Late seating after Bway reopening

I recall before the pandemic some Broadway shows (particularly ones produced by Rudin) were known for no late seating until intermission.

I know Rudin is out of the picture nowadays but wonder whether the no late seating policy is still in effect for some shows on Bway. If so, which ones?

I think that it was just Rudin shows that were strict about no late seating. Lehman was a Rudin show. Perhaps, once he was out and someone new came in they revisited that policy? I will say this, I remember ushering Carousel, I’d come back from my break and see all the folks who were late to come in. They were sitting in rows of folding chairs that faced a monitor showing a live feed of the show. The person who was in charge of the assisted hearing devices would give each person one so they can hear the show.

As a theatregoer late seating to me is one of those it is what it is thing. As an usher dealing with late seating is a horse of a different color.

ETA: I don’t think I had ever heard of such strict late seating policies prior to the shows Rudin had his hand in. His were the first that I can think of anyways.

Updated On: 10/20/21 at 12:58 AM

I second waitress. The late seating is normally right after opening up ends, but a huge group in the front row were the late seaters, and it was during Dr. Pomatter's entrance. Quite frankly, rude.

It was the same at MR. The audience equiette since coming back is truly ****ty.

quizking101 said: "SmoothLover said: "Checking vaccination cards might be slowing down the walk in at some theaters."

I’m gonna 100% bet this is the case. As a result, I feel like it’s incumbent on ticketing services to inform theatre goers to arrive earlier than they planned due to this. Granted, each theatre processes patrons differently, but having more checked in earlier rather than later may help the matter"

While I haven't been to all theaters since reopening, the shows I have seen have gotten people through the line in 5 mins or less. I doubt it has to do with vaccination cards, unless someone explicitly messes up the policy.

Of course, I think people are referring to the masses of people that join the theater esp in closer rows (my experience was 5 people coming late in the direct front row of waitress).

I was just speculating. I think my comment arose from thinking that if the theatre thought they were at fault in anyway by not getting everyone in by curtain they might seat a patron at an inappropriate moment. Late seatings times are planned in advance. Some theaters will seat in the back of the house if there are any open seats and then move the patrons to the correct seats at intermission. It isn’t without getting a lot of grief from the patrons however, especially with high priced ticket holders. Patrons can start rather large brawls with staff that range from screaming to uncontrollable crying. They feel they have paid so much money that they should be taken to their purchased seat on arrival no matter the tardiness.

The most distracting people to late seat are the ones in the middle of a row or the ticket holders in the first few rows of a section. And if someone has moved into the open seats it can become a bigger nightmare. It requires flashlights on tickets and loud whispering to see who has moved into the seats. This causes frustration with the patrons who have arrived on time. Some go so far as to swat the ushers with their programs or to confront them verbally while the show is in progress.

Some people who arrive late have heartbreaking reasons while others have no reason at all.

Updated On: 10/22/21 at 03:13 AM

SmoothLover said: "Checking vaccination cards might be slowing down the walk in at some theaters."

I think eventually people using vaccine card checks as an excuse for being late is going to wear off and the excuse for being late is that you just couldn’t get to the theatre on time. Obviously some things happen like travel issues (I’m guilty there but one late out of 30+ isn’t bad) or maybe a slow restaurant. But entering the theatre 5-10 min late and saying the vaccine card check is the reason is a stretch.

I don’t think it has anything to do with the Covid checks. We open the house for seating an hour before showtime rather than at half hour, we know that it is a slow process to check IDs and vaccination cards which is why we do this. I have seated the occasional late patron here and there since we reopened. But, the number of latecomers doesn’t make me think that it has anything to do with the vaccine checks since the number of late arrivals i have seen come in is still roughly the same as it ever was.