Stop dressing like crap!

[bwaylyric]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 7:36pm

"No wonder everybody from Patti LuPone on down is complaining that nobody knows how to behave anymore: If you dress like a child, chances are you’re going to act like one."

Dress-code 

I have no problem with those who wear cargo shorts, flip flops, wife beater shirts to shows.  Just don't stink or annoy me with your cell phone and noisemaking snacks.

[Nina23]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 7:39pm

""No wonder everybody from Patti LuPone on down is complaining that nobody knows how to behave anymore: If you dress like a child, chances are you’re going to act like one."
Dress-code 
I have no problem with those who wear cargo shorts, flip flops, wife beater shirts to shows.  Just don't stink or annoy me with your cell phone and noisemaking snacks."

 CAN I GO NAKED

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 7:49pm

"If you dress like a child, chances are you’re going to act like one"

This is one of the dumbest comments I've ever heard someone who considers themselves a responsible journalist make. So someone who wears a t-shirt and cargo shorts to a matinee in July because it's 95 degrees and 95% humidity is highly likely to act like a child once in the theater? Is she trying to outstupid Riedel.

[mufish]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 8:08pm

She's given a platform like the NY Post, and this is how she uses it?  Seems there are any number of other societal ills she could rant against that are far worse than this. 

 

Agree with the OP.  As long as you don't smell or disrupt the actual experience of seeing the show, who cares what you're wearing?  Doesn't matter what you're wearing when the lights are down.

 

Plus, if everyone dressed appropriately, "People of Walmart" would cease to exist!

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 8:10pm

Ridiculous and classist argument. As long as you behave appropriately, I don't give a damn how you dress- the theatre is dark anyway, so who can even tell what the anyone is wearing. I'm all for making sure inappropriate behavior is called out, but this is a worthless argument to make. 

[Ranger Tom]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 8:23pm

Not sure it's about classistness but it is about having class.  Went to a Young People's production of Nice Work If You Can Get It.  Everyone in shorts, flip flops, etc.  Not a single cell phone ring or text incident during the show.  Went to the SF Opera twice last season.  Not a Wrangler shirt in sight.  Cell phones glowing and buzzing throughout.  Not an ageist or classist thing...it's just we've lost what used to be known as "class."

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 8:28pm

"Classistness"?  Did you just make up that word?

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 8:31pm

I consider it a classist argument because the idea of a dress code means that only those dressed in a certain way- like upper class people- are deemed acceptable. Not everyone has the money to spend on nice clothes and it is classist to suggest that those dressed in an otherwise fashion are lesser or shouldn't be coming to the theatre. 

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 8:32pm

Only time I get dressed up is if it's opening night otherwise it's too hot for me, especially during the summer to be on the train in a suit. 

I also shut my phone off and don't interrupt the show or bother anyone around me. 

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 8:35pm

Nobody's GOT no claaaaaaaaass 

Seriously though I couldn't care less about what my fellow patrons wear. I love having the right to wear a casual outfit and be comfortable for the 2.5-3 hours I spend in a cramped theatre seat.

[stargazer2]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 8:36pm

The people wearing shorts and t shirts to a matinee in the middle of summer are the smartest people in the audience in my opinion.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 8:36pm

I don't care what you wear as long as you are respectful and non disruptive. 

[Ranger Tom]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 8:41pm

Yes, Namo, yes I did.  And, did I mention those who go to the theater/opera and hum/sing.  Worse than cell phones...my humble opinion.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 8:41pm

Me suspects one of two explanations for this article.

The first, and most likely, is that she has misapprehended the etymology of her last name, thinking that it means 100 wines and leading her to consume all of them before writing this.

The other is that her job is in serious jeopardy and she has been told that if she does not increase her readership by acting out (ironically, like a child) she will have a hard time paying for the god-awful clothes she apparently likes soon. 

What a pathetic nutcase.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 8:53pm

(Velma)
Whatever happened to fair dealing
And pure ethics
And nice manners?
Why is it everyone now is a pain in the Ass?
Whatever happened to class?
(Mama)
Class.
Whatever happened to Please may I
And Yes thank you
And How charming?
Now every son of a bitch
Is a snake in the grass
Whatever happened to class?
(Velma)
Class.
(Both)
Oh, there ain't no gentelmen to open up the doors,
There ain't no ladies now there's only pigs and whores
And even kids'll knock you down so's they can pass
Nobody's got no class!!!
(Velma)
Whatever happened to old values
(Mama)
And fine morals
(Velma)
And good breeding?
(Mama)
Now no-one even says oops
When they're passing their gas
(Both)
Whatever happened to class?
Class.
Oh, There ain't no gentelmen that's fit for any use,
And any girl will touch your privates for a deuce
And even kids'll kick your shins and give ya sass
Nobody's got no class!
(Velma)
All you read about today is rape and theft
(Mama)
Jesus Christ, ain't there no decency left?
(Both)
Nobody's got no class!

