Shows Starting On Time

[ggersten]

Posted: 4/2/14 at 7:30am

We had several tickets to Matilda last night - and we were cutting it close with out of town company who weren't exactly listening to us tell them about how long travel would take. And then we got a slight hold on our tube travel. We got to the theatre at 7:03 and they'd started the 7:00 performance. This would never happen on Broadway!

[WestEndmasterclass]

Posted: 4/2/14 at 8:24am

Shows generally start right on time in the West End with exception with any problems that the show might be having.

Also working in shows with Americans/Canadians in the past when discussing cast call times. In the Uk Act 1 Beginners is 5 minutes before the show starts so all of the call times are in fact 5 mins early (e.g for a 7.30pm start. 30 mins call - 6.55pm, 20 mins call - 7.05, 10 mins call - 7.15, 5 mins call - 7.20, beginners call - 7.25)
I think on Broadway beginners call is at the same time as the performance starts? I may be wrong but it might be a contributing factor to why West End shows start on time.

[vassey]

Posted: 4/2/14 at 8:32am

I think the clue is in the time printed on the ticket - "7.00".

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 4/2/14 at 4:02pm

The show won't start until the front of house manager gives the ok to the stage manager. When I saw King Lear the other day, we had an interval that lasted an hour, as someone was taken ill.

WestEndmasterclass, welcome on here and don't want to harangue you already, as you have just started treading the boards on here, but the example you give with a curtain call is confusing.

Posted: 4/3/14 at 6:48pm

WestEndmasterclass thats very interesting. So essentially the calls are given five minutes earlier than the call they represent.

Always find most West End performance do start on time, regional tours such as shows coming to the Edinburgh Playhouse always seem to start around 5 mins late without fail.

[FireFingers]

Posted: 4/3/14 at 9:48pm

Yeah, calls have to go out early or the show would never start on time. Real pain getting the band out the pub even with 5 minutes spare.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/4/14 at 9:35pm

In NYC, if a show starts 10 minutes after the starting time we consider it on time. You could start it 1/2 hour later and people would still come late.

[JustJakUK]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 3:44am

Most productions in the UK that use musicians in the orchestra pit will start on time regardless if you're in your seat or not unless there is a technical problem. The main reason for this is the Musicians Union is so strong that if a show over runs 1 minute past it's scheduled finish time all the musicians have to be paid one hour overtime which will cost the producer thousands of pounds.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 1:18pm

God almighty. I thought NY unions were bad. This is nasty stuff. When their contract expires, management should seriously consider letting a strike happen to get ruinous work like this monstrosity changed.

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 2:45pm

Is it true that on Broadway every production has to have an orchestra, even the plays?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 4:41pm

I think they amended that. I know they used to have "walkers". That was when every Broadway house had to have a set # of musicians whether or not the score called for it. If one theater # was 25 but the score called for 17, 8 sat downstairs in the theater and played cards or slept. Another little gem was they had to pay a musician to sit and do nothing if a straight play had pre recorded music. I think they have resolved this in favor of the people who pay the bills - the audience.

I know they still have antiquated rules that if a show is moving from one theater to one across the street, one union has to move the sets to the curb on one side of the street and another group of workers has to move it from there on in. You wonder why theater prices are stratospheric and go up by large amount each year?

One wonders when the public will say enough is enough and simply stop going. NYC theater is quickly pricing itself out of the reach of ordinary theatergoers.

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 5:39pm

You are a good sport for coming forward with those little gens of info. But don't agree with you that sky high prices are down to trade unions, London isn't that far behind Broadway now on prices.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 6:42pm

Unions are a big part of the problem .Than come the stars with their astronomical salaries. The only sure loser is the theater going public

Concessions are a joke. A bottle of water you can get anywhere outside the theater for $ 1 is $5 inside the theater. We bring our own plus a bottle of soda and a little bottle of booze to mix with the soda.

The instance you described is ridiculous and is nothing more than union featherbedding pure and simple.

