0

"We were busy [working in the kitchen] for pretheater, a mad rush to get them in and get them out in time to make curtain."

This quotes is from Anthony Bourdain's book describing that they are busy working for people going to theaters before the show.

My question is: Is "make curtain" a well known, well used expression to say make the show in time, or this is quite casual saying by Anthony? When I googled this expression, I could not find anything.

Thanks.

Improve this question
8
  • 2
    It seems likely that it’s something “theater people” say and common folk don’t.
    – Jim
    Commented Jul 13, 2020 at 17:34
  • Also note that the use of “make” is idiomatic for all. It’s the use of “curtain” as a metonym for showtime that’s theater jargon
    – Jim
    Commented Jul 13, 2020 at 17:37
  • 1
    I've just googled "make curtain" and got no hits except for pages on physically fabrication curtains; however "make curtain-up" returned lots of hits. I'd never heard "make curtain" in this context but I have heard "make curtain-up". "Make curtain" mabe an in-group version of "make curtain-up" but it does not seem to be very common..
    – BoldBen
    Commented Jul 13, 2020 at 17:50
  • "Make curtain" is to be found (provided you disallow drapery with -curtains) for example on Tripadvisor: I think worse case scenario would be I wouldn't make curtain and would have to stand in back until interval.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Jul 13, 2020 at 18:19
  • 1
    ... some of the search results turn up make curtain time.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Jul 13, 2020 at 18:29

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
2

In legitimate theater and shows with the same rules Curtain is the clock time that the entire caste and crew must be on site. This is usually no less that an hour before the curtain actually Goes Up and often much more. The operative question backstage during the days before the show is When's Curtain?, that is, when do I need to be here.

Your story may involve people who are only going to see the show but the phrase Make Curtain refers to the backstage drop dead time. Since Anthony Bourdain was very familiar with theater jargon it is likely that they had the phrase in mind even if it was for a simpler use.

Improve this answer
2
  • This is really interesting and makes sense if the narrator in the extract is either a catering worker within the theatre or in a restaurant or lodging house catering to actors and other theatrical people. They would have been very conscious of the need for the diners to "make curtain". There is a similarity with the need for deep miners to get to the pithead early enough to get ready for the time when the cage drops at the start of the shift.
    – BoldBen
    Commented Jul 14, 2020 at 12:05
  • thanks for the insights, very helpful
    – 1917goodmovie
    Commented Jul 14, 2020 at 20:03
0

The play begins when the curtain goes up. Traditional theaters have curtains that cover the stage when the play is not in progress, or between scenes when the set is being changed.

The curtain goes down when the play is over, but opens again for curtain calls, when the cast appears to be applauded by the audience.

So curtain time is when the play begins.

cur·tain time noun the beginning of a stage performance. "curtain time is at 8 p.m."

Oxford Dictionaries

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .