Noisy Theater Patron article

[MimiJudith]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 1:41pm

Funny article! I agree that it is extremely rude to bring in noisy food during a show, but it was not nice for Patti LuPone to make a general statement like, "People are slobs." I understand that it makes her angry to hear noise during a performance, but it sounds like a hateful thing to say about an audience member.

http://www.1010wins.com/pages/190813.php?contentType=4&contentId=296506

Updated On: 1/26/07 at 01:41 PM

[Danielm]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 1:49pm

I'm with Patti on this one. If people want to make loud noisy pigs of themselves they should stay home and watch TV.

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 1:51pm

"I'm with Patti on this one. If people want to make loud noisy pigs of themselves they should stay home and watch TV."

Agreed. I mean, is it THAT hard to go 2 hours without eating?

[MimiJudith]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 1:56pm

If I bring in candy, I always eat it during the intermission. But to say "people are slobs" (even if it may be true) hurts my feelings because if the actor hears noise coming from the audience, I don't want them to look at me and think that I am a "slob" when it is the person next to me or behind me who is making the noise.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 2:00pm

I hate when people bring food into the theatre and eat during the show. Someone was eating popcorn all throughout Les Mis last night, and you could smell it all over the place. If you need to eat, eat during intermission.

[Danielm]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 2:06pm

"If I bring in candy, I always eat it during the intermission. But to say "people are slobs" (even if it may be true) hurts my feelings because if the actor hears noise coming from the audience, I don't want them to look at me and think that I am a "slob" when it is the person next to me or behind me who is making the noise."

I'm sorry Mimijudith, you're right, it's all about you.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 2:11pm

People - including Patti - are talking about "being hungry" or "needing to eat." I really don't think that's the case. This is popcorn and candy, not sandwiches and chicken, for the most part.

This society is full of people who can't just sit at the theater for the sake of the show - they're used to going to the movies and having popcorn and candy. It's similar to the movie theaters becoming places where people talk on their phones and to their friends and the screen as if they're home - now the Broadway theaters are becoming like what the movie theaters used to be.

[MimiJudith]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 2:15pm

I don't think people should be allowed to eat during the show at all.

Danielm, it's not all about me, no more than you are all about you. Not all people are slobs and all I meant was that she should not have generalized it that way. How about saying "some people are slobs?" I have heard some actors talk about the audiences like they are idiots. Many audience members are lovely people who know better than to eat during a performance.

[Danielm]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 2:58pm

I don't know why you are taking her comment so personally. She was obviously referring to people who eat loudly in theatres, not to the world population.

[MotorTink]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 3:04pm

I usually carry a water bottle in my purse (but that applies to everywhere I go not just theatre). I will take it our during intermission, so that I don't need to go brave the circus in the lobby. That's it. Gum or a cough drop if I'm sick.

Even though I've seen people eating, I've been lucky enough not to have a bad experience yet **knock on wood**.

[JustinRZB]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 3:05pm

Seriously... a show is, what, 2 hours long?

Have dinner before, eat some M&Ms during intermission.

AND WATCH THE DAMN SHOW.

[Jellylorum]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 3:35pm

Eating during a show is rude to the actors and other members of the audience. I pay $60 a ticket to listen to the show, not someone's candy wrapper or cellphone. I also don't understand why people would pay that much just to eat and not pay attention to the show.

Updated On: 1/26/07 at 03:35 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 3:51pm

I have lunch before a matinee and dinner before an evening show. I never eat at the theatre. And I only occasionally will have a glass of wine at intermission in New York. Here in Denver, I actually leave the theatre at intermission to go to a smaller theatre in our complex to have a drink and then return to the Buell for Act II. I don't know if they do it in New York (I think some theatres might) but you can pre-purchase your beverages before a show and then pick it up at the side of the bar where your beverage sits on a piece of paper with your name on it.

[theminutepast]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 7:39pm

I did student rush for Les Mis last night, and I didn't think about this beforehand, but a lot of students are immature and don't know theater etiquette. The girl on my left me had to add comments throughout the musical and the girl on my right ate Junior Mints, which rattle around a lot, throughout OMO. Someone in the next aisle was playing a cell phone game near the end, and the light kept distracting me. Just rude.

[Raviolisun]

Posted: 1/26/07 at 7:43pm

I don't even understand why people feel the need to eat in the theatre. WATCH THE DAMN SHOW.

[worrell4077]

Posted: 1/27/07 at 11:51am

See what I do is when I go in to rush something like Jersey Boys, after I get my tickets, I go to Applebees or Olive Garden with my mom and sister(there usually the ones that come with me to the theatre) and we have a nice lunch and then some dessert. Then we walk around for a bit and then go to the show.

I don't understand what's so hard about eating before the show like me and countless others do. It makes sense for family shows like Beauty and The Beast, The Lion King, Mary Poppins, and The Grinch(when it was running) to allow food, so that the kids don't fuss about, but being able to eat during a more non family show like The Producers, SpamAlot, Avenue Q, or Jersey Boys makes no sense at all. This is live theatre people, not a filmed performance, these people can hear you and lose there train of thought or their place in the show with your loud, incessive munching.

The one thing about this that won't go away is the fact that if you tell them to stop eating you're being rude to the actors on stage, they will take it very personally. Same goes for the ones with their cell phones on, or talking during the show, or listening to their iPod, or anything like that. They think that they are not doing anything wrong, but they are.