Would You Ever Walk Out of a Broadway Show at Intermission?

by Chris Peterson

I saw someone on TikTok mention that they had left a Broadway show at intermission because they simply were not enjoying it.

They were not angry. They did not name the show or try to turn the experience into content. They just decided they would rather spend the rest of their evening somewhere else.

My first reaction was: I could never do that.

Then I started thinking about all the times I probably should have.

Like most theatre people, I have been trained to stay until the curtain call. Even when I am bored. Even when I have already checked the Playbill to see how many songs are left. Even when the thought of spending another hour in that seat feels exhausting.

Leaving a show early has always seemed rude to me. The actors are still working. The musicians are still playing. People spent years developing the production. The least I can do is sit there until they finish.

But I also paid for the ticket. I gave the show an entire act. At what point have I fulfilled my responsibility as an audience member?

I am not talking about leaving five minutes into a performance because the opening number did not immediately grab you. Some shows take time to reveal themselves, and plenty of second acts have completely changed my opinion of what I was watching.

Still, I think many of us have known by intermission that a production was not going to win us over. We stay anyway because walking out feels like a much bigger statement than it probably is.

Of course, there are practical issues. I would never leave in the middle of a scene or climb over an entire row during a quiet moment. Intermission gives you a perfectly reasonable opportunity to exit without distracting anyone.

And once you are outside, the show continues. Nobody onstage is examining your empty seat and wondering where they failed. Most of the audience will never notice you are gone.

Maybe theatre lovers place too much value on endurance. We act as though finishing a show proves we respected the art, even when we spent the entire second act wishing we were somewhere else.

I still do not know whether I could walk out of a Broadway show. I have made it through some truly rough evenings, and apparently stubbornness is part of my theatre-going personality.

But I am beginning to think leaving at intermission is not the scandal I once believed it was.

Sometimes a show is not for you. You gave it a chance. You can quietly head home.

So, have you ever left a show at intermission? And what finally made you decide to go?