1
general::
Phrase(s): make the scene
1. Sl. to attend an event. • We plan to make the scene, but we may be a bit late. • I hope everybody can make the scene. 2. Sl. to understand a situation; to appreciate the situation. • I can’t quite make the scene, but it looks like Willie punched the guy over here. Then he moved to the window over here, and that’s when the woman across the street saw him. • I can make the scene. It’s just like you said, except Willie came in and found the guy laid out on the floor.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Put in an appearance, take part in an event, as in I'll miss most of the party, but I hope to make the scene before midnight. This expression employs scene in the sense of "a place where an action occurs." [Slang; mid-1900s]
American Heritage Idioms