People Leaving at Intermission — Page 2

I am sorry I have no sympathy, if you leave a show at intermission because you think it's over, you are an idiot. Even "Into The Woods". Especially people over 50, You made it to 50 and never went to a show, high school, or later (I know there are some people but the percentage is insignificant).

I think the recent (last decade?) acceleration of new play lengths to 1 Act of 90 minutes or less is a contributing factor...people are getting used to shows getting shorter and shorter, and there being no intermission. (Accidentally didn't see Act 2? Reaction: 'Gee, that play had an ambiguous ending...I wonder what they were trying to say?).

What was once a rarity is pretty common. 'House lights have come on...it must be over'. Hard to believe, but I suspect that Increasingly short attention spans is also a contributing factor.

Other possible contributors:

-- Limited experience attending live theater

-- Not too bright

-- Wishful thinking ('Thank God we can leave now'

-- Stressed: 'gotta get back to my texting...the jerks around me got annoyed when I texted during the show'

-- They didn't look at the Playbill

There have been shows this season where an inexperienced theatergoer might have assumed the show was over after Act 1. Recent examples: Sunday in the Park; On Your Feet (I enjoyed this show (once), but doubt that I would have missed anything if I left at intermission...heck, there was even a Conga line at the end); Time and the Conways (I enjoyed this, but could see someone thinking it was over at the end of Act 1...they would have missed a lot, but they would not necessarily have realized it; Cats (if anyone can explain to me why was going on on that stage in either act, I would be obliged...if I cared)

I was at Bandstand just before it closed...went out for intermission and both A Doll's Life and (just as we were going back in) Come From Away were exiting. ADLP2 was so short (actually less than 80 minutes, per my watch, that -- in the old days -- one could imagine Nora coming back in the second act, having changed her mind. Since the ratio of shows having no intermission has -- I can't prove, but believe empirically -- dramatically increased, I can imagine that -- depending on the performance -- someone could assume the show is over after Act 1. Definitely, Sweeney Todd and DEH dos not fall into this category.

I wished so hard Brooklyn had an intermission!

The numerous times that I saw "Wicked" on tour, LOTS of people left at intermission. The main reason being the thought that it would be more like "The Wizard of Oz", followed by comments like, "Where's the Lion?", "There's no Scarecrow". I understand that the theatre attracts a certain "type" of people, but honestly, if you read the book, you would know that they are very much characters on the periphery...

ChgoTheatreGuy said: "The numerous times that I saw "Wicked" on tour, LOTS of people left at intermission. The main reason being the thought that it would be more like "The Wizard of Oz", followed by comments like, "Where's the Lion?", "There's no Scarecrow". I understand that the theatre attracts a certain "type" of people, but honestly, if you read the book, you would know that they are very much characters on the periphery..."

But they shouldn't have to read the book or research.

GeorgeandDot said: "^Wait, do people actually think that?"

Yes. I’ve heard from people who work/have worked at box offices that they get calls like that all the time. People call, wondering if they could get “two tickets to the one that’s playing at 5:00.” I guess people expect it to work like movies.



My dilemma with people and situations like this is that I never know if they’re ignorant completely and have never been exposed to theatre (which would at least provide an explanation), or they’re just that unobservant.

BobPopa said: "I am sorry I have no sympathy, if you leave a show at intermission because you think it's over, you are an idiot. Even "Into The Woods". Especially people over 50, You made it to 50 and never went to a show, high school, or later (I know there are some people but the percentage is insignificant)."

Easily half of the people I know, including the ones over 50, have never seen a live theatrical production of any kind. I think those of us who spend time in this rarefied world often don’t think about how far outside the usual experiences of most Americans—not to mention many non-Americans—it is to see theatre.

Both in the US and abroad, theme parks and cruise lines hawk their shows using descriptions that imply their patrons are having an experience that is on par with seeing a Broadway show. If your only experience with "Broadway" is a 45-90 minute theme park show (and that could easily be the case for many people throughout the US and the world), you might not expect or know what an intermission is.

ChgoTheatreGuy said: "The numerous times that I saw "Wicked" on tour, LOTS of people left at intermission. The main reason being the thought that it would be more like "The Wizard of Oz", followed by comments like, "Where's the Lion?", "There's no Scarecrow". I understand that the theatre attracts a certain "type" of people, but honestly, if you read the book, you would know that they are very much characters on the periphery..."

I don't know whether you are referring to the original Baum book or to the recent reimagining, only one of which I have read. Do you REALLY think even 10% of the audience for Wicked has read either book? I can't decide whether your answer is naive or snarky. Either way, it is sort of an elitist response.