Sweeney Todd, NOT AS SCAREY AS THE USHERS!

Sometimes I want to say to those people "It's not my fault you work here!"

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You're so right. I found the ushers particularly rude at Sweeney Todd (especially this one witch who asked a woman if she'd been helped just as another usher approached her husband, and when the woman stumbled for an answer, the witch snarked in that condescending special-bus-driver tone, "Are you with him? Yes? Then what are you looking at me for?") and, to a lesser degree, Spamalot.

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The Shubert, Neil Simon, and the Ambassador have the rudest ushers I've ever encountered.

The ones at the Shubert are rude in the way that they stand in the back and talk, not even whisper, talk amongst each other. If you have standing room, it's very distracting.

The ushers at the Ambassador are just ass holes. There's no two ways about it. Oh, and they too carry on conversations in the back of the house.

And finally, the Neil Simon. I saw Hairspray for the millionth time tonight and good Lord...the rudest women I've ever encountered. Their job, whether they like it or not, is to direct people to their seats. I watched all four ushers in the mezz tonight and not one of them even so much as pointed in the right direction. I'm sorry, but some people don't do well with "You're in J, tenth and eleventh seat on the right." And when those people have trouble locating their seats, the usher stands at the bottom of the stairs and yells at them.

They're probably all just pissy because they know the college kids selling t-shirts in the lobby are making more money per show than they are.

Yeah, I was going to say, I plopped my bag down on the ground at Spelling Bee and no one objected. It wasn't particularly heavy or anything, but it was more convenient.

I can't believe it would be a fire hazard. You can grab your bags and be out of there fast, before all those people slowly filing out of the audience seats with no leg room, carrying all THEIR bags, even make it the standing room section.

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Yes, the Eugene O'Neill ushers are NOTORIOUSLY rude - especially the white trash beast with no teeth.

I was there all the time for NINE, and they were awful.

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I've seen Sweeney three different times from three different locations and have encountered three different ushers~all were unforgivably rude. I remember the ushers there being rude from my experiences at Caroline... and Nine there, too.

The Ambassador ushers are very rude, as well. I recently revisited Chicago, and had a front row (general rush) seat in the Left Orchestra. As I was sitting down in my seat, the usher practically exclaimed "DO NOT PUT ANYTHING ON THE STAGE EVER DURING THE PERFORMANCE, EVEN AT INTERMISSION!" I was like, "Okay...Wasn't gonna..."

I've also had bad previous experiences with the Box Office attendants at the Marquis and the Belasco.

I can't believe these women get away with treating people like dirt. I have had a few run ins with the toothless directress(F) @ the O'Neil and her menatally challenged sidekick(C).When I worked Caroline or Change, the few time that they were actually in the house and not standing outside, they were either singing or talking.Most of the ushers @ the O'Neil are great but there are 4 who are MISERABLE! and try to take the enjoyment out of what for me is a great experience.That house needs an overhaul starting with the chief! the 4th usher I speak of is kind of non-descript except for the behive & big glasses, she just glares at you, may be she is on medication, If she is I apologize for being unfeeling.

Perhaps it's my sparkling personailty and animal magnetism...but I've NEVER encountered a rude usher in my life...not that I don't doubt there are some...perhaps many.

But after witnessing the true social retardation of many of the audience members at a matinee of WOMAN IN WHITE, I don't understand how an usher has not snapped and open fired on them. Truly terrible people.

My favorite usher was perhaps the one at CATS. During the opening number she kepts saying, 'What are they saying?? What are those damn cats saying??? What's a Jellicle cat????' You could tell she worked there since it opened and still hadn't figured out what the show was about.

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I have a problem with most ushers.

There are a few nice ones, but as a whole they are snippy and holier-than-thou. It smells like a petty little person has gotten a little tiny bit of authority (not really any, since it often falls to the house manager) and they ride it like there's no tomorrow.

It's too bad, because in most regionals, they're volunteers... but they still have the white collar attitude.

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I truly don't understand. You hand them your ticket stub, they hand you a Playbill, they walk you down the aisle to your row. You say thank you. What am I missing?

It's the additional situations.

A cell phone rings 3 times in one act, you ask them to speak to the person, they look at you like you're Hitler.

You happen to be 6'4 and your knee strays 2" into the aisle and you're told to keep your "leg" in the row, with a look of disgust like you just killed a puppy.

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Still don't get the annoyance factor. Don't worry ... be happy.