Suzanne's Mom's Blog

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Some theaters are experimenting with earlier curtain times.

I never understood why evening theater performances invariably started at 8 pm. Where was it written that they couldn’t start earlier? Perhaps the custom goes back to some 19th century dinner hour.

Nowadays my husband and I prefer matinees as we don’t love driving in the dark and we retire early.

Lily Janiak writes at the San Francisco Chronicle (via MSN) that some theaters are asking audiences what they actually want — and are experimenting with earlier curtain times.

“I turned on my phone after The Book of Mormon,” she writes, “to take note of the show’s runtime, as part of my job as theater critic, and had a moment of cognitive dissonance. Only 9:30 p.m.?

“It was true, even though I’d just seen a full Broadway musical.

“This season, ATG San Francisco – which presents touring shows at the Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theatres – moved three of its curtain times earlier. With occasional exceptions, Tuesday throughThursday evening showtimes are now 7 p.m. …

“American Conservatory Theater [ACT] and Berkeley Repertory Theatre have become earlier birds, too. Three years ago, Berkeley Rep reset its Tuesday showtimes from 8 to 7 p.m., and next season, Managing Director Tom Parrish told the Chronicle, it’s rescheduling Saturday evening showtimes from 8 to 7:30 p.m. ACT, meanwhile, made two changes for its 2024-25 season, moving Sunday from 7 to 6:30 p.m. and Tuesday from 7:30 to 6:30 p.m.

“Berkeley Rep made its Tuesday change years ago after seeing increased demand for Wednesday performances, which have long been at 7 p.m., Parrish noted. Now, after seeing lower demand for Saturday evenings in more recent years, he had a hypothesis: ‘Maybe the performance time was the issue.’

“The company surveyed 1,519 audiences, and sure enough, 90% said they’d be as or more likely to attend Saturday shows if they were moved earlier. Its 2026-27 season’s change is in response to those results. …

” ‘We’ve had zero complaints,’ said General Manager Jamie Budgett, who acknowledged his strategy is capitalizing on post-pandemic work schedule flexibility.

“But for patrons who live further away, an early showtime can be prohibitive. … Leaving work isn’t always an option. … Others point out there’s such a thing as too much time before a show. Audiences can ‘lose steam,’ as San Francisco resident and performer J.A. Valentine put it, and actors can spot ‘Friday night fatigue in the seats.’

“If earlier showtimes strain farthest-flung audiences, ACT Marketing Director Adam Thurman pointed out they can reduce other patrons’ late-night anxieties. …

“In any case, more of his single-ticket buyers are coming from the city as opposed to surrounding counties – 40% now versus 25% before the pandemic. … Patron Debi Durst pointed out. ‘Sometimes it’s more difficult to find a WAV (wheelchair accessible vehicle) taxi later in the evenings,’ she said.

“Some survey data backs up all these trends. Californians spend seven more minutes sleeping per day and 19 minutes less working per day than the rest of the country does, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey.

“The same data also shows we also spend more time preparing and eating food per day, which would seem to be a strike against earlier show times.

“Yet at Italian eatery Tratto – a block away from the Toni Rembe and the Curran, and a frequent partner with ACT on special events – the leadership team is in favor of earlier curtain times. General Manager Ricardo Bosco and Brian Fenwick, who is managing director of the Marker Union Square, where Tratto is housed, hope to persuade theater patrons to come by post-show for a drink, dessert or full meal. Such demand is nonexistent now, they said, though Tratto is reliably packed before curtain times.

” ‘I won’t be opposed to extending (restaurant) hours if I know that the show is going to bring in people after,’ Bosco said. ‘We can be pretty flexible when it comes to that.’ …

“Fenwick said Tratto’s success is so tied to neighboring plays and musicals that now its Fridays are the lightest days of the week if the theaters are dark. This reflects the popularity of work-from-home that day and a decline of after-work nights out.

“Still other structural factors might push Bay Area patrons and theaters toward earlier evenings. One is a graying Bay Area. …

“But Broadway’s been moving curtain times earlier since the beginning of the millennium as well. Among evening performances listed on Broadway.com on Thursday, April 9, 30 shows had 7 p.m. curtain times; 10 at 7:30 p.m.; 11 at 8 p.m. and another had multiple entrance times starting at 7:15 p.m.”

More at the San Francisco Chronicle via MSN, here.