Tuesday & Friday Matinee

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 10:38am

I'm coming into the city tomorrow morning through late Friday night, wanted to see if there were any shows doing Tuesday or Friday matinees this week. I checked the Broadway.com calendar and didn't see anything for basically all Broadway shows and I think most of the major off-Broadway commercial productions that are listed there, and have been looking around some of then major non-profits as well. Just trying to fill my slate with as much as I can whilst there and wanted to be sure I am not missing anything in my hunt— if anyone knows of anything playing during either of those slots, likely off/off-off bway I presume, would be so grateful if you could share with me!

For reference, I know basically everything has a Wed matinee, going to MJ, and for Thurs matinee am going to do Phantom because I think that's the only show that does Thursday nowadays. I remember back in 2019, Moulin Rouge had a Thursday matinee too though (what happened to that)?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 11:01am

Producers don't have patience to let a new trend develop.  When theater goers think about matinees, they think Weds and weekends.    

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 11:13am

dramamama611 said: "Producers don't have patience to let a new trend develop. When theater goers think about matinees, they think Weds and weekends."

 

Theatre-goers maybe, but not the average tourist. They generally don't know the standard Broadway schedule, and would be happy to see a show whenever it happens to be convenient for their schedule. Every day there are tourists who stumble into Times Square looking for a show, only to sometimes be left out out of luck if they were looking for Monday options, other weekday matinees, etc. 

I think it's wild that producers aren't staggering their schedules more. It seems, at least on paper, like it's a win-win-win for every party involved. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 11:22am

I see your point - but I suspect those people are making purchases ahead of time, too. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 11:25am

dramamama611 said: "I see your point - but I suspect those people are making purchases ahead of time, too."

 

But if those people make purchases ahead of time, then they'll be looking at the ticketing calendar and see the weekday matinees regardless of which day they're on. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 11:31am

It is wild that at least a few shows here don’t do their matinees Tuesday or Thursday. That’s one of the ways I’m able to knock out 11 shows in a week in London. 

Updated On: 3/14/22 at 11:31 AM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 11:32am

I’ve been seeing shows on Broadway since 1972 (when I was 7). Even then it was common knowledge matinees are Wednesday and Saturday. This has been the standard even before 1972. I remember CATS as the first show to have a Monday night performance, so it was the ONLY show playing on Monday nights. Things started changing in the 1990s with Sunday matinees happening and some shows doing Monday night performances, etc.

Producers know what they’re doing and your theory isn’t one they haven’t considered. You’re not reinventing the wheel here. Go have a cookie or some mixed nuts. You’re wasting/spending too much energy with this. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 11:51am

BrodyFosse123 said: "Go have a cookie or some mixed nuts. You’re wasting/spending too much energy with this."

 

Not sure if that's directed at me or not, but unnecessarily condescending regardless. We were just having a respectful discussion about an interesting topic - the urge to be condescending out of nowhere strikes me as a greater waste of energy. 

I wasn't alive in the 60's 70's etc. but wasn't Broadway somewhat more of a mainstream past-time back then? Could that have led to it being more common knowledge than it is now? Broadway is so niche these days, even during its recent resurgence in popularity, comparatively speaking. It makes sense that people wouldn't be paying attention to the nuts and bolts norms. 

I'll grant you that these are all anecdotal observations, but I've collected a lot of anecdotes. And again, the people who DON'T fit into my anecdotal observations are the people who are more likely to be seeking out schedule information regardless. 

The last thing I'd question you on from your post above is - how does the West End fit into your theory about "producers know what they're doing"? Why does the model work in London, but producers have largely rejected it in the US? I'm not even being snarky, I'd be genuinely curious to hear speculation about how the different markets influence producers to make such wildly different scheduling norms. 

 

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 12:12pm

A few shows tried it maybe 10 years ago, and tried to promote it together - Phantom, Matilda, and Mamma Mia, I believe - but only Phantom stuck with it. I just think these shows can't afford to wait for people to catch on to changes like that, especially for long-running shows. I thought Moulin Rouge was smart to open with Thursday matinees, but I guess they changed their minds on that too after the shutdown.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 12:18pm

Moulin Rouge had Thursday matinees up until the pandemic. It allowed me to see an extra show. 

