Dickenson County herald. [volume] (Clintwood, Va.) 1939-195?, 1944-09-14

YORK theater is Iate-comerS. Inc
usual curtain time is $40. It sell
dom goes up at the time advertised.
The delay ranges from S to IS min
Iutes. Yet no matter how long it is
held, there are always those who
come in after the first act is well
along. That is true with hit shows
Jas well as those not in that class.
The assumption would be that those,
who pay $3.50 or even $480 for a
seat would want to occupy it as long
as possible. The reverse seems to
be true-the higher priced seats are
not filed nearly as quickly as those
that cost less. Attempts have been
made to cure hardness by not seat
ing late arrivals until the end of
scene. That merely means a rush
period for the ushers. It also means
lot Of confusion in the back of the
theater to the consequent discomfort
of those in the rear seats.
It may be only ina gination on the
part of one who likes to be in his
seat long enough before the curtain
rises so he can read the cast and
the scenes, but it seems as though
the late corners always have seats
well down in front and in the middle
of row. Thus lot Of people have
to arise - and have their toes
trampled - which of course discom-
modes them and in turn discom-
modes those behind because their
view is shut off. BY the time the
tardy ones have settled down and the
actors can again be seen and heard,
the illusion is completely dispelled.
The worst of it is that those who
cause the trouble do not seem to
care at all. In too many instances,
instead of sneaking in quietly. they
enter with c1atter of conversation
which does not always die out after
they have been seated.
Late pests are bad enough on ordi--
nary nights. They are still worse on
opening nights. A lot of New York
ers, it seems, attend theater first
nights not to see but to be seen. One
of the surest ways to attract atten-
ton is to barge down the aisle after
the lights have been dimmed and
the opening lines spoken. Naturally
heads turn in the direction of the
intruders and naturally there is a
question as to their identity. If they
happen to be celebrities, or even
some erstwhile movie stars, names
are Tipped about the theater and the
people on the stage are thus forced
to carry on against unfair competi-
ton. AS for those who have come
because they are interested in the
play, they don't seem to count at
all. Members of ''Cafe society" add
to the general delight by greeting
friends on their way to their seats
or by arising and calling to them
after they have been seated.
Another grievance against late
corners is that as they grope their
way along the row, they knock hats
from the racks under the seats or
cause the owner to do the same
thing. There is no difference in re-
suits in either case-the owner has
to paw around until he finds his
headgear and all too often, it has
been kicked about until it has to go
to the cleaners. That's an item in it.
self. Hat cleaners have imposed a
30 per cent tax on their patrons.
That is, while it used to cost SO cents
to have a hat cleaned, the charge
is now IS cents. I'm still in favor
of a collapsible hat that can be
thrust into the coat pocket when not
being worn. Not only would it