Seeing shows alone?- Page 4

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 1:47pm

it's also easier to get better seats when you're alone. try looking for one ticket to Wicked even if they say the show is "sold out." i've found at least one good ticket on numerous occasions.

[Kato2]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 2:06pm

If I had friends around who wanted to/could afford to go see expensive shows, I'd certainly rather go with someone so I could discuss it with them, but I don't mind going alone. If you really want to see something, why should that stop you?

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 2:28pm

I go to see shows alone frequently because i know no one that shares the same enthusiasm as i do for theatre. To pass the time at intermission, I'll walk down to the orchestra pit (if im sitting in the balcony), or read the articles in the playbill.

[Tirso de Molina]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 2:35pm

I frequently go by myself; I don't think I should give up the pleasure of a show just because I can't find someone who's free the same evening, wants to spend the money for the ticket, etc. Nor do I feel the least bit awkward being there alone, reading the playbill, etc. Actually, lots of times I end up sitting next to another solo spectator who's purchased the "other half" of the pair of seats where I end up, so I often can talk with him/her.

Also, as noted by other posters, you can get much better seats at much shorter notice if you only want a single! It's very rare that I get a bad or even a mediocre seat when I go alone. In fact, my seats are usually worse when I go with a friend and we need to buy a pair!

Updated On: 6/15/05 at 02:35 PM

[keggss23]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 3:19pm

I go to the theater by myslef all the time. Not too many of my friends are as into theater as I am. My friends enjoy going to the theater, but I am so hyper-critical of everything so rather than rain on their parade, I go by myslef.

[BroomstickBoy]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 3:33pm

I like to do things alone, so it wouldn't bother me seeing a show by myself. All my friends think I try for attention when sitting by myself, like I'm on some sort of pity quest. But I'm one to fly solo.

[OtherDaryl]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 4:01pm

This sounds way more pathetic than it is, but every show I've seen in NYC in the past twenty years I've been unescorted. However, I've never been alone - there is a magic in sitting in a darkened theatre with hundreds of strangers worshipping the great God Dionysus.

[Enjolras77]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 4:31pm

Millie...don't feel too bad....I went for years and years trying to find someone who would actually go out with a straight man who is obsessed with Broadway! Most dates ended after they saw my huge cast album collection! LOL. So I do consider myself lucky to FINALLY have found someone. Even better..she's a pianist and I'm a singer--so I always have an accompanist! :)

[One Song Glory]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 4:33pm

I don't really like going to shows alone. It makes me feel uncomfotable.

[kgee30]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 4:36pm

If you want to go, go -- no one but you is going to give you permission or approval, no one but you is going to care, and no one but you is going to regret it if you don't.

If you're really avoiding experiences just because you're afraid of going alone, I think it's time to grow up and expand your thinking a bit. Seriously, where does this stigma come from that you're some kind of social freak if you dare to step out alone into the public sphere? My God. There are so many things in the world that are worse than being alone.

[Starburst]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 4:37pm

Agreed with whoever said it a few pages back; If I didn't go to shows alone, I wouldn't see them at all. While I'm not in NYC, most of the big tours stop here in Seattle and I usually go on my own. I have a few friends who like theatre and sometimes come with me, but none of them are willing to pay for the big mainstage shows. I'm certainly not going to pay for two when I'm barely squeezing out enough money for one. Along with the same points of I get a better seat, easier to coordinate, see the shows I really want to see, but then again, there's no one who has the slightest idea who or what you're talking about afterward.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 8:20pm

Thanks for all the feedback. I actually found someone to accompany me to Ragtime (ahem). However, I do plan on seeing My Sweetheart's the Man in the Moon, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and possibly Thrill Me alone unless someone suddenly expresses interest in those shows.

Anyway, kgee30's post was particularly amusing. I don't think there's any correlation between "growing up" and willingness to sit through expensive theater alone. I'm sure you could easily find a middle-aged person or senior citizen who would prefer company.

My Sweetheart's the Man in the Moon is a show that I might want to see alone because I'm much more interested in the playwright's new take on an event that's very familiar to me than in seeing the show for social purposes. On the other hand, I already know Ragtime's lyrics word for word and have read plenty about Arima's staging of it. Part of the ticket price (for me at least) is the experience of sharing it with someone who hasn't seen a production of Ragtime or is less familiar with it than me.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 8:26pm

Most of the time I see a show alone...have nobody to go with me, but I don't mind going alone.

