010 there will be many major shows opening for Sundays.
No major shows on Sundays is one of the biggest complaints that the English Tourist Board have been getting for over 20 years now.
Millions in revenue for shops, restaurants, bars and cafes are lost with the West End being a ghost town on a Sunday.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 11:56am

Obviously Wednesday matinees are losing attendance as SO many more shows are dropping them and replacing them with doubles on Sat and Sunday. I think that must be the most difficult for actors...back to back doubles. I'm not saying it's not doable, but exhausting for them.

I would love if more shows varied thier dark days as well as added a bigger variety of matinees. Granted, very often I come into the city for a weekend and see 3 or 4 shows over two days; but 3 times a year I come in for nearly a week and would LOVE to squeeze even more shows in during my time.

You have to hand it to them for at least trying something new. If it is successful, perhaps more shows will stray from what has become "tradition."

(Although I know it would hurt the cabaret type activities that b'way actors are known to due on Mondays. Or more would go late night...which is fun too.)

[Fosse76]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 1:34pm

"Obviously Wednesday matinees are losing attendance as SO many more shows are dropping them and replacing them with doubles on Sat and Sunday. I think that must be the most difficult for actors...back to back doubles. I'm not saying it's not doable, but exhausting for them"

Sorry, but if I can work 7 hours a day with a one hour lunch, and some of my friends can do 12 hour workdays, then actors coan do their 4 hours without bitching. It's nonsense to think that somehow they can't do 8 hours of work in a two day period when many people do much more physically demanding work in one day...for less money.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 1:54pm

They deal with it, but it's a challenge to keep up the energy for an audience when double shows days are back to back... I think that's what the poster means. Actors are in one of the few vocations where, to get their job done properly, they must be in full body, mind, and soul, to perform their work properly. This isn't saying they're ungrateful, just noting the facts that is a challenge they must overcome to do their life's work.

Updated On: 4/13/09 at 01:54 PM

[jennamajig]

Posted: 4/13/09 at 2:23pm

I saw A Catered Affair during its Thursday matinee last summer and loved that schedule. I was in the city from Wed-Sat and its Thursday matinee allowed me to fit in one more show...and I am all about fitting in one more show.

And I also have to admit liking the 7:00 curtain time as well. In Boston during the week almost all shows, including the touring ones, start at 7:30 Tues-Thursday. I appreciate that half-hour earlier time because I have to be at work early the next morning. Disney markets their shows to families, so I can certainly see why it would benefit them most.

I'm hoping to make it to London at some point this year or bust (I have friend currently living on that side of the pond), so I'm pleased to hear their schedule means I can fit in a lot of shows in a limited time :).