I worked at this theater for almost 4 years, in addition to most of the other Landmark Theaters in Seattle. The employees (myself included, I suppose) tended to be quirky and one of the ways that manifested was on the marquee. Near the end of a theatrical run we really had fun thinking up funny stuff to put on the marquee. At least in the late 1990s the manager OK’d and/or helped think up the jokes.
What goes up depends entirely on the particular manager. A few of the managers around town had no sense of humor, so only titles and times went on their marquees. I remember when The Neptune, down the street, played Das Boot: one suggestion was to put WHAT’S LONG AND HARD AND FULL OF SEAMEN? on one side of the marquee, and DAS BOOT on the other… Needless to say that was a little too vulgar ; )
I worked at this theater for almost 4 years, in addition to most of the other Landmark Theaters in Seattle. The employees (myself included, I suppose) tended to be quirky and one of the ways that manifested was on the marquee. Near the end of a theatrical run we really had fun thinking up funny stuff to put on the marquee. At least in the late 1990s the manager OK’d and/or helped think up the jokes.
What goes up depends entirely on the particular manager. A few of the managers around town had no sense of humor, so only titles and times went on their marquees. I remember when The Neptune, down the street, played Das Boot: one suggestion was to put WHAT’S LONG AND HARD AND FULL OF SEAMEN? on one side of the marquee, and DAS BOOT on the other… Needless to say that was a little too vulgar ; )