#1
Posted: 5/10/12 at 3:06pm
I'm old. I've been going to the theater for over 40 years, since I was in grammar school, and at last night's performance of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES I witnessed something I don't think I've ever seen before.
I was sitting in the mezzanine, next to two other middle-aged men. One of them barely applauded, the other applauded only once, for about 3 claps, at the end of terrific 'Mamie is Mimi' number (when the rest of the audience was going wild.) The man sitting next to me sat through the curtain calls without moving. When the lights came up, they both got up left, so I know they weren't paralyzed (and credit to them for not bolting during the curtain calls, which to me is a capital offense). They didn't seem to dislike the show, they came back after intermission after all, but they just didn't applaud.
I just don't understand this. As someone with zero talent in the performance arts, I am constantly in awe of the men and women who dazzle us on stage. It would be impossible for me NOT to applaud. Last night's production was among the best I've seen at Encores! The dance numbers were as elaborate as anything you'd see on Broadway and, even if you found the show dated, surely the performers deserved recognition. I've noticed in Japan the audience is rather reserved during the show, but they go nuts at the end (BTW, these guys were white, and spoke English).
Are there any other non-applauders out there who can explain to me how you can sit through a 2 1/2 hour show and not feel the need to acknowledge the performers' efforts?
I was sitting in the mezzanine, next to two other middle-aged men. One of them barely applauded, the other applauded only once, for about 3 claps, at the end of terrific 'Mamie is Mimi' number (when the rest of the audience was going wild.) The man sitting next to me sat through the curtain calls without moving. When the lights came up, they both got up left, so I know they weren't paralyzed (and credit to them for not bolting during the curtain calls, which to me is a capital offense). They didn't seem to dislike the show, they came back after intermission after all, but they just didn't applaud.
I just don't understand this. As someone with zero talent in the performance arts, I am constantly in awe of the men and women who dazzle us on stage. It would be impossible for me NOT to applaud. Last night's production was among the best I've seen at Encores! The dance numbers were as elaborate as anything you'd see on Broadway and, even if you found the show dated, surely the performers deserved recognition. I've noticed in Japan the audience is rather reserved during the show, but they go nuts at the end (BTW, these guys were white, and spoke English).
Are there any other non-applauders out there who can explain to me how you can sit through a 2 1/2 hour show and not feel the need to acknowledge the performers' efforts?
'Our whole family shouts. It comes from us livin' so close to the railroad tracks'
