Second-acting but paying?
Second-acting but paying?
wammyguide
Swing Joined: 9/5/17
#1Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 2:24pm
In a few weeks I’m going to see a Broadway show, and I was thinking about seeing two. What I was thinking about doing was paying for two shows, leaving the first show after the first act, and then going to the second show for the second act. This might seem random to ask, but does anybody have any ideas or thoughts about this?
asmith0307
Broadway Star Joined: 8/5/14
#2Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 2:27pm
Well, what is the reasoning? Why pay for two shows when you are only going to see half of each?
#3Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 2:30pm
Sorry but I do not see why you would even want to do this. If you're paying for a ticket, don't you want to actually watch the entire thing? That's a waste of money. Plus you're going to miss the entire beginning and set up for the first half of your second show.
Updated On: 9/5/17 at 02:30 PM
#4Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 2:33pm
Well, with this plan, you wouldn't be seeing two shows or one show.
But you're second acting wouldn't really work in any case, since there is no one there scanning tickets at that point. So, at that point, you may just as well not pay.
Also, are you certain your shows line up that perfectly?
UncleCharlie
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/26/16
#5Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 2:40pm
How about you see one show in its entirety, buy me a ticket to see a second show (orchestra only, please) and then I meet you afterwards and tell you all about it. I'll even grab you an extra playbill.
mullein
Understudy Joined: 8/23/16
SharksVsJets
Stand-by Joined: 4/22/17
#7Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 2:48pm
Only works if you choose Come From Away for your second show.
Fosse76
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/21/05
#8Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 3:11pm
haterobics said: "But you're second acting wouldn't really work in any case, since there is no one there scanning tickets at that point. So, at that point, you may just as well not pay."
That's not true. Every Broadway theater has a ticket taker in the lobby throughout the entire show. They are required to let anyone with a valid ticket into the theater at any point during the performance (the exception is most Scott Rudin-produced shows).
But, aside from being wastefull and not fully experiencing a particular show, not all intermissions are concurrent, and it is easy to be late for the second act. I don't see why anyone would want to do this.
#9Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 3:17pm
Fosse76 said: "That's not true. Every Broadway theater has a ticket taker in the lobby throughout the entire show. They are required to let anyone with a valid ticket into the theater at any point during the performance (the exception is most Scott Rudin-produced shows)."
OK, so it is technically possible, and we're just back to it being a very bad idea. 
#10Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 3:25pm
I have seen some good trolls in my BWW lifetime, but this is some A-level buffoonery and I can't believe y'all are engaging this person.
MovieInMyMind2
Swing Joined: 9/2/17
#11Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 3:27pm
Dude, if I ever did this, I think I'd have nightmares about it for weeks - if not months.
It just seems so... wrong.
It's like watching the first half of a movie that you've never seen, stopping it, and then watching the second half of a movie that you've never seen.
Wondering about what I missed would haunt me. For real, I'd have nightmares about it. No joke.
Why not just try to go to a matinee and evening performance and get cheap seats from the TKTS booth or Todaytix.com? That way, you can see two full shows in their entirety.
jbird5
Broadway Star Joined: 12/20/15
#12Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 4:32pm
I wish I'd skipped the first act of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - it was painful. The second act was a hoot though. You might consider that for your second show.
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
#14Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 4:45pm
Another issue is whether both shows intermissions would line up perfectly....
But again, don't do it unless you have some compelling reason to (i.e.: you love one show's first act and wanna see it again, without giving a **** about the second act, and vice versa for the other one.)
raddersons
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/14/13
#15Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 5:03pm
Is everyone here just discovering that second-acting shows is possible? If you really aren't enjoying the show you're seeing, leave at intermission and just skip over to another one. Walk into the theater, mill around, go to the bathroom, wait for the music to start, and hop into a seat you see that's empty. They've started cracking down on it a bit (some shows will stamp your wrist at intermission if you leave the theater) but it's still doable - just look like you belong and no one will suspect. It also helps if you have a ticket (even from a different show), because sometimes they won't let you in without one... but I've never seen an usher really look at the tickets that people are showing.
FYI this not ALLOWED but at the very least it's feasible.
As far as the initial post: Don't be silly. Go see one good show instead of half and half.
#16Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 5:34pm
I agree that it's a pretty crazy idea, but just to play devil's advocate, I actually CAN think of one scenario in which I might consider doing this:
Let's say I was in NY for a very short amount of time, and 2 huge stars were giving career-defining performances on Broadway simultaneously. Neither of them have performed onstage in the past couple decades (I'm 21), and they are about to retire permanently. I might do it just for the opportunity to see both of them perform live one time. Sure, you'd only be seeing half the show, but if the goal is to see them both live, you would be definitively accomplishing that goal (you can't HALF see someone live, unless you have vision problems).
Food for thought!
#17Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 7:40pm
UncleCharlie said: "How about you see one show in its entirety, buy me a ticket to see a second show (orchestra only, please) and then I meet you afterwards and tell you all about it. I'll even grab you an extra playbill."
LOL!
theater_tech
Stand-by Joined: 5/2/17
#18Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 7:49pm
In OP's defense, I did google this when I saw Sunset Boulevard because I was soooo bored. I looked up if I could pay to see the second act of Comet (I've seen it twice already). And since that was my last show of my NY trip, I wanted to squeeze it in if I could. Of course I couldn't.
#19Second-acting but paying?
Posted: 9/5/17 at 9:18pm
raddersons said: "Is everyone here just discovering that second-acting shows is possible?If you really aren't enjoying the show you're seeing, leave at intermission and just skip over to another one.."
obviously they know it's possible, it's just stupid to plan to pay for two different shows on one night.
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