Why do people leave?- Page 2

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 1:56pm

If you want to leave a show because it sucks or you aren't enjoying it, cool, but leave at intermission. That's the only respectful time to leave.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 2:00pm

I think it's just rude to leave before the performance is over. When I buy a ticket, I am making a committment to experience what the artists have done - all of it. I will admit there are times when I wish I didn't have this ethic but I just can't bring myself to walk out in the middle, no matter how horrible it may be.

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 2:12pm

I saw the world premiere play "Marjorie Prime" at the Mark Taper Forum here in LA a couple of weeks ago and I've never seen so many people leave a show ever. The show was sooo bad. Boring doesn't do it justice. People left in between scenes, intermission, first 30 minutes, last 20 minutes... I stayed because I feel like I spent money on the ticket so just stick it out. I did smile a lot looking at the audience.. and count how many people were sleeping.. way more entertaining than the show. I also didn't leave because I felt bad for the actors. It's not their fault the show sucks.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 2:49pm

I couldn't walk out on Lois Smith if she was sleeping. Also a big fan of both Lisa Emery and Frank Wood. Sounds like this isn't a shining moment for any of them.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 2:58pm

I'm buying a ticket, not going on a date. It's my money and my mind- if in my mind I'm certain I am not enjoying a show for whatever reason, I feel entitled to waste my money instead of more of my time.

It's not rude- if I didn't enjoy a meal at a restaurant I wouldn't keep eating it for fear of offending the chef.

[Everlast85]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 3:21pm

It's extremely rude to inconvenience other patrons and it spits in the face of the actors on stage.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 5:34pm

I did mean at an appropriate point and don't be so hyperbolic: it's not spitting in anyone's face. If a group of people are doing something that is not engaging you it could well be their fault. Either way, as we are constantly reminded, it's a professional relationship and they should be able to cope like professionals.

And actually, in my experience actors don't give a stuff if the odd one or two patrons choose to leave- if they even notice.

Some people here are such puritanical theatre snobs in the way they try to impose their rules on other people.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 5:48pm

Im sure you talked to the all the actors you have disrespected on stage when you have left in the middle of a show. It's rude, there is no way around that.

[ads08]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 7:30pm

I left at intermission for If/Then and Once. Both were cheap tickets so I didn't feel like I was missing out on much. During If/Then I counted 6 people around me sleeping. Theater is a form of entertainment - if I'm not being entertained, why stay?

[mc1227]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 7:48pm

I have only left at intermission once, Far from Heaven. If I was alone, I probably would have stayed, but my companion insisted on leaving. I didn't put up a fuss because it wasn't good but I normally never leave before curtain call. That's why I like going to shows alone, I don't have to worry about anyone else's good time.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 7:51pm

It is my money spent and my time. If I am not enjoying something I will leave at intermission. Get off your High Horse Sutton!

[Pootie2]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 7:52pm

"It is my money spent and my time. If I am not enjoying something I will leave at intermission. Get off your High Horse Sutton!"

? But Sutton up there did opine that leaving at intermission was the only appropriate time, so you guys agree.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 7:55pm

If you choose to leave, you should only leave during intermission and not force your entire row to stand up mid act so you can exit while muttering "this show really sucks". But if you want to leave quietly during intermission, why shouldn't you if you hate a show and are not enjoying it? This notion that if you buy a ticket, you enter into some sort of contract to stay till the end regardless of how bad it is, is absurd. An empty seat for the 2nd act is as much feedback for the cast as a standing ovation. If they are watching you as an audience member closely enough to notice you're not there, then they can also see if you did come back and are fidgeting, looking at your watch every 30 seconds, staring off into space and leafing though your program instead of watching them. That to me is more disrespectful. If you refuse to leave because that would be an admission you were wrong about wanting to see the show and you simply refuse to ever admit you were wrong about something, that is more your character flaw than the people who are secure enough to know they are human and do sometimes make mistakes.

[Broadwaydreaming]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 7:55pm

Climbing over people during a show just doesn't sit well with me. I do think leaving at intermission is the best way to head out early. It's better to leave than to disrupt others by sleeping, looking around, eating or using your phone. The actors can't see much beyond the first few rows, and I doubt they are focusing that much on the audience.

[mc1227]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 8:00pm

It doesn't bother me if someone leaves a show during intermission but it galls me when people leave during curtain call. To me, that's the ultimate disrespect for actors who have been working hard to entertain you, regardless of whether you like the show or not. If people like that are in my row, I refuse to let them by. They have to go the other way...sorry.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 8:47pm

"But Sutton up there did opine that leaving at intermission was the only appropriate time, so you guys agree." Thanks Pootie!

