Basic Trope: A character is delayed on their way to see a performance, and by the time they get there, the show is over.
- Straight: Charlie is trying to see his children Alice and Bob's school play, but he ends up being late and gets there by the time the play is over.
- Exaggerated: Charlie is somehow days late for the play.
- Downplayed: Charlie only misses a few of the opening scenes.
- Justified: Charlie had other matters to attend to, which ended up taking up the length of the play.
- Inverted: Charlie is much too early for the play.
- Subverted: Charlie goes to the gymnasium to find someone cleaning up and chairs being put away, but it turns out that he's actually in the wrong place - the school play is in the cafeteria.
- Double Subverted: By the time he gets to the cafeteria, though, he finds that he missed the performance.
- Parodied: Charlie misses one second of the opening scene and immediately breaks into Inelegant Blubbering.
- Zig-Zagged: Charlie has two obligations that he runs back and forth between. He attends the other during intermissions and act breaks, but always tries to make it back the school play; sometimes he's late, sometimes he arrives on time, but it's clear that he doesn't get to see all of it.
- Averted: Nobody misses any performance.
- Enforced: Rule of Drama
- Lampshaded: "Oh no, it's already over!"
- Invoked: Charlie's boss, Ernest, makes him stay after work hours so he'll miss his children's performance.
- Exploited: Alice and Bob actually set up Freddy to distract Charlie on the way. So when Charlie is late, they can guilt trip him into trying to make up for it with gifts and fun activities.
- Defied: Charlie schedules the time of the performance and cancels any plans that would coincide with the day of the school play.
- Discussed: "I hope I can get to the play in time!"
- Conversed: "Let me guess, Charlie is gonna miss it and feel bad."
- Deconstructed: Charlie feels upset about missing his children's school play.
- Reconstructed:
- However, his wife Diane managed to record the play for him.
- Or the school made the recording for all parents that were unable to attend.
- Alice and Bob decide to put on their own version of the play for him.
You just Missed the Recital.
