Audience Member Emergencies?

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Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/13/16 at 1:14pm

Attended The Color Purple at the Bernard B. Jacobs theatre last Thursday night, and both the show itself and the air in the theatre, were breathtaking...literally. During act 1, folks around me were gasping for air--the air was hot, there was no circulation. The woman in front of me had to pull out her ventolin inhaler. When the lights went up at intermission, we all had beads of sweat trickling down our foreheads.

Anyhow, this experience got me wondering, "I wonder if audience member emergencies, like asthma attacks happen, mid-show, and if a performance has ever ended to accommodate the patron?" Do you have any experiences? For example, 911 called and paramedics rush-in for a heart attach victim?

P.S.: I did complain to an usher at intermission, and he said, "We know." I then asked to speak to the house manager, and he replied, "I'll let the manager know."

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/13/16 at 1:20pm

This didn't happen during the performance, but on Christmas Day I took a family member to see School of Rock. While everyone was packed in the lobby waiting to be seated, a woman suddenly started screaming and collapsed. Her adult children screamed for someone to call 911. Some audience members who were doctors did rush over to aid her, I saw one of them performing CPR. The staff evacuated the lobby a few minutes later, waited for an ambulance to arrive, and then very quickly ushered ticket holders into the theater early before the woman was removed. I suspected she had a seizure or something since she did seem conscious last I saw. The show went on with no delays.

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/13/16 at 1:21pm

Yes, medical emergencies happen. They will stop the show to attend to the emergency, then re-start the performance at a logical place close to the moment it was halted. (I've witnessed it, I believe there is a thread about it, too....can't remember what it might be called.)

Wasn't Weds a particularly warm day? Perhaps that's how they found out their air wasn't working. Ugh.

If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/13/16 at 1:26pm

Years ago when Chicago was at Encores the second act was delayed as a person had a heart attack and passed away.

"I hope your Fanny is bigger than my Peter." Mary Martin to Ezio Pinza opening night of Fanny.

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/13/16 at 1:27pm

Thanks dramamama611. I did look for a thread on the topic, before posting. :) I'll have a further look.

We saw the show last Thursday night, and yes, it was a warm day.

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/13/16 at 1:30pm

It happened a few weeks ago at Hamilton. Here are LMM's tweets about it: 1, 2, 3, 4

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/13/16 at 1:39pm

BdwayLife said: "Thanks dramamama611. I did look for a thread on the topic, before posting. :) I'll have a further look.

We saw the show last Thursday night, and yes, it was a warm day.

The search function isn't always helpful. No worries.

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/13/16 at 2:06pm

Saw The Color Purple last night. I'm glad this was brought up as now I know it wasn't just me! It seemed a bit worse during Act I.

I know that with some HVAC systems, either the heat or the AC is on, and switching between the two isn't very seamless. I remember my junior high being like that (and I'm not that old). Perhaps this is an instance where they haven't switched over to cooling yet because it's been warmer than usual, and temps are anticipated to come back to normal for a bit yet. Then again, usually theatres are freezing, so who knows.

On on the subject of emergencies - was at Fun Home a few months ago, and someone had some type of issue. At first the people with the person and some of the house staff tried to tend to the person while the show was going on, but ultimately they had to stop the show (during the climactic final number) so paramedics could come in and tend to the person. Once the person was taken out, they started the number over. That was the first time I've ever been at a show when something like that has happened.

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/13/16 at 2:07pm

It happened at a performance of The Best Man revival I was at. I don't know exactly what was wrong with the patron, but 911 was called and the show was held until he was picked up and taken care of. They then backtracked a bit in the scene and started again.

#10

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/13/16 at 8:23pm

There was a patron at the Philharmonic who suffered a heart attack during a performance about a year ago. As she was seated on the side aisle, the emergency crew were able to access her with very little disturbance. We all knew

what had happened when they covered her face.

"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)

Updated On: 3/13/16 at 08:23 PM

#11

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/14/16 at 12:03am

Sad stories. You never like to hear about things like this happening. It's nice to hear how supportive the cast and audience members are when it does happen.

#12

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/14/16 at 1:13am

UrNotAMachine said: "It happened a few weeks ago at Hamilton. Here are LMM's tweets about it: 1, 2, 3, 4"

I was at this performance, about 10 rows in front of where it happened. It happened just as James Reynolds was reading his letter during "Say No To This," I heard very loud chatter behind me and initially thought it was someone being rude but quickly we all realized it was a medical emergency. They went through to the end of the song until the SM finally called the show to stop and asked the actors to leave the stage, but pretty much everyone was looking behind to the situation and flashlights were on and it was very distracting, and you could tell the cast was really thrown off by it. At one point, Leslie Odom Jr., who is not onstage during this scene, stepped onstage and started making a timeout sign with his hands to try and get them to stop.

The show stopped for about 15 minutes while paramedics arrived and assisted the woman in exiting (who was conscious and able to walk out herself), and then resumed right at the top of The Room Where It Happens.

#13

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/14/16 at 1:23am

That is intense. I hope the person turned out to be okay. Wow!

(And then there's this story of a wild NON-emergency: https://www.instagram.com/p/BCoepb4gn42/?taken-by=humansofbroadway)

"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt

#14

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/14/16 at 10:12am

When I was at Fun Home back in November the show had to be stopped for a woman to be taken out by paramedics. I had noticed some movement and ushers with lights, but I was so in to the show I didn't pay much attention. About 40 or so seconds in to Flying Away (Finale) a voice suddenly asked the actors to halt the show. Beth, Emily and Gabby quickly ran off and the lights came on. It took them about 5 minutes to take her out, and then they restarted the song. The woman was still being stabilised by paramedics when we were exiting. It went pretty smoothly from what I witnessed, it must have been fairly serious as the show was minutes from ending when they stopped it.

#15

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/14/16 at 10:36am

LizzieCurry said: "That is intense. I hope the person turned out to be okay. Wow!

"

LMM's tweet #5

#16

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/14/16 at 10:50am

A friend and I went to see Bullets Over Broadway and were seated Mezzanine, third row center. The intermission seemed to be a little long when they announced that they would start Act 2 once a medical emergency in the mezