Saving seats for the 'Ohana

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer

Jon Orque • The Honolulu Advertiser

Finally, they sent someone to the front of the theater to tell patrons to only save seats for people who already had a ticket.

"This is Hawai'i," she said, shrugging to acknowledge that in the Aloha State, no one argues about saved seats if the 'ohana wants to sit together.

Don Brown, general manager for Wallace's Restaurant Row 9 Arthouse, laughs as he recalls the "Seinfeld" scene when Elaine is supposed to save seats for Jerry and Kramer at the multiplex.

"I hate saving seats!" she said.

When two intimidating hulks show up and ask if those seats on each side of her are taken, she promptly surrenders without objection.

Back at the Ward multiplex, Arnold Alcisto and Roweld Reynon were caught saving two primo aisle seats for some pals at a not-quite-sold-out matinee. Asked about whether it's OK to save seats, they nodded their heads so emphatically you would have thought their heads were on springs.

"Oh yeah," Alcisto said, then told about his sister's graduation from Loyola Marymount University in California.

"We bust out the caution tape to save a whole row. That's how you could tell we're from Hawai'i!"

It's true: Because people place such a premium on aloha and keeping the 'ohana together, Hawai'i folks are very tolerant when people want to sit with their family. However, what's acceptable varies from place to place, and it's affected by the size of the event and the rules of the house.

One thing's for sure: With graduation ceremonies and summer movie extravaganzas upon us, the issue of seat saving will be on the minds of many.

The 'showtime' rule

Brown said he follows the "showtime" school of seat-saving: Up until showtime, you can hold seats for a friend or two. But once the previews are done and the opening credits start to roll, all bets are off.

"At that point, if it's a full theater and the people haven't shown up, then they've lost out," Brown said. "They can see the next show."

His boss in California, David Lyons, said that's a good rule of thumb. Officially, Wallace doesn't condone seat-saving for people who haven't yet purchased tickets.

Consolidated doesn't have an official policy, said Glenn Yim, regional director. Common courtesy should prevail, but ushers do periodic checks, especially for full houses, he said.

Chuck Boller, head of the Hawai'i International Film Festival, has had his own brush with seat-savers. At some places, he said, people will leave the theater for one show, but put their coats on the chair to save their seats for the next screening. However, it's policy to empty the theater for cleaning between screenings. When people return, they find themselves directed to the back of the line, their coats having been deposited in the lost and found.

Graduation challenges

Graduation is one time of the year when we could all use a primer on seat-saving etiquette.

John Fuhrman, Blaisdell operations manager, said reserved seating is used for nearly all events. This eliminates the constant "are those seats saved?" questions and usher problems.

They try to discourage use of open seating, which usually follows the "first-come, first served" rule, but graduation ceremonies throw a kink in the plan.

If a graduation ceremony uses unreserved seating, the Blaisdell ends up holding back some tickets, "so people aren't sitting in the aisles," Furman said.

What about the woman who showed up at a Kamehameha Schools graduation with several extra items of clothing, which she used to save a row of seats for a proud family?

"Our staff shouldn't be tolerating that," he said. "One, two or three on either side I can understand."

Furman also serves notice to those who plop down clothes or packages and then leave the area: "We won't be permitting that" for security reasons, he said.

At graduation time, schools limit the number of drop-ins at ceremonies by issuing tickets. But once ticketholders show up, Sacred Hearts vice principal Remee Bolante said, they have no formal policy on graduation seating protocol. The school reserves the first three rows for faculty, alumni and nuns, but the rest is open.

"I think it's very selfish" to save a full row, "but I can understand (saving a few seats) if the rest of the party is coming shortly," she said.

In church, too

Seat-saving can be a problem under other circumstances, too — wherever it may be crowded, including church.

The Rev. Joven Junio knows some don't like to be crowded into his 500-seat Waipahu church, St. Joseph, and will place bags or even pretend to be saving a seat just to keep one open.

"Some, either consciously or subconsciously, say the seat is taken," he acknowledged.

A church leader will make a friendly announcement urging people to put their bags away so more people can be accommodated, and ushers are directed to skooch people in, fitting more into the pews of the already maxed-out church, which holds seven Masses every Sunday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Junio, like Brown, doesn't mind seat-saving for midnight Mass, up to a point. As soon as the five-minute bell signals that Mass is about to begin, ushers will fill in the seats.

In his 12 years of ministering, Joven said he sees much aloha for the elderly and disabled at Mass, but he does take exception to those who leave things unattended to save their places.

Somebody has to be present to say "This seat is taken," he explained.

When in doubt ...

Attentive ushers can sidestep some of the problems arising from seat-saving. For example, at the Waikiki Shell lawn area, which uses open seating, ushers take latecomers to available spots, Furman said, calling that the "more socially acceptable situation."

Why is that?

"No fights," he said, laughing.

Correction: Glenn Yim is regional director for Consolidated Theatres. John Fuhrman is Blaisdell operations manager. Their names were misspelled in a previous version of this story.