Posted: 4/8/26 at 9:24am
I don't think I've clocked this one before, but on both sides of me I had families crunching their way through popcorn. Is this an ATG thing or coming elsewhere too?
Posted: 4/8/26 at 9:30am
Three of the touring venues I frequent have done popcorn for years. The BJCC in Birmingham, the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, and The Fox in Atlanta. Most of the time It doesn't bother me, but during some shows it has pissed me off to the point that I wanted to slam my head in the seat in front of me. It's also a weird prospect for live theatre which I always associate with cheezits and M&M's, but I like the smell of the butter so I won't complain.
Also good for those families for taking their kids to see Dog Day Afternoon, those kids are getting so cultured.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 9:34am
Yup. That's ATG. Popcorn is "their thing" and it pisses me off more than any single thing ever could. I'd rather everyone be on their phone with full brightness the entire time than have to watch a play and have people crunching non stop and rustling the bottom of their popcorn buckets.
F*ck ATG for making this normal.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 9:42am
Jordan Catalano said: "Yup. That's ATG. Popcorn is "their thing" and it pisses me off more than any single thing ever could. I'd rather everyone be on their phone with full brightness the entire time than have to watch a play and have people crunching non stop and rustling the bottom of their popcorn buckets.
F*ck ATG for making this normal."
At least they're not baking full on flatbread pizzas or frying Mac and cheese balls and delivering them mid show like some movie theatres. But with the popcorn it seems we might be getting there sooner rather than later.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 9:45am
And I take it the ushers have to get little brooms and pans to sweep it all up at the end of the night?
Posted: 4/8/26 at 10:06am
ATG probably sells the popcorn in a champagne flute for $35 so that makes it okay. Pinky up you slobs.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 10:08am
Nope, they sell it in buckets with crinkly plastic covers that make noise every time someone puts their hand in it.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 10:17am
blug said: "And I take it the ushers have to get little brooms and pans to sweep it all up at the end of the night?"
There are ushers and there are cleaning crews. Ushers only grab programs, inserts and discarded plastic bottles. Cleaner crew does the most.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 12:42pm
God forbid Americans go two hours without shoveling food into their fat faces. No idea why the obesity rate is around 50%. Pathetic.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 12:52pm
MasterThespian 2 said: "God forbid Americans go two hours without shoveling food into their fat faces. No idea why the obesity rate is around 50%. Pathetic."
Well ATG started this in the UK and brought it to America. So…yeah.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 12:54pm
Jordan Catalano said: "MasterThespian 2 said: "God forbid Americans go two hours without shoveling food into their fat faces. No idea why the obesity rate is around 50%. Pathetic."
Well ATG started this in the UK and brought it to America. So…yeah."
Yeah, this is one of ATG's ways to make more money without consideration on the audience's experience.
Good for them to have a nice looking fiscal report - but i really hate it
Posted: 4/8/26 at 12:55pm
If any UK theatre tradition needs to come to the US, it's ice cream at interval
Posted: 4/8/26 at 1:06pm
Fordham2015 said: "If any UK theatre tradition needs to come to the US, it's ice cream at interval"
No thanks. The woman behind me at The Moustrap was scraping and scraping long after she finished the damn thing.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 1:46pm
Just one more thing to make this play a torturous experience. (But yes, this is an ATG thing, they have popcorn buckets at all of their theaters now. A cheap snack they can sell at a premium).
Posted: 4/8/26 at 1:59pm
MayAudraBlessYou2 said: "Just one more thing to make this play a torturous experience. (But yes, this is an ATG thing, they have popcorn buckets at all of their theaters now. A cheap snack they can sell at a premium)."
Have you seen this recently? Has it gotten any better at all? Have tickets, but on the fence about seeing it. Guess I’m searching for any reason to go.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 4:32pm
I hate popcorn. I find it disgusting. The smell alone makes me nauseous. I stopped attending movie theaters as much because I was tired of dealing with it. I'm already at a point where I have avoided certain shows because I knew they were in an ATG house. I'm not going to spend over $100 to have a subprime experience because of something as ridiculous as snack sales that shouldn't even be on sale in the first place.
They already have the highest ticketing fees in the industry (12% on every ticket.) Somehow, that isn't enough for them. They need to bilk you once you're in the door.
They need to cut out the popcorn sales. It's disgusting. It's classless. It's unacceptable.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 5:52pm
iluvtheatertrash said: "blug said: "And I take it the ushers have to get little brooms and pans to sweep it all up at the end of the night?"
There are ushers and there are cleaning crews. Ushers only grab programs, inserts and discarded plastic bottles. Cleaner crew does the most."
yup it would be the cleaning crew who would take care of that.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 5:53pm
Jordan Catalano said: "MasterThespian 2 said: "God forbid Americans go two hours without shoveling food into their fat faces. No idea why the obesity rate is around 50%. Pathetic."
Well ATG started this in the UK and brought it to America. So…yeah."
I would much rather have them sell ICE CREAM rather than popcorn. Why are they not doing that?
