Color Purple Audience

Okay... so I finally got to see The Color Purple last Saturday and must tell you that I was completely amazed, touched, and impressed! [Particularly by Fantasia's INCREDIBLE performance]

HOWEVER... I have a few mixed feelings about the experience as a whole, mostly in regards to the audience.

Is it RRREEEAAALLLY neccessary to ruin every good moment of the production by hundreds of people shouting out "you go girl!" or "you tell him!" or "amen sistah!" etc etc etc I found that the most incredible moments on stage would be ruined by someone screaming out a stupid comment that made everyone laugh and/or reply... thus ruining the "moment" completely. UGH.

Now, the "mixed" portion of my feelings was glad that the audience was so respsonsive and thoroughly excited about the energy and buzz in the theater. I loved how much the audience loved the show. I just think it went a bit far at times! I mean, A LOT of lines were lost under the shouting out of comments from audience members. Somewhat frustrating when I spent over $100 to be sitting there.

Fantasia received OUTSTANDING feedback but perhaps what made me maddest of all is when the dang audience would start screaming their brains out at EVERY good note she hit... escelating to a level in which you could no longer even hear the note being sung! Especially at the ending... I was SO looking forward to hearing the "Amen" (last line of the show) but NOT A SINGLE PERSON IN THE THEATER could hear the last portion of that amazing song due to screams and premature applause!

Perhaps I'm being too uptight. I just think I'd rather HEAR the music first and THEN applaud it! And don't you think Fantasia would rather get the chance to sing and THEN be cheered? Just a few thoughts I guess...

Are The Color Purple audiences always like this?

yeah with sho its annoying. one youtube video the girl was sobbing into the camera.

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This is why I don't like concerts of popular performers, because you can't enjoy the concert for all the screams. I hate how people are so needy in the audience that they have to have the attention and that is their way of getting it. "AMEN SISTER!"

Antonijan ~ I've never experienced that at Wicked. Maybe it depends on who's Elphie and their fan base?

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When I saw the Dreamgirls movie for the first time!!! I hated these kids who would sing with Jennifer Hudson and Beyonce! People would of course "shhh" them, and then they would reply in a very annoying manner! Argh...

Totaly ruined it.

musicman, I encountered the same thing when I saw TCP, but it was really only during the opening number (part of which is sung by a preacher and is very much in a gospel/church style anyway). There were a few call-outs during other parts of the show, but not enough to bother me. I saw it when LaChanze was still in, so maybe it's gotten worse with Fantasia. I was also in the front row so maybe it was easier for me to tune it out than if the call-outs had been coming from all around me instead of just from behind me. However, I did like seeing an audience of people that are most likely not frequent theatergoers enjoying the show.

It's only racist to you, Tom.

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How silly. Guess what, this show wasn't written for you. It was written to empower a certain audience, and that audience is part of a culture where that is how they show their appreciation.

To denigrate how that culture expresses itself is to Sh*t on the entire production and what it stands for.

Its fine to have black people onstage, but not in the audience?
Makes me sick to my stomach, you should be ashamed.

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While I wasn't crazy about the show, I loved the experience! For me, it was a cross between a Broadway show and a Baptist church service. I saw the show with LaChanze, however the biggest response from the audience was during 'Hell, No'. Honestly, I felt it raised the level of the show, because I didn't like the OBCR at all.

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How is it disrespectful to discuss the behavior of an audience? There are countless threads on this board about audience behavior, I don't see how this one is any different.

I think if we'd all just acknowledge racial/cultural differences instead of trying to pretend they don't exist the world would be a much better place.

How is this racist??? Theater (at $100 plus a pop!!) is NOT participatory beyond laughter, clapping, etc.

This would annoy me as much as (any color) people's cell phones, (any color) people opening loud wrappers, (any color) people showing up late -- and (any color) people shouting out during ANY show.

Drawing attention to yourself in ANY way while at a show is just pathetic. Takes away from the actors, musicans, etc. and makes YOUR experience MY experience. I hate that people in general have lost all ability to sit and enjoy something (movies, theater, etc) without forgetting or not caring that they aren't in their living room.

(sorry to sound like a grouchy old man-- I'm just 36, but some stuff makes me feel like an old geezer yelling at kids from my front porch)

I will start off by saying that I am black. I didn't experience that behavior when I saw TCP in previews but I did when I saw A Raisin in the Sun. Unfortunately, these are black people who probably do not attend the theatre on a regular basis so therefore don't know how to "behave", so to speak, in a theatre. It annoys me also. What I did experience at TCP was a couple behind me making comments especially during the intimate scenes with Celie and Shug. I turned around and asked him to please keep his commnets to himself. And it surprised me because when I saw him before the show, my gaydar went ballistic! At Raisin, it was the cell phone cameras, comments and inappropriate laughter.

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