(Mama)
Every guy is a snot
(Velma)
Every girl is a twat
(Mama)
Holy ****
(Velma)
Holy ****
(Mama)
What a shame
(Velma)
What a shame
(Both)
What became of class?

 

Read more: Chicago The Musical - Class Lyrics | MetroLyrics

[lunch]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 8:54pm

"I consider it a classist argument because the idea of a dress code means that only those dressed in a certain way- like upper class people- are deemed acceptable. Not everyone has the money to spend on nice clothes and it is classist to suggest that those dressed in an otherwise fashion are lesser or shouldn't be coming to the theatre. "

I don't agree with idea of a dress code, but if you can afford theater tickets, you can afford to wear long pants.  Dressing less casually does mean dressing more expensively.  

Again, people should decide for themselves what to wear to the theater -- be it a t-shirt and cargo shorts or a suit.  But the idea that low income people can't afford to dress well is stereotyping and insulting. 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 9:03pm

Dressing for the theatre is kinda-sorta like dressing for a wedding if you're not part of the wedding party. You're not the center of attention, but it is an event. And sure, you know and like the bride and/or groom, and your clothes don't necessarily reflect how good a friend you are to them, but it does show respect for the person, the event, and the other attendees.

And lunch is completely correct in their second paragraph.

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 9:36pm

I do think some people equate clothing choice with behavior - kind of the old "dress for the job you want" philosophy. You might rise to the level of your outward appearance. Of course we all know in the theater this gets thrown out the window. A three-piece suit is probably MORE likely to be the texter.

I do think that worn out or excessively sloppy clothing is kind of inappropriate for the theater. I just think an expensive, live art experience deserves a little better than that, though like everyone else I mostly care how people behave. But if you're wearing a tank top and shorts don't complain that the AC is too cold.

The guy who ended up sitting in the next seat over from the Bidens at Hamilton last night (there was a one-seat buffer) was wearing a cut-off tshirt which seemed in retrospect to be an unfortunate choice. 

[RaiseYouUp]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 9:50pm

I think it all depends on the individual. There have been days when I have been walking around New York in the heat and don't have time to go back and put on nice clothes before a show. (Although I did make a special effort to do that before seeing Patti in Shows For Days, and I'm glad I did since I was on the front row!) 
But if you are upper class and coming from your home to see a show, then I don't see why you wouldn't dress up a little bit.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 9:53pm

"If you're upper class"? Really?

Anyway, yeah, walking around in weather like this sucks and I think people are willing to give some leeway. But even if you're coming straight from work and you have a casual office, it's nice to at least try to not be super-casual for the day.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 10:02pm

I do try to dress decently when I see plays, but I never care what fellow patrons wear--I'm there to watch the show, not my fellow audience members. Dress codes at performances recall the pre-Wagnerian days when attending a performance was as much a social event as it was entertainment. By turning off our phones, we are agreeing that we only care about what is happening on stage.

When Vincintelli (a person I continually grow to loathe with each word she says) closes the article writing, "...suddenly I wasn’t just playing tennis anymore. I was feeling special," she is essentially making an elitist argument. But that's nothing new for her. She seems to get off on knocking down artists, it only makes sense that her contempt should spread to audiences as well. I long for the day that the Post replaces her with a critic who actually enjoys attending theatre.

[lunch]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 10:14pm

I recently watched an interview with some of the cast members of Fun Home discussing performing in the Circle in the Square where everyone is so close. Beth Malone mentioned that audience members in white shirts can be distracting.  Good to know.

[Hamilton22]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 10:15pm

 

There was nothing wrong with how those people dressed in this photo. To be frank, the only crap I see is this article. 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 10:16pm

This article does seem like it's intended to bait readers. No sweatpants on airplanes? What was the point of this?

Personally, I like to dress up a little because I just buy too many dresses that I can't wear to work. But when we're hoping to make theatre more accessible I don't think appointing arbiters of style is the best tactic. A touch of glamour would make people watching a little more interesting but other than that, I'm not really bothered.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 10:20pm

This is New York. There is zero correlation between cost of clothing and its "acceptability" to someone like the idiot who wrote that article. 

Here is a $3000+ outfit including a pair of SLP jeans that are $850 at Barneys. Would this be acceptable to her? no.