[Mark_E]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 1:27pm

I was at the Phantom matinee Thursday and I'd say the Orchestra was around 70% full, so pretty good. I often see Phantom on the Thursdays of my NYC trips (and did Moulin Rouge a few years back)

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 1:33pm

I have no clue why Moulin Rouge stopped doing Thursday matinees. They always sold extremely well and were so convenient with people trying to squeeze in another show. I understand not doing it last Fall but as more and more tourists come back, I hope they start doing it again. It's not going anywhere and that time slot was wildly popular. 

Updated On: 3/14/22 at 01:33 PM

[Anakela]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 2:29pm

idk if this would be of interest, but the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre has an 11am and a 1pm show this Friday the 18th. 

https://cityparksfoundation.org/swedish-cottage-marionette-theatre/

eta: Also, Little Girl Blue at NWS has a Thursday the 17th matinee, if you wanted to do something besides Phantom:

https://www.telecharge.com/Off-Broadway/Little-Girl-Blue/Overview

Updated On: 3/14/22 at 02:29 PM

[Kitsune]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 2:37pm

Personally, I always appreciate when there are options for a Sunday night show, as it allows me one more slot. But whether or not they're offered seems to depend on the particular show, the time of year, whether it's a holiday weekend etc.

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 3:30pm

Anakela said: "idk if this would be of interest, but the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre has an 11am and a 1pm show this Friday the 18th.

https://cityparksfoundation.org/swedish-cottage-marionette-theatre/

eta: Also, Little Girl Blue at NWS has a Thursday the 17th matinee, if you wanted to do something besides Phantom:

https://www.telecharge.com/Off-Broadway/Little-Girl-Blue/Overview"

Thank you!! Can't say I care enough about the current Marionette Theatre production to go... but I totally wouldn't have even known it exists otherwise. Also didn't see Little Girl Blue so thanks for pointing that one out— alas, I've already bought my TDF Phantom tickets so I'll probably just stick with it. Appreciate it so much!

Updated On: 3/14/22 at 03:30 PM

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 4:54pm

There is usually a week in mid July where Wicked and BOM do a Friday matinee as part of a 9 show week.  I've often attended it as an extra show during my theater binge trips. But alas, Broadway, apart from Phantom, seems fairly committed to Wednesday mats during the week. At least Sunday has some variety in terms of starting times. 

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 5:16pm

Kitsune said: "Personally, I always appreciate when there are options for a Sunday night show, as it allows me one more slot. But whether or not they're offered seems to depend on the particular show, the time of year, whether it's a holiday weekend etc."

This, too. Last time I hit a Sunday evening show was during the 2019 Tony Awards— missed the first half of the ceremony for Frozen, haha. I think they were the only thing playing that evening.

Looking at first glance right now, it seems like most long-running shows are doing Sunday evenings (at least this week: Wicked, Lion King, Aladdin, BOM, Chicago, DEH, SIX, LSOH, Take Me Out, Jersey Boys, Blue Man Group...)

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/15/22 at 8:44am

For ages the Metropolitan Opera only played matinees on Saturdays. This season they have experimented by adding a few Sunday matinees. If successful, it may lead to a few more matinees during the week.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/15/22 at 9:31am

More and more of the Off-Broadway non-profits are doing Sunday evenings. It's becoming fairly common, though still scattered. The Public does it a lot, partly because they like to stagger their schedules with multiple shows running at once.

[inception]

Posted: 3/15/22 at 10:52pm

Checked the July schedules of Wicked & BOM.  Wicked does indeed have Friday matinee this year on July 29.  But, BoM doesn't seem to have any weekday matinees in July as they have 2 shows on both Saturdays & Sundays.

Wicked also has Monday evening performances, along with Chicago & Phantom.

Phantom4ever said: "There is usually a week in mid July where Wicked and BOM do a Friday matinee as part of a 9 show week. I've often attended it as an extra show during my theater binge trips. But alas, Broadway, apart from Phantom, seems fairly committed to Wednesday mats during the week. At least Sunday has some variety in terms of starting times."