Another Distraction for the Broadway Theater Patron

Courtesy of the New York Times, we have the latest fad from the world of commercial theater. The number of distractions in a broadway houses, where tickets sell for more than $100 is increasingly ridiculous. What ever happened to lunch, dinner, or supper before or after the theater…

PATTI LuPONE was playing Mrs. Lovett in “Sweeney Todd” early last year when she looked out from the stage of the Eugene O’Neill Theater and saw something she had never seen before in a Broadway theater: a popcorn war.

“There were two people in the front row sharing a bag of popcorn,” she said recently. “When she stuck her hand in, he immediately stuck his hand in. They were wrestling for the last few kernels of popcorn while we were performing. Everyone around them was distracted.”

While eating at your seat at a Broadway theater used to be universally forbidden, theaters are increasingly allowing patrons to take their drinks, candy and even crunchy munchies to their seats during a show. This let-them-eat-snacks philosophy has been embraced at the Helen Hayes, Hilton, New Amsterdam, Eugene O’Neill and Walter Kerr Theaters, as well as at all nine houses owned by the Nederlander Organization (the Brooks Atkinson, Gershwin, Lunt-Fontanne, Marquis, Minskoff, Nederlander, Neil Simon, Palace and Richard Rodgers).

“It’s a reflection of changing audience habits,” said Jim Boese, the organization’s vice president. “As the audience for Broadway expands, there are changing audience needs. This is part of a broader attempt to enhance the audience experience.”

It also helps the bottom line for theater owners, who profit from sales at the concession stands. And when people can eat at their seats, they tend to buy more.

Once “The Lion King” became such a hit, we knew it wouldn’t be long before Broadway took several more steps down.