Why Wednesday matinees?

Just curious why do Broadway shows typically only offer Wednesday matinees during the week, instead of any other day. 

Shows on the West End typically offer matinees either Wednesday or Thursday with some shows offering Tuesday or Friday matinees.  

I know shows offer matinees other than Wednesday during the holidays but why not during tourist season in the summer?  

When I  visit during the summer I desperately look for shows that are not on the typical Broadway schedule, but can rarely find them. I would love to find a Thursday or Friday matinee. I am surprised less successful shows don't offer matinees on other days to avoid competition and maybe have a better chance filling the theater.  

Updated On: 3/21/16 at 02:15 AM

Now that I live 2ish hours outside of NYC, our local bus line offers a $25 round trip Shopper's Special on Wednesdays only, presumably so people can go in and see a matinee. So, I think there are a lot of things like that that are pretty established on getting people into the city based on the notion of Wednesday matinees, since the bus home is at 6 or somesuch.

 

So I'm not sure it would increase competitive advantage to  switch days from an already slow Wednesday matinee to a different day, since you would also be moving to a day when less people might be in the city looking for a matinee. Being the only option for less people isn't necessarily better than being a choice amongst many for significantly more people...

some relevant reading... although i too would love a history lesson on WHY wednesdays and when did that actually begin to catch on? 

 

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1009227

 

https://variety.com/2014/legit/news/some-broadway-shows-consider-shift-to-thursday-matinees-1201119422/

 

https://www.broadway.com/buzz/174730/thursday-is-the-new-wednesday-for-broadway-musical-matinees/

Thursdays have long been the more common weekday matinee day on the West End, although some shows do Wednesday or even Tuesday matinees. As others have noted, some shows have tried alternate weekday matinees (Thursday and/or Friday) but it has never really caught on. The audiences at midweek matinees are largely retirees, many of whom are in the habit on going on Wednesdays and do not want that habit disturbed.

When Book of Mormon first opened, they scheduled Friday matinees for the summer months. For reasons that were likely financially based, those matinees were cancelled before the first one even happened. I'm not sure whether those performances were necessarily selling poorly or if they were thinking there was more profit to be made from another performance time. Either way, if a show that successful found that alternative matinee times weren't worth the hassle, it's unlikely that most others would.

Updated On: 3/21/16 at 11:58 AM

I would like it if there were a 50-50 split between wednesdays and thursdays.  I understand why musicals would have a harder time with fridays due to vocal recovery needs, although when A Fish In the Dark (a play with no singing) did it recently, they had what looked like a full house on the friday matinee that i went.  I have now gone back to see phantom twice on a thursday matinee, which i wouldn't have done if they weren't offering a non-traditional option. 

 

What always makes me feel there is a lost opportunity, even more so than traditional full-length shows not using thursday matinees, is 60-minute off-broadway shows using standard time slots rather than intermediate ones like saturday 5pm or sunday 5:30pm.  I would not use a standard saturday 8pm show slot for a 60 minute show, but i have quite a few times found one offered at 5pm on a saturday or sunday and gone to it then (same with 11am saturdays or 12pm sundays). 

Cupid Boy2 said: "When Book of Mormon first opened, they scheduled Friday matinees for the summer months. For reasons that were likely financially based, those matinees were cancelled before the first one even happened. I'm not sure whether those performances were necessarily selling poorly or if they were thinking there was more profit to be made from another performance time. Either way, if a show that successful found that alternative matinee times weren't worth the hassle, it's unlikely that most others would."

 

I seem to remember they actually did have these to take advantage of people who had three-day weekends in the summer. I also remember cast members tweeting about being at Wednesday matinees of other shows since they didn't have them themselves.

I don't think this press release would've gone out if they were selling them that soon.

http://www.playbill.com/article/the-book-of-mormon-adds-friday-matinee-performances-com-194353

 

It started in the 1840s. Wednesday was the day ladies went shopping. Before that, playwrights would hire out a theater during the afternoon to do a staged reading of a new play. They called that a "matinee."

 

As dinner hours changed and women became more able to go about without men, theater-managers decided to use the time to make money for themselves.

 

Updated On: 3/21/16 at 02:52 PM

Thanks! I didn't remember hearing about what happened in 2011, but I was pretty sure I went to a Friday matinee at least once in 2012. (I just can't check right now.)

I also recall that Wednesday newspapers were the largest weekday paper because of all the ads.

Of course, Wednesday is best for the actors to space out the two show days.

Echoing in here to say that I would LOVE to see more off-Broadway shows do some 4PM, 5PM or 5:30PM late afternoon/early evening matinees. Especially the shorter ones. It gives people the opportunity to flex their schedule and maybe squeeze in a second or third show into their day. 

I miss going to Wednesday matinees, nothing like catching a show in the middle of the day in the middle of the week!