[Feathah]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 8:27pm

Went to see Brooklyn today by myself. Good thing I did. This way I didn't torture anyone else while I tortured myself. Hardy har har.

Seriously, I love seeing shows alone. Just transports me to a totally different place and I can just be by myself in the experience.

[adamnyc]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 8:46pm

Going alone is the best- you get better tickets. I never had a problem getting single orchestra seats and you don't have to be stuck with people who might not like the show.

[decotodd]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 8:47pm

I often go to shows alone, esp. if I'm in town on business in NYC or San Francisco. (I live in LA). Like many of the posters, my friends don't always have the same interests in seeing some of the shows and it can be a hassle to coordinate schedules. Plus, you can usually get a really good single seat in the orchestra. I find it fascinating to people watch at intermission or if the theater has a gift shop (most opera houses do) to check out their wares.

[MusicalDirector109]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 8:58pm

I always go alone. The theatre is so special to me that I want to enjoy it without distraction. I also love to meet people in the lobby or at intermission.

[Mamie]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 8:59pm

Like another poster said, I think I actually prefer going alone because I don't have to worry about what my friend thinks or be concerned about talking with them during intermission, etc. I love walking around the theatre, both the stage area as well as the auditorium, particularly in the New York area. Most of the theatres there are very old and have so much architectural detail to study that they can be a show all by themselves!

Having said that however, there are many, MANY, times I wish I could meet up with another theatre fan after the show for a drink and post-show chat. Seeing the same show is absolutely NOT a requirement. I only have one acquaintance in NY and the last time we met she said "I don't want to waste my money or time on that off-Broadway stuff. If I'm coming all the way into the city (she lives in Brooklyn) then I'm going to the REAL theatre - on Broadway." She came up with a few suggestions of shows she wanted to see (Brooklyn, Mamma Mia) and I came up with an excuse for why I couldn't come to NY. I'm not coming from Brooklyn - I'm coming from Washington, DC and to me most REAL theatre is found off-Broadway. So I repeat - if I don't go by myself, to the shows I want to see, I don't go at all!

Updated On: 6/15/05 at 08:59 PM

[Beergoggles]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 9:00pm

i got front row dead centre for about $50 when i saw Gypsy alone!

[XOsweet_dancerOX]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 9:07pm

there is good in either way. If you go alone you don't have anyoone talking to you while you are watching. There are times you do want to have company but it just depends on you. I feel comfortable in both positions.

[Broadway Style]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 9:08pm

" You can only pretend to be engrossed in the Playbill for so many of the intermission's minutes before you get bored. "

To all the people who said this-just go to the bathroom! The lines there will last you the whole intermission...I always have to go, I am so bad at retaining water. That, and sometimes you end up meeting the craziest people in line for the bathroom-like last weekend I saw the national tour of a show and started talking to a lady who's boyfriend was in the cast, so after the show my date and I ended up hanging out with some of the cast for a little while. It was cool.

[Madame X]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 9:13pm

I walk around the theatre to check out the views from different locations. For example, I now know I would not sit in the last row of the mezz at the Shubert even though I've never sat there. Also, remember to look up. The ceilings (and walls for that matter) of the theatres are pretty amazing.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 9:26pm

Eight times out of ten, I go to the theatre with my wife. But, when there is a show that she really does not want to see ("Glengarry Glen Ross" and "After the Night and the Music" being recent examples) or if she is not feeling well, I will go alone, rather than going to the trouble of finding a friend to take the spare ticket at the last minute. I have no problem going alone. I go to the theatre to see a show, not to socialize.

[magic8ball]

Posted: 6/15/05 at 11:04pm

I concur with everyone who said that they must go to the theatre alone due to the number of shows that they see. And ditto about meeting new people at the theatre.

[eslgr8]

Posted: 6/19/05 at 3:30am

Margo gave almost word for word what would have been my answer!!! (Somehow that doesn't suprise me.) Except that I've been seeing 4-5 shows a week lately. a) Shows cost more than my friends can/will pay. b) I can get a closer-up seat when I get a single. c) I'm impulsive. I see a show at Gold Star Events for 1/2 price and want to snap it up right away. d) Seeing a show is a very intimate experience for me--between me and the actors on stage. I don't need someone to share it with, though I do enjoy the company when I go with a friend. e) I see so many shows that I often see someone I know to talk to before/at intermission/or after the performance. Margo, do any of these apply to you too?