I love you for being logical, lol. But I'll play devil's advocate - if most people don't generally refer to their programs because it's too dark, phones/tablets can change that. And for people who DO take peeks at their playbill during the show, the light of a phone/tablet will be much more intrusive than the perhaps little penlight that some people might use now. (Or even in those moments where there's enough spill from the stage light to see the paper program.) And to make the point of saying "please don't use your phones during the show - even to check your digital playbill" - how will people that do want to discreetly read their paper playbill in the dark receive such an edict?
I'm sure there can be compromises - theatres offering a choice of paper or digital, etc. But you're right - the transition may not be easy.
And, of course, for those people distracted by the potential crinkling/waving of paper programs, etc (or the old dilemma of "where do I put the program during the show" etc), the absence of paper could be very welcome. So, who knows? |
