Lawyer’s Grouse About ‘Wait-on-the-Sidewalk Phenomenon’ Makes the Complaint Box

New York City lawyer Paul Reyes sees no reason for people to arrive “unnecessarily early” for the theater, and he’s happy to tell the nation about his pet peeve.

Reyes’ essay decrying long theater lines was selected for the Complaint Box column published by the New York Times City Room blog. “Since when did standing on a crowded sidewalk become a necessary component of an evening at the theater?” he asks. “This is not like going to the movies, where the early arrivers snag the best seats.”

He suggests there is a better way. “Before going to the theater, you are supposed to have dinner at a chic restaurant and take your time over dessert,” he writes. “Or meet a friend for drinks, until someone glances at a cellphone or watch and realizes it’s almost curtain. Heck, hang out in McDonald’s or Starbucks. Let’s just stop contributing to this whole wait-on-the-sidewalk phenomenon.”