I didn't get the impression on Broadway that the scene in the movie theater was immediately after. I believe it was meant to be months later or more than a year since they had just seen the film in which they would have appeared had they won the contest. Like you, I don't find the ending convincing (for reasons discussed in my reply to Chazwaza higher up in this thread), but I do think it's intended that months have passed between the competition scene and the scene outside the movie theater.
