Second-acting, the once-common practice of sneaking in to see the second act of a Broadway show for free by mixing in with paying patrons outside at intermission, largely ended as theaters began tightening their security and fewer people step outside for a cigarette. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Second-Acting”
I just learned the term second acting.
Do you know what second acting is? Is that when you have a whole new career in the middle of your life? You completely finish one industry and start something brand new?
No, this is something you used to be able to do in the theaters in New York in particular. I think it’s when you used to buy one ticket and see multiple shows in a row.
No.
No?
No, but it has to do with getting into a show in the second act.
Oh, I see.
Yeah. You get in for half price or something to fill available seats?
Well, no, you just sneak in.
Oh. You find a copy of the playbill at intermission. You find a copy of the playbill and you walk in with a confident air like, oh, I know where I’m sitting. And just find an empty seat.
That’s awesome.
Yeah, apparently second acting isn’t done that much anymore in this security conscious age.
Yeah. But that used to be called second acting.
Oh, I thought for sure it was the theaters with multiple showings. When I was in New York in the early 90s, there was a theater on Grand Street in Chinatown where you could go and buy one ticket and basically sit there all day. And they would alternate American films and Hong Kong films, just one right after the other. And there was air conditioning. And so if you didn’t have air conditioning for like a few bucks, you could watch some really terrible American movie followed by some really terrible Hong Kong movie.
But you were cool.
Okay.
There was no heat.
Yeah. Did you do that?
I did, yeah. Theater’s long since gone.
Oh, my gosh. I saw so many Hong Kong movies that way.
That’s a lot of popcorn.
Mm—
