Keeping Oboe/EH at playable temperature in the pit

Question for those of you who play in musicals...

Oboes are notoriously easy to crack when played cold, which is why oboe players are picky about keeping their instruments warm while not playing. During musicals however, sometimes an oboe can sit unused on a stand for an hour or more and then need to be played immediately. How do you deal with this situation?

• Always cut out a few minutes of music beforehand to warm it up?
• Some kind of heating device?
• Just chance it and start playing?
• Use synthetic oboes?

I'm picking up the oboe now and this one has me stumped. I have to make too many cold switches on my piccolo right now, and it freaks me out every time, even when I get 20 bars or so to put a little heat into it.