It could be a light flicker, an announcement over a loudspeaker or a nudge from an usher.
But to herd audiences to their seats at the Metropolitan Opera, Carmela Palumbo opts for an arpeggio of A, C, E notes as she weaves through the lobby.
At the New York City Ballet, America Borda also plays a short tune on a dinner chime that rings through the David H. Koch Theater. At Carnegie Hall, Hampus Svard carefully removes a dinner chime from a cupboard and plays alternating high and low notes. And at New York City Center, Jason White paces the long lobby hallway as he hits four notes on a marimba.
At New York’s performing arts venues, the melodies remain steady and the message is simple: Please take your seats.
Palumbo, the head ticket taker at the Met, follows a complicated route during her rounds, scouring every corner of the building with her abridged glockenspiel (not to be confused with a xylophone, its counterpart with wooden bars).
The first note echoes as she stands in the main lobby under the starburst chandeliers. Palumbo then moves on to the north and south TV lounges of the opera house, stopping on the stairs, before heading down them, with a pass by the checkroom, a stop directly into the women’s bathroom and a pause just outside the men’s. Back up the stairs, she circles the box office, gift shop and takes a lap outside to catch any patrons on the plaza.
And repeat, two to three more times.
On a busy night, like the season opener of “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” in September, Palumbo confidently wove through the crowd. She picked up the pace as the clock ticked toward the curtain draw and focused on the parterre level, home to the private boxes.
It’s a route Palumbo can trace with her eyes closed. For over 35 years, she’s worked at the Met Opera, beginning as an usher while in high school.
“I just always loved it here,” she said.
An old music teacher of hers, who used to take her to the opera as a student, is now a volunteer on the floor. Patrons have become friends; she’s even gone to some of their homes for dinner.
But when the show is about to start, it’s all business.
“We have to push them, kind of like moving cattle,” she said.
The familiarity is a key feature for Borda, an usher at the ballet for 25 years.
Before the show starts, she’s positioned on the promenade with her dinner chime, a small hand-held instrument. She is one of 41 ushers, responsible for making sure the doors are open and people can exit during intermission. They’ll guide people to their seats and pepper them with reminders about no food, drinks or photographs in the auditorium.
For longstanding subscribers her presence has become commonplace — they hug as they enter the lobby and introduce her to their growing families.
“I’m still here. You get to meet their children, their grandchildren,” she said. “It’s like part of a family.”
To draw guests back into the theater she opts for a simple tune on her dinner chime, a simple instrument with metal bars. Some days she just paces across the main floor with the notes ringing. On special nights, like a gala, she’ll traverse each ring of seats.
During the holiday season performances of “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker,” she particularly likes the view from the fourth ring as the Christmas tree grows onstage.
“Every time I see it I’m like ‘wow’,” she said. “It’s like I’m 5 years old.”
During Alvin Ailey’s five-week winter stretch at the New York City Center, White switches to a rendition of “Jingle Bells” on his marimba, where the wooden bars offer a warmer sound compared to a glockenspiel (a larger version of the dinner chime, but with metal bars and multiple octaves). The holiday melody sets a festive tone for his favorite time of year at the dance center.
“Everyone who comes here for that show has a good time,” said White, the assistant house manager.
On the September opening night for City Center’s Fall for Dance festival, White helped exchange tickets for customers who weren’t feeling well and wanted more accessible seats. He answered questions from other guests, who also paused to take their picture at the retro photo booth set up in the lobby, and pointed people to the bathrooms and bars.
Just before intermission came to a close, he pulled out a small marimba from behind his desk and began to pace the lobby. By the third lap, the final stragglers scampered back to their seats.
On occasion, White, or Caroline Conoly, the house manager, will hand the instrument over to one of the children in attendance.
“It makes him feel like, ‘Hey, I helped make the show happen’,” Conoly said.
Michaela Towfighi is a Times arts and culture reporter and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for early career journalists.
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