At what time, and on which days, should the curtain rise on a Broadway show? That is the real question.
Given that Broadway productions can generally only have eight performances per week, these schedule decisions could determine whether any given show is able to attract a sufficient size audience to meet its weekly running costs and stay in business.
“During the pandemic, people got very comfortable at home and their habits have drastically changed,” said Broadway producer Ken Davenport, who added Thursday matinee performances last season for his shows. Davenport noted that Broadway’s suburban audience has decreased by 30 percent since the pandemic. “We on Broadway can be very stubborn, but the pandemic has forced us to look at our entire business model.
In 2002, as Broadway was making its post-9/11 comeback, a number of shows instituted performances at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday nights. I remember attending one of the first Tuesday performances with a 7:00 p.m. curtain, which was for Russell Simmons’ short-lived “Def Poetry Jam.” Not surprisingly, quite a few theatergoers arrived late, unaware that the performance would begin at 7:00 p.m. rather than 8:00 p.m.
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