"Posted: 9/29/14 at 01:56pm by me
If you want to leave a show because it sucks or you aren't enjoying it, cool, but leave at intermission. That's the only respectful time to leave."

Yes, user Snafu seems to half read things, single me out, and tell me to get off my horse even though the majority of posters (INCLUDING SNAFU) agree. Lolzzzzz.

"If people like that are in my row, I refuse to let them by. They have to go the other way...sorry."

That's amazing, and I will do that from now on too! Updated On: 9/29/14 at 08:47 PM

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 9:39pm

I have been tempted to leave - but I always stay there regardless of what's on stage. I always have the feeling that maybe I will miss something. Like my friends who sat for Rocky and hated it- so left before the last 15 minutes (they left from an aisle seat at an appropriate pause)..and of course, all the reviewers said that the last minutes were the best.

Leaving mid show to interrupt others is just awful.... but yes, I agree that leaving for the curtain call makes me even angrier. That is just the utmost disrespect.

[SweetLips]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 11:36pm

It is NOT rude to leave whenever you want but it IS rude if you disrupt other people in the process---it is all about the appropriate time to leave.
I have the reputation, good or bad, of not staying for anything that doesn't hold my attention and no I don't have whatever that is called. I pays me money so I can please meself--couldn't care less if an actor sees me leave-usually say to myself-'Thank God I'm out of there'.


Updated On: 9/29/14 at 11:36 PM

[SweetLips]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 11:39pm

In response to Kathy--on my first trip to NY I was shocked,yes SHOCKED to see people rushing for the exit as the cast were taking their curtain calls--was then told that those people were usually rushing for the subway--true?

[Pootie2]

Posted: 9/29/14 at 11:45pm

If some of the communications I've seen about the IF/THEN audience behavior is any indication, at least some of those tourists who don't know better are rushing to get to the stage door. :/

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 9/30/14 at 1:43am

^^^Leave early to get to the subway? Probably not..it runs fairly often. Maybe if you were trying to catch a commuter train or bus to Long Island, or Jersey, etc that runs every hour or so, I can see why you might want to rush. It's still RUDE ..but at least, that is somewhat justifiable reason.

But I don't think the majority of people that skip out early have that pressing a reason to do so. They just want to beat the crowds or get their car out of the lot before everyone else (ha) and they don't give it a thought.

Me, I am the last one to leave. I love curtain calls..and everything about the end of a show. I also must applaud the orchestra if they are playing exit music...it wouldn't feel right otherwise.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 9/30/14 at 2:44am

Sutton it would indeed be presumptuous of me to speak for all the actors I haven't checked with if I hadn't modified my statement with "in my experience". That clearly defines the range I am including.

And actually, I haven't left part way through a show for over 20 years- though I reserve the right to if a show is not interesting me.

But in fact, I was talking from the other perspective, not as an audience member but as a worker in the industry; so in my experience, (and I'll highlight that for those people who cannot distinguish subtle points,) the many actors I have worked with and discussed it with don't give a stuff if people leave at the interval. Of course, everybody is upset- audience and actors alike- if someone's behaviour is disruptive, but as has been stated elsewhere, people can be disruptive when they stay just as much as when they leave!

Now collect up your toys and pop them back in the pram. You sit through a tedious, inept performance if it makes you feel more virtuous than me, but I'll discreetly leave you there and do something more fulfilling.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 9/30/14 at 6:47am

I have a friend who has subscriptions to all the major theaters in LA, Orange County and San Diego. She sees many other single productions, at least a couple per week.

She leaves at least 60% of the shows she sees at intermission. I think it's how she proves to herself she has "superior" taste.

[haterobics]

Posted: 9/30/14 at 12:29pm

"If some of the communications I've seen about the IF/THEN audience behavior is any indication, at least some of those tourists who don't know better are rushing to get to the stage door. :/"

When I dropped by to get a BC/EFA poster from If/Then, people were leaving the finale to go line up outside. They weren't even waiting for the show to actually end. Bad news for them, though. There were already 20+ people out there who didn't even see the show...

[Broadwaydreaming]

Posted: 9/30/14 at 12:53pm

^Witnessed this as well. I left after curtain call, enjoyed the whole show, and was still able to get a great spot by the barricade. The whole row behind me was filled with fan girls and they left even before "Always starting over" I guess they really wanted that 3 seconds of Idina's attention at the stage door.... The same 3 she gave me and everyone else who stayed the whole show.