People Leaving at Intermission — Page 4

SweetLips said: "It's like going to a classical concert or the opera and clapping when you shouldn't [what's the rule on that one?]. You don't clap between movements and when in opera?

I was once at a piano recital and some people clapped during a dramatic pause and the pianist turned to the audience and yelled 'shut up' ! When he finished--no one DARED to clap in case there was more--it really was funny as I had taken a friend who had never attended a recital, and probably never will again.

The pianist was Jorge Bolet."

That's hilarious!

My brother-in-law is a concert pianist and if my sister hadn't told me that people don't applaud between movements, I would be the one applauding too and then getting told off. Having said that, I've always known about intermissions and have to double check when I see that there's not one (like at The Band's Visit). When you buy tickets, it says somewhere at some point that the show is X number of hours/minutes with X length of intermission.

This happened to me tonight! I was chatting with the girl next to me (student from Argentina, in town for the week, first show ever) before the show. At intermission she says “it was so nice to meet you, have a great night!” And I yelled over “WAIT! WHERE YOU GOING!? It’s not over!!!” Lol. I feel kind of silly but I had to stop her! So glad she said something. Whew. And she loved it so, yay. Day saved.

Updated On: 4/5/18 at 10:00 PM

When I saw Prince of Broadway in September the lady sitting next to me fell asleep during the first act and then left at intermission.

My best "leaving at intermission" story...my friend Lee and I were given tickets for a preview of the legendarily bad Broadway show MOOSE MURDERS. The late great Eve Arden had already dropped out of the show (wise woman!) and her part was being played by someone then new to the scene, Holland Taylor (!)...My friend Lee was a deeply-committed, serious actress...I love the theater, and loved my craft, but I also love a good train wreck! MOOSE MURDERS did not disappoint in that regard...it's reputation as the worst show ever presented on the Great White Way is well-deserved. As the first act curtain fell and lights came up for intermission, my friend Lee stood up and shouted loudly and with great passion, "THIS IS AN OUTRAGE TO THE THEATER!" She turned to me and said, "I just can't submit myself to this any more. I'll meet you in the bar next door after the show". And so I met her after, but I just HAD to stay and see how much worse the show could get in the second act...the answer was, PLENTY WORSE!! Lots of drinks after with Lee made it a night to remember..... :)

Ever since posting about the woman exclaiming the actors were real when the curtain went up, I've been trying to remember what show that was. Today it hit me -- it was Newsies. I was in a Premier seat, by the way, so it begs the question -- how much would you pay for a seat to the movie Newsies?

This reminds me of Norm MacDonald telling Letterman of how he begrudgingly took his mother to see Cats way back when, and how upset he was when he found out it was only "half-time," and he had to sit through even more of it...

Into the Woods Act 1 is wonderful. I saw the show in previews on Broadway in the late 80s (summer/fall of 87 or 8 and I wish we left at intermission. Act 2 was horrible. (It was previews)

Updated On: 4/7/18 at 08:21 PM

I’ve been to a lot of Broadway shows, and yet I actually almost left early by accident once. - It was Jerry Springer the Opera and I was genuinely so surprised/confused by the whole thing AND the story felt like it had ended. (To our credit, the second act is like a totally different story than the first.)



But when I looked around and saw that everyone had left their coats, we figured it out.

We left the revival of Cherry Orchard at roundabout, and then came back to go to the hiptix party after for the free food and wine... No regrets. We just did not enjoy the first act at all.

I'm finding this thread both entertaining and a bit sad. I guess I take for granted how accessible theater is in Denver where I live. It's not NYC obviously, but we have all the big Broadway tours and tons of local and regional stuff going on all the time. I guess if you're a tourist in NYC from a small town with none of that, it really just might be something you've never experienced. But also, read the Playbill!? As for intentionally leaving at intermission, I've never seen anything bad enough to justify it for me.

Dunebuddy, I love your announcement haha! Those fricking snack wrappers! Why do theaters sell wrapped snacks at all?! The worst.

And if someone doesn't know how intermissions work because they have never seen a play before, we should be happy that they chose to spend their time and money taking a risk, not ridiculing them for not knowing our traditions."

You do know, that countries all over the world have some sort of theater within their own cultures. It may not be as grand in scale, as the United States, but there is an opportunity around the world to see either a play or a musical, within their own cities. Having seen theater in other countries (not just the UK) an intermission is pretty standard. I certainly wouldn't call it merely an American tradition.

Updated On: 4/8/18 at 10:31 PM

Someone mentioned here how rude it is to leave during the curtain call. Dame Edna had a solution for that.

As she is taking her bows inevitably a few Type A personalities are rushing up the aisle to beat the crowd. Suddenly the music stops, the house lights go out and a spotlight is focussed on one of them scurrying up the aisle, who suddenly freezes.

"Oh, too bad you are leaving," Dame Edna would sigh. "You were going to win the car."

I'd like to think the person caught in that spotlight NEVER tried to leave early again. Leave it to Dame Edna to turn rude theater behavior into comedy.