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 8:22pm

But unions or the artists don't dictate the price of water inside the theatre, as you said you are free to take water in with you and every theatre on Broadway has a water fountain. The Equity minimum pay cheque isn't that much, considering especially if you have to live in New York and you still have all those deductions from your pay cheque and all those times you are out of work.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 8:55pm

I am retired and on Social Security so there is no paycheck. The costs necessary to pay the trade unions and the antiquated work rules add to the ticket price. The average dancer or bit player dies not add to much to it.Bottom line is unless prices get under control it will simply prove to expensive for the average theatergoer to keep on attending.

Updated On: 4/7/14 at 08:55 PM

[FireFingers]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 10:06pm

JustJak: No producer would build no over run time into a contract. Though some don't have much over run time, and if you do go into it, it is a full hour. I worked on a very long running West End musical, and because I was new at the job, I didn't fix something in the interval as quickly as I should have. The show had a 2hr 45min run time. I delayed the 2nd act 8 minutes. If I had delayed it another 7, the 8ish person orchestra would have gone into overtime, and cost the production company 2 grand.

If you think unions are bad over here, Broadway would make you have a fit. If a British sound designer goes over to design a show on Broadway (and aren't part of the US unions), they aren't legally allowed to touch anything. Not speakers, not mics, not the sound desk. This would apparently be taking a job away from a union member. I have been told, that if one person needs to fix something in a show on Broadway, the entire company has to be paid for that time, otherwise it would be "unfair". And so working hours are religiously stuck to, no pulling all nighters during tech. It is why new shows open in the West End, but you usually have out of town try outs in the US.

[Gavroche3]

Posted: 4/7/14 at 3:11am

What's the problem? If you arrived too late it's a problem of your time management and not a problem of all the others in the theatre who arrived on time. It's pretty annoying if you sit in the theatre and during the first half hour of the show people who are too late disrupt the performance.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/7/14 at 4:33pm

I think a lot of this is intentional. They pay big bucks and still come in late. Gee whiz they must be really rich and important to do that right?

If I have to get up during a performance to let a late comer into their seat, I make a snotty remark about them coming on time. If they are offended too bad.

I was at a show once where the lead actor stopped a show and said " Oh you finally joined us" . If this happened more often, maybe these chronic late comers might be shamed to making it on time as it is not really that hard. Then again they probably won't be.

[ggersten]

Posted: 4/7/14 at 4:42pm

We did not intend to be late. As I indicated, we had out of town company who were not listening to us about the time to travel. I was pushing pushing pushing them to go. And, even then, there was a short delay on the Tube which took up precious minutes.
And I was not complaining about the show starting on time - I simply hadn't noticed before that shows here actually start on time - because in the States, that doesn't happen too often. I held out a faint hope that would happen that evening - but it did not.
It was an observation - not a complaint. And it is a word to people who read this Board to learn from others' experiences and to not be late under any circumstances!

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/7/14 at 5:05pm

Not referring to you but when you have a horde of people coming in 15/20/25 minutes late, you just get tired of it. Every time you go to the theater it happens. I understand sometimes it cannot be helped but others do it like they get up in the morning. The same people text or talk on their cell phone throughout the performance.

Shows in the states never start on time - Normally they start 10 minutes after the alledged starting time.

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 4/7/14 at 7:15pm

Broadway theatre is heavily unionised and rightly so, look at the great stage hand dispute over 6 years ago which had producers eating humble pie.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/7/14 at 7:23pm

We will agree to disagree on this point.

[The Glenbuck Laird]

Posted: 4/9/14 at 3:59am

No I'm not agreeing, you are talking out of your arse. Unless you apologise and say you were talking crap this one goes on

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/9/14 at 11:20am

Your opinion my good man.

Say what you want .It is a free country. Attending shows on Broadway for over 50 years plus knowing a lot 're the backstage aspect of it to me says I know what I am talking about. If you want to disagree, knock yourself out.

Needless to say no apology will be forthcoming .

Let m guess. You belong to a union.If so that says it all

By the way, my arse says Hello.

Updated On: 4/9/14 at 11:20 AM

[The Glenbuck Laird]

Posted: 4/14/14 at 3:24pm

Sorry Mr Roxy, thought you were talking about UK side of the pond. No knowledge of Broadway but unions aren't that strong here. Does surprise me though the most capitalist nation on earth has such strong unions.

Not a union member but I do know who the worlds first socialist was - Jesus Christ. He had an agenda against rich people eh.