Intermissionless Shows — Page 3

I don't know about everybody else, but both my sister and I seem to have our bladders give out around the 1 hour mark for everything: plays, musicals, movies. We try to minimize this by not drinking too much before we see something, and by going to the restroom about 10 minutes before a show starts, but we still both get hit. So I do appreciate an intermission whenever possible.
Though I do agree that some shows, if they are so structured, should stay intermissionless (the recent Follies I would have loved to see imtermissionless. I remember the momentum of the show being just crazy when I saw in eons ago in Seattle when it was performed without an intermission, but the recent revival seemed to suck that right out with the break).

The funny thing is, I think my brain/bladder is now trained to be this way, as I gan go through a marathon session of "World of Warcrack" on the computer, and not go to the bathroom for 4 hours...

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"The funny thing is, I think my brain/bladder is now trained to be this way, as I gan go through a marathon session of "World of Warcrack" on the computer, and not go to the bathroom for 4 hours..."

I think I have some of the same problem, actually. Ever since I was 11 or so and remember spending the last twenty minutes or so of Act I of Les Miz so distracted by how badly I had to go to the bathroom, it seems built into my system that it'll happen again. LOL. Although honestly, though I am paranoid enough that I always run to the bathroom 5 minutes before a show starts (which, granted, is often easier for men than for women where there always seems to be a line), it's only been an issue once before, and that was at a production of Don Giovanni where they only had one intermission, and I swear Act I went on for 2 and a half hours. It probably didn't help that I was on a date with someone I barely knew, and had a fair amount of wine to drink at dinner just before... And yet, I can go through a work day never using the facilities once...

(This was prob all TMI)

Comden, I agree with your point that intermission does feel like part of the experience to me--I love Act I finales (well, good ones), the openings of Act II, getting to talk about the show and hear the chatter at intermission, etc...

Although I would say to your 2 hour comment that a lot of intermissionless shows run at least that long--Follies would probably approach the 2 and a half hour mark. A Chorus Line runs about 2hrs and 10 mins I believe. The uncut copy of that Pippin video floating around has curtain at the 2hrs and 20 mins mark. Passion, of course is under 2 hours--and it was originally planned on being a double bill with Muscle, but part of the reason was they believed Passion was still a bit too long (plus Sondheim seemed to think he was wrong for Muscle, after composing some songs, and it may be hard to find something to pair an intense show like Passion with anyway).

As a big Tennessee Williams' fan, it's always interested me that his most famous one act, Suddenly, Last Summer, premiered of course as a double bill, titled Garden District, with the much shorter Something Unspoken as the opener, but yet I don't think any major production has done it that way since. While it's not as long as Williams' more typically (for the time) structured three act plays, it does still run a bit over 2 hours on stage I seem to remember (I saw the terrific Diana Rigg production in London, but it was a long time ago now).

This past year we saw Relatively Speaking with three different one acts with three different authors.

Eric, your openness is appreciated. Reminds me of a 2nd national tour performance of The Phantom of the Opera at which I felt the call of nature just as Christine finished warbling "Think of Me."

That's really early in the first act and I actually worried a LOT that I'd eventually have to leave before the act was over or I'd surely take a wizz in my pants.

Might seem like a non-issue to most, who'd wonder what the big deal is when missing a couple of minutes of a show to find comfort seems like the biggest consequence of it all. I've wondered that myself and all I could say is missing even a minute of any show leaves me feeling as if I can't claim to have seen a whole performance.

I know. It's odd and downright nit-picky. But it's also very true and it actually made me wait until intermission at that one Phantom performance. I have never mouthed so many curse words at poor Christine and Raoul for warbling their 1st act closer loveditty slowly for what seemed like an eternity. When ya gotta go, you gotta go!! XD

Thankfully, that hasn't happened again since. But it did make me somewhat worried it would happen again for the next several shows I saw, enough to ensure I wouldn't gulp an ounce of anything a few hours prior to the performance.

As for intermission/less shows, saw an excellent production of A Chorus Line years ago presented by Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities (one of the best I've ever seen, actually) and I was appalled upon seeing "Intermission" printed between "Hello Twelve..." and "Dance 10, Looks 3" in the program. I truly thought it would be awkward and completely disrupt the flow of the show.

Well, it wasn't an asset to the production but it didn't make it less than all other productions of the show that presented it as it was meant to be presented without an intermission, nor did it ruin it in any way. Yes, the flow was abruptly halted but I must say the picking up at "Dance 10, Looks 3" worked well and did not feel awkward at all.

I don't usually stray and use elements outside the piece to explain away choices not to my liking, but I'll make an exception this time and say it was probably unavoidable due to their average patron being well in their golden years and all the ahem...benefits that has on aging bladders. I sat front row for that performance so had no noggins to see in front of me but before the show and at intermission, I swear the auditorium was filled with a sea of white heads. So, the addition of an intermission there was probably a wise choice.

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"Eric, your openness is appreciated. "

Not by me. A little seemliness would be more appreciated.

That's aiight, After Eight. I'll settle for agreeing to disagree. =)

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The must-pee shows of the season.