When should you arrive at a theatre? - Page 2

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 6/5/18 at 9:23pm

Looks like most experienced theater-goers fall in the 15 minute category. If I have an aisle seat, I may make it 5. I may have missed it, but I haven't seen anyone mention that you can't get into the theater before half hour. The crew needs the stage for the check out, and actors/dancers often need it for fight/lift call or warm up. Given that, arriving before 1/2 hour makes no sense at all for me. 

Forming a line is a newish thing (a decade or so). Nobody ever used to do that.

Updated On: 6/5/18 at 09:23 PM

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 6/5/18 at 9:44pm

"For Shubert houses opening 40 mins prior to curtain is now the standard."

Thanks, that is new information to me, and definitely wasn't the case this time last year. I understand why management would want that - more time in the theater is more time to sell merch/drinks/food. It's doable on most days, but I have seen the house held many times at half hour when the crew has to resolve hard-to-fix technical problems discovered during the check out.

[Oak2]

Posted: 6/5/18 at 9:56pm

The only correct answer, if you truly love and respect theatre, is to arrive 500 years before curtain. You must embark on a series of arcane rituals, combined with cutting edge time travel technology, to transport your consciousness into the past long before the theater ever existed, and then imbue them into the exact materials which will eventually be used to to create one of the seats, and then you must remain within the seat, experiencing the full history and every performance of that theater, leading up to the one you actually bought your ticket for (since you should at least buy one ticket, if not that's illegal and the time police will be after you shortly), I do recommend also looking into an X-Ray vision spell at well just so you can actually enjoy all the other performances that you won't be an empty seat for, rather than just staring at people's backs every day. Unless you like that sort of thing, I'm not gonna judge. 

[upinlights]

Posted: 6/5/18 at 11:50pm

I like to arrive about 30 minutes early to have a chance to settle down and I ALWAYS read through the playbill before. I'm usually coming from a restaurant before a show so I just use the bathroom there, but 30 minutes would give you plenty of time to use the bathroom at the theater as well. I just like not having to worry about being late and getting to take in the sights of seeing everyone arrive :)

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/6/18 at 12:49am

There are also those who arrive early because they don't know that seats are assigned and also people who "want to see where their seats are". Some of those people want to see the seats, leave and come back.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 6/6/18 at 1:03am

Just get there when you feel comfortable getting there, have been going to shows now for over 35 years. I’m always early at least an hour. But that’s just me , just don’t be late

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 6/6/18 at 1:18am

I hate waiting in lines so usually 5-10 mins before for me. If I know I have an aisle seat I'll roll in right when the show is supposed to start 7pm,8pm etc because they never start on time anyway.