Why are matinees less respected?

Why do performers not give the same level of dedication to the afternoon shows that they do for evening ones? How many times have you gone to a show only to discover the featured star was not going on?

People have paid for the tickets, at high prices, but yet it is far more likely that performers will be out "sick" for afternoon shows? I get that eight shows a week is demanding and an extremely rigorous schedule, but why is the matinee the one that bears the brunt?

I primarily attend matinees, and I almost always have the full cast giving it their all.

Not in terms of attendance, but movies have always been cheaper for a matinee, perhaps the average price paid is lower for matinee on broadway? You don't often see the power couples dressed to the 9's at matinees, one could argue there's just less at stake and less pressure. This isn't always the case, maybe it's a placebo effect, nothing is actually different about the show, a matinee just seems different.



I'm editing this to include my experience at band's visit, which requires 100% focus and silence, and people were there with plastic bags like it was just one of their inconvenient errands on their way home

Updated On: 8/6/19 at 08:12 AM

Hmm maybe I'm lucky but I've had perfect attendance at matinees.

Times I avoid seeing B'way shows:

1) The weekend of and right after Tony's. Many singers are burned out and I've noticed that many singers call out the weekend of and after the Tony's.

2) The dead of winter (around January-February). Notice many singers come down with awful colds around that time.

I saw Nathan Lane at a matinee performance of THE FROGS, and swore never to see him at anything other than an evening performance after that. One of the laziest most utterly energy free performances I've ever seen, he was too busy scoping out the empty seats to actually work up any interest in what he was supposed to be doing. He was so bored with the proceedings he actually injured himself during the first act finale, and we got to see his understudy for the second act, who at least seemed to giving 100% which was more than Lane had bothered to do.

Likewise Lily Tomlin, all those years ago at a Wednesday matinee of SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE. I'd seen it earlier in the run, and been enthralled, and eagerly went to see it at a matinee, and was appalled at her barely present performance. Phoned in doesn't begin to describe it.

On the other hand, I saw the original production of MILLENNIUM APPROACHES at a Wednesday matinee, and saw Ron Liebman give one of the greatest most energized performances I've ever seen. Likewise that Saturday matinee of SWEENEY TODD when Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury gave their all. Clearly, it varies.

Armie3 said: "If there's a show I really want to see and it's my first time, I would for sure prefer an evening performance."

What's preventing you from doing that?

Armie3 said: "Nothing.

Why do you ask?"

Just seems like an easy problem to fix. Of course, over time, you will also learn that performers call out of evening shows randomly, as well.

Lot666 said: "I've been to many matinees, and while I can't say that I've experienced much disappointment from the performers, the audiences are sometimes quite another story entirely."



Which raises some other interesting ways of looking at the issue:

1. That the audience’s energy has the potential to feed the performance. So a low-energy audience might lead to a lower-energy performance. Usually not, but it does happen.

2. Being surrounded by lower-energy audience members (or rude/distracting audiences), can make someone like the OP feel as though the show they’re watching isn’t as enjoyable.

or

3. If someone goes into a performance with lower energy, they may project that feeling onto the show, and think that the actors are not delivering.

Armie3 said: "Well, what prompted this thread is Kinky Boots coming on my earphones and then remembering how disappointed I was to miss Billy Porter on a Sunday matinee, followed by Popular then remembering how disappointed I was to miss Kristin Chenoweth at a Wednesday matinee. Also I watched a documentary on Gwen Verdon where is said that she would often cut one of the tougher numbers for matinees - after one patron complained she posted them the 43 cents, saying "this is what you missed"...or so the story goes.

Anyway, my comments are not really meant to focus on performers, but more the general attitude...myself included. If there's a show I really want to see and it's my first time, I would for sure prefer an evening performance."

Its an incredibly physically taxing job.

Comparing it to something like baseball, it isn't uncommon for players to get the day game after a night game off, or not play both games of a doubleheader, or to get Sunday off in a week without an off day.

Like athletes, actors are not always at their peak, but it doesn't necesarily mean they are mailing it in. You really have no way of knowing if they were also off for the evening performence of that particular day.Thats true of anything with a human element to it and what raises the intrigue of any type of live performance, you get to experience the highs, lows and everything in between. You can watch a movie for a performance where there have been enough takes to get it right, but watching a movie of Jersey Boys, or The Producers isn't the same as seeing something live despite the risks.

I've also seen plenty of shows where the understudy has performed and I couldn't have imagined the lead performing any better. Saw Hamilton last week with Ryan Vasquez performing Aaron Burr and thought he stole the show.

Nothing wrong with getting upset when you see a dog performance. I don't like going to a sporting event and watching my team lose either, but thats the nature of anything performed live..

Wick3 said: "For Dear Evan Hansen, a few monthsafter the Tony Awards they made it official thatBen Platt won't perform at Wed/Sat matinees (his alternate Michael Lee Brown would perform.)"

They still have that same schedule with Andrew Barth Feldman. One of the things I do like about Sunday matinees in particular is you have the chance to see some cool experiences. As most Broadway shows close on Sundays, and many cast members leave on Sundays, you always have the chance of seeing the "last performance" of someone or something, which can create a whole different energy. (Example: When Michael Park cries during his last performance of To Break In a Glove, I cry during To Break In a Glove.)

I haven't noticed actors phoning it in when I've seen matinees (admittedly, I think the last one I saw was Dear Evan Hansen about a year ago), but I do notice the audience can be a mixed bag. You get an awful lot of groups- students, etc. who don't know how to behave in the theater. But that's really all I got in terms of matinees and what I've noticed about them.