Locked out of the Fringe
There are all sorts of reasons for being late at a Fringe show, but they rarely get you locked out. Inquirer theater critic Howard Shapiro reports.
It's no good to be late in any case, and when you're late at the theater, it's also rude to the actors -- especially in small stage settings. But the Live Arts/Philly Fringe -- and fringe festivals in general -- insure that some portion of the audiences will be a bit late some of the time. The schedule at the current festival is, as usual, tightly packed and if you're running across town from one show to another, making it at the very beginning is sometimes iffy.
This is not the isolated musing of a critic; the festival sells all-show tickets, and people who buy them take advantage of seeing one show after another. They are rarely locked out. The staffs at box office tables -- generally altogether pleasant and accommodating volunteers --stay past openings scenes, and can get you in if there's room at all.
A few years ago, I ran from one end of Center City to another -- well, I ran in my car -- to see a classic play being staged at a high-rise condo in Center City East. I was about 10 minutes late and no one was at the door to let me inside the condo. I'm not even sure the show was actually being performed, although the standard sign notifying theatergoers of a Fringe show was visible against a wall down the entry hallway. Well, I thought, it's a classic, I've seen it before and I don't have to see it at the Fringe to make my experience complete.
Last night was more frustrating. I wanted to see and tell you about a new play called Ballroom Dancing Ain't for Sissies, a play I'll not get to see in its next and final performance. It's at a dance studio in Head House, and through the ground-floor windows, I could see the audience already watching the play. I was late, it had begun and the people in charge of letting the audience inside were nowhere to be seen. Furthermore, the doors were locked.
Not a good idea at the Fringe, where someone should be watching the outside of the house, at least to guide people to other shows they might like if they can't for some reason make it on time to the one they were aiming for.
--Howard Shapiro