Late Seating? Should it be allowed?

[Bwayfan292]

I was inspired by the food thread, and couldnt find another thread about this.

Do you guys think late seating should be allowed?

Personaly, I would have to say no. Its super distracting when someone shows up late and then takes 5 minutes to get situated. If you are late, they should keep you till intermisson and then let you go into the theatre.

Yes, I know stuff happens and sometimes we are late, but why should we put other peoples experince at risk when we couldnt get it together.

(Sorry for spelling errors, im on mobile, which mobile is hard to use on this website lol)

[BroadwayNoob]

I'm also gonna have to say no. I hate when a song ends and there's an extreme amount of shuffling going on around  you because that one person got to the show late. It's super distracting. Stuff really shouldn't be getting in the way, and if for whatever reason your train/bus/whatever was late, maybe you should have taken an earlier one just to be safe?

[annang]

No. I’ve been late a total of about 3 times over hundreds of performances I attended, and each of those times, I would have felt the theater was justified if they put me in standing room or left me in the lobby until intermission. I like that some theaters have a monitor in the lobby so you can watch from there if you need to step out or are late and then can’t be seated. I think more theaters should do that. 

[dmwnc1959]

If you miss the opening of Act 1, wait until Intermission to be seated. If it’s a one act show, sorry about your luck. I don’t care what the circumstances are why they’re late.

[AADA81]

I was a few minutes late to a performance of Bring in Da Noise/Funk years ago due to a serious traffic accident (not mine).  All late-comers had to wait about 15 minutes for what the theatre staff considered an acceptable moment to be seated and we were asked to be as quiet and non-disruptive as possible.  I thought that was reasonable.  Unless seating after curtain would destroy the show for other people, I think identifying an acceptable moment to do it is fair.  Sometimes, things happen that are out of ones control.

[dramamama611]

For Pete's sake, it takes no time at all to re-acclimate after someone has been seated late. Is it ideal? Of course not, but life is full of asjustments.

[Danielle49]

I find it so frustrating that ticket sites - and often the tickets themselves - display a “no late seating” warning but never adhere to their own printed policy. Latecomers are disruptive not just to the audience members, but the performers as well. It’s unfortunate that many musicals write in a throwaway Act 2 opener because they know people are going to be late/taking forever to get situated.

[SomethingPeculiar]

Scott Rudin has enforced NO LATE SEATING for his shows (which I think stems from Mike Nichols?)

Open seats at the back or standing room is a good compromise, if those options exist. If the ushers do have to seat people after the show has begun, wait til an appropriate interval 10-15 minutes in (if that exists), but make sure the patron knows exactly where to go. A late seating free-for-all is bad.

Also...  Some audiences have been trained to arrive 5 minutes late, thinking they can get to their seat with 2 minutes to spare at MOST Broadway shows. And then they're mad when they go a 2h55m show and the evening performance already started at 8:01.

[Br0adway]

In general no but I do agree that if you can do standing room until the second act then yes go to your seat. But in general, no don’t be late and especially if you’re seats are in orch. With all that movement you distract the actors on stage. I saw one show recently where the actor on stage was watching what was happening in the orch instead of looking at their scene partner.

[dmwnc1959]

SomethingPeculiar said: "Also... Some audiences have been trained to arrive 5 minutes late, thinkingthey can get to their seat with 2 minutes to spare at MOST Broadway shows. And then they're mad when they go a 2h55m show and the evening performance already started at 8:01."

 

^ ^ ^ Maybe we can blame movie theaters for this, who advertise a 2pm movie when the actual start time is much later after 20 minutes of previews. People are still walking in during the previews knowing the movie doesn’t start at 2pm. 

 

[dramamama611]

Except I haven't been to a b'way show that started on time in YEARS.   (And I go a lot.)  5-10 minutes late is the norm.  

[dmwnc1959]

dramamama611 said: "Except I haven't been to a b'way show that started on time in YEARS. (And I go a lot.) 5-10 minutes late is the norm."

 

All the more reason no one should be late. All the more to NOT allow late seating. 

[yesraccoons]

People will be distracted for a minute at most. That’s not very long and things happen. Let the late person see the show and not have wasted their time and money because of an accident simply because you can’t be sucked out of the experience for a moment when the lights are out. It’s not a big ask.

[haterobics]

The Public does this well, right when the show is about to start, they move people from the rear aisles into closer seats, and then put the latecomers back near the doors where they won't disturb anyone coming in.

[Clyde15]

No it’s so frustrating for the audience and incredibly rude to the actors for late seating to occur. I was at a Cirque du Soleil show last night (I know not Broadway theatre but still live entertainment) and at least 100+ people were seated during the late seating. It was so rude and disruptive to the audience.

[SomethingPeculiar]

dmwnc1959 said: "^ ^ ^ Maybe we can blame movie theaters for this, who advertise a 2pm movie when the actual start time is much later after 20 minutes of previews. People are still walking in during the previews knowing the movie doesn’t start at 2pm."

YES, I agree, movie theaters are partially to blame! (And some people really pride themselves in their ability walk into a movie theater late and still not miss any of the film. Those same people like to guess how long the opening act of a concert will last.)

[RippedMan]

The Public idea is great, but not when dealing with a 1500 seat house. 

I'm not sure how to deal with the problem, but that's mainly why I avoid the 7pm curtains on a Tuesday. There's always a throng of people who think the show starts at 8. I mean, it's fine. I don't know their circumstances, and I've def. been that person who showed up late, but the only time that has happened, on a Tuesday no less, I waiting in the lobby with a headset and saw Act 2. 

[dramamama611]

Movie are to blame because: PREVIEWS?? Do you think folks seeing a bway show expect there to be previews? (Wouldn't that be fun to have actors run from theater to theater to do so?? Bwahaha.)

People are late for all sorts of reasons, which are none of my business. Pretty sure I can be gracious enough to allow them seating. (Even if I roll my eyes as it's happening.)

That being said, I've been late exactly once -when my bus arrived two hours late. I was 10 minutes a late to an off bway show.

[OnBroadway4]

There is no simple or easy solution to this problem, IMO. The theatregoers around the latecomer have paid for a unique experience and were on time, therefore should they be taken from this experience (which depending on their circumstances- may have cost them a lot of money and planning time) or should the theatregoers also be compassionate to the fact that the latecomer may have had some unforeseen circumstances and paid like everyone else to enjoy the experience. Now, I will say that I have some friends who are just late to everything. That is just how they roll. On time to them is at least 10 minutes late, which can be very frustrating. This is completely rude and unfair to others who make it a point to be on time or even early. 

The truth is, I believe that if you are going to an experience like Broadway you should always plan to be early. Not only is it live, it is an investment. You are going to an event which costs way more than a 15 dollar movie ticket, with live actors that work extremely hard to put on a great performance. This alone should be your reason for being on time. 

While I feel compassion for theatregoers who are late because of severe circumstances out of their control, I personally know MANY people who could very easily be on time or early but just choose not to. They always think they have enough time to leave a little later or oh it's fine we got time - meanwhile it's not like they're doing anything of importance or relevance that would keep them from getting ready right now.

I think if standing room or rear seating is available during Act 1, then maybe they could be seated and moved during intermission. However, if you paid for a premium seat to then be seated in an obstructed view during Act 1 it may seem unfair - but I guess that would be the consequence of being late.

To tie in the food and the late seating issues at theatres. I believe a large part of it is the cheaper tickets to Broadway. As Broadway has become more affordable through certain avenues, it has opened itself up to an audience that would otherwise very seldom be able to afford Broadway. Therefore, the expectations or etiquette of live theatre is unbeknownst to them so many may assume it is just like attending a movie. I come from a place where Broadway was very expensive, so I'm not trying to shame anyone but I do feel that some people just don't know and therefore they have behaviors that are usually frowned upon in such venues. Also, if theatres don't enforce their policies then others assume that it is ok.

[James Kerrigan2]

The people should be given a refund if they are late and asked to go home or open seats in the back or standing room for them. 

Late Seating brings your mind out of the show and instead brings it back to the real world.

[dramamama611]

Why should the production lose money because someone is late?  Ridiculous.  

 

 

[CATSNYrevival]

I hate late seating. If it all worked the way it’s supposed to and could be done at the end of a song during an applause break it wouldn’t be so bad. It never seems to work out that way. Sometimes an usher will bring in a latecomer only to find someone has moved into their seat once the show began (always in the middle of a row) so the usher goes down the row to remove the offender, seat the latecomer, and return the other person to their correct seat. That’s even more time consuming and distracting than just seating latecomers.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

I would usually say no. When I was younger, I would have said a hard "no". However, now that I'm older and even though I've never been late to a show AND make sure everybody I bring is there EARLY, I understand some times it cannot be helped, and so I think people should not be unduly punished if they are late early on in a show. I'm now more on the side to accommodate people. I think there's a compromise between "hard no" and allowing people to be disruptive and to come in and get to their seats whenever and take forever to get situated. I never really had a problem of people coming in late and disrupting me, however. Usually, if someone is disruptive, it's not because they're late.

[Mister Matt]

Of course it should be allowed.  Life happens.  I've attended more than one show where the BOX OFFICE was to blame (and predictably, refused to compensate anyone or even acknowledge their responsibility).  And with management holding off opening the theatre doors later and later (and in some cases, opening the house even later) with a line wrapped around the block, security checks, etc., it's making late seating more and more necessary.  

People will be distracted for a minute at most.

And that would be exceedingly rare.  Generally, people are distracted for a few seconds.  If they can't handle that, they should probably avoid anything that involves other live people in any way.  Just stick to your TV at home and pray no insensitive cretin dares to call you or knock on your door.  If they do, force them to pay your cable bill!  GAWD.

I saw one show recently where the actor on stage was watching what was happening in the orch instead of looking at their scene partner.

LOL...That's the ACTOR'S fault for being unprofessional.  I hope it was an amateur production that doesn't pay their actors much, if at all.

[UncleCharlie]

While there are always some inconsiderate people, most are conscientious and give their best effort to not be late. But once in a great while the unexpected happens and it can't be avoided. They're usually held until an appropriate break in the plot or the end of a song and they sit and it's over. Not really that big of a deal. You guys can complain about it until the cows come home but it's not going to change anything. They're not going to tell someone who paid $400 for a pair of tickets that they can't see the show cause they got there 5 minutes late.