Musicals with Matinees
If Matinee comes from morning then what the heck is a Midnight Matinee?
If you are not familiar with the West End style of theatre and their peculiar ways and customs you may have heard of Matinee or Matinée performances and assumed it was something to do with the French word “Le Matin” meaning morning. Well that would be correct, and it is indeed based on an old french theatre tradition but the sense of “Morning” is more like that of “before” or leading up to. Matinees in London Theatreland are generally performed at around the middle of the afternoon leaving a couple of hours or so for rest and recuperation before the cast perform the whole show all over again at about 7.30pm in the evening. There are some advantages and disadvantages to choosing a matinee performance over an evening show but they are not very significant and if it’s a choice between seeing a matinee or not going to a show at all it’s always better to choose the first option.
Advantages to choosing matinees are
- Availability is sometimes greater which could translate into a greater choice of shows, slightly cheaper tickets or better seats.
- The cast is fresh, not having performed the show just a few hours earlier.
- Combined with slow dining out, a dinner dance or other evening entertainment a matinee adds to a complete day out in a way that an evening performance can only really end one.
- The audience will be more attentive, quieter and better behaved because they haven’t started drinking the red wine yet.
Advantages to choosing Evening Performances are:
- You might arrive in time for the show after having spent the day at work or whatever else you might do on a week day or weekend. An evening performance doesn’t impinge into your day, so you might be able to fit a lot more shows into your annual calendar by nipping in to a theatre after a regular day.
- The cast are going to give it their all and not hold anything back. This is the main performance of the day and they know they are going to party afterwards. Or sleep, or whatever thespians do to unwind.
- The audience will be more grown up, in an evening sort of mood and likely to give a warmer welcome to the actors and songs, which feeds back into a better performance. Less chance of sitting next to noisy children and teenagers, perhaps.
- Live Theatre with music and dancing – it’s a big night out on the town, not a way to pass an afternoon for goodness sake.
So now we come to the list of current West End musicals that have matinees, so you can see which shows’ matinees are on on which days of the week and the times of performances.
Days and Times for the Musicals with Matinees
Dreamboats And Petticoats at Wyndham’s Theatre until January 19th, 2013 – Matinees Thursdays 15.00pm and Saturdays 16.00
The Bodyguard at The Adelphi Theatre has matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 15.00pm
Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre has matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 14.30
We Will Rock You has matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 14.30
Viva Forever matinees start at 5.00pm on Fridays, and 3.00pm on Saturdays
Billy Elliot matinees are on Thursdays and Saturdays at 14.30
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory matinees Wednesdays and Saturdays at 14.30pm
Phantom of The Opera matinees Thursday and Saturday at 14.30pm
Top Hat matinees Thursday and Saturday at 14.30pm
Thriller Live matinees Saturday at 16.00pm and Sundays at 15.30pm
Stomp – Thursdays and Saturdays at 15.00pm, Sundays at 15.00 and 18.00 pm
Rock of Ages – Saturdays 16.00 and Sundays 15.30
Spamalot – Wednesdays and Saturdays at 14.30pm
Singin’ In The Rain – Wednesday 15.00pm ad Saturday at 14.30pm
Shrek matinees on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday all at 15.00pm
Matilda A Musical Wednesdays at 14.30 and Sundays at 15.00pm
Mamma Mia! Fridays at 17.00pm and Saturdays at 15.00pm
Loserville Wednesdays and Saturdays at 3.00pm
Lion King Wednesdays and Saturdays 14.00pm and Sundays at 15.00pm
Let It Be matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays at 15.00pm, Sundays at 17.00pm
Les Miserables matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 14.30pm
Kiss Me Kate on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 15.00pm
Jersey Boys matinees on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 15.00pm
A Chorus Line from February 2013 matinees at 15.00pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays
Cabaret Wednesdays and Saturdays at 14.30pm
Book Of Mormon from February 2013 on Wednesdays and Saturdays 14.30pm
Burn The Floor from March 2013 matinees Thursdays 15.00pm and Saturdays and Sundays 16.00pm
Looking through the list above we can draw some general conclusions.
Matinees are usually held on one weekday, usually a Wednesday or Thursday, and also Saturday. Sunday matinees are becoming quite popular too.
Two thirty in the afternoon and three O’clock are both common times for weekday matinees with Saturday matinees often scheduled slightly later, in line with the later evening performances.
The following musicals all have matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at two thirty:
Wicked, We Will Rock You, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, The Book Of Mormon, Cabaret, Les Miserables, Spamalot.
Confused? I hope not, but whether you decide to plump for a matinee or an evening performance the main thing is to have a wonderful time in the presence of the magic of live theatre and enjoy your musicals!