Intermission....nice break or huge distraction — Page 2

It's still not irony. If Rent was a show about a group of anti-intermissionists, then the there would be irony.

---

Kringas --- Oh, how I long for a show about anti-intermissionists...

Not to keep harping on A Chorus Line, but that show was conceived in "real time" from the moment the lights go up. It makes no sense to pause this "real time," or break the tension of the audition at hand, to go have a cigarette and buy a key chain.

---

Updated On: 8/2/06 at 04:51 PM

"no i said RENT did and ACL didnt.....i said i just found that ironic"
Don't lie to make yourself look smarter. You edited your post.

---

I enjoy the break that an intermission gives; and if a show is good, it will be able to captivate you and bring you back to the place the show puts you the minute the second act starts.

It's odd that no one, so far, has indicated that perhaps the performers need a break

Also,I'd love to know what it is about Rent that keeps people on the edge of their seats.

(The following all references musicals, though there are plays that fit the structures mentioned just as easily)

I think it depends on the intention of the play. Shows like A Chorus Line and 1776 build continually throughout the play, and the intensity of the buildup towards their climax is SEVERELY diminished by an intermission. The whole point of both shows is the time limit imposed by the story line (getting the show up, getting the Decleration ratified) and the intermission only breaks up the momentum.

On the other hands, if it's done properly, an intermission can do one of two things:

1)a first climax in the play taking you to a supreme moment of anticipation for what's to come (think Les Miserables and One Day More or Forum with Pseudolus about to have his neck chopped off). This technique also works structurally for some plays - going after I believe Greek comedies, look at the end of the first act of H2$ -- Finch is reaching higher and higher in the company, there's a problem that the love interest just discovered, AND you get the villain (Frump) swearing "I will return." It's a perfect setup for a break in the action, and a perfect false climax to the story as well.

2) be a natural dividing point in the story (think Into the Woods - how could there NOT be an intermission there? or West Side Story - after the Rumble, could we REALLY just go right to I Feel Pretty?)

---

Anything two hours or more, and I need a break to pee, stretch my legs, etc. This is especially important when you're in one of the older theaters, crammed into seats like sardines!

I also prefer 1776 with an intermission- without it, you're sitting for nearly 3 hours. That's a long time without a break.