I’m curious. when I went to see the first tour, the times where reasonable. 1PM or so for a NYC showing. but for the time bubble tour, it’s all 8PM or 7PM. how come?
I was going to go to red bank, but all my company are older folks, and they don’t care for driving home at 10PM :). and are not fans to begin with, so it’s tougher to get someone to go with me :). was really hoping to go see this one since it’s easier to get to than nyc, but not sure i’m gunna make it :).
I think the earlier shows were outliers in cities that were having a double feature on the same day. For example, with the first and second tours, there were some cities that got both movies. When that happened, you’d see the first show at 3PM or 4PM and the second show at 7PM or 8PM. But these were really the exception and not the rule and even then, like in the Philly shows in the 30th Tour, there was one double feature with shows at 7PM and 10PM which is a real strain to get out on time so you can clear the house and get ready for the next one.
With this tour being only one movie, it makes sense to put the times when one would a) normally expect to see a show, and b) allow for you to roll from one town to the next overnight, and then do load in the next morning for the show that evening. Earlier showtimes make it harder for you to get to where you’re going and be ready for load in. Like when I saw the show Wednesday night in Philly, the next show after that was the next night in Worcester, MA…at least 6 or 7 hours away. So after load-out at the Merriam in Philly, you probably don’t get the bus moving until after midnight. I do not know what time load-ins are in these houses and I don’t know what the estimated set-up time is for the MST3K tour, but it’s not nothing and it’s part of the magic we don’t see behind the scenes.
And then there is the art and science and alchemy of tour planning which involves knowing timing of venue availability, distance from the previous venue, and building in buffer time for issues like bus breaking down or, in one case earlier this tour…BLIZZARD!
Hope this wasn’t super long-winded and is helpful, but it’s just based on the glimpse I’ve had of theater stuff over the years.
Both tour dates near me have been cancelled. 
How are you able to go to a show at 1PM on a weekday?
that it does :). although you would think weekend shows would be a little earlier :).
well, looks like I had to stay home anyway. got another notice yesterday from the meridian theater and said you ALSO needed a 72 hour negative covid test in order to get in, on top of all the other stuff. a bit too draconian for me. never even had a covid test, let alone a negetive/positive one as I hardly ever get sick.
oh well. At least I donated to the tours success :). so hopefully next year things will have quieted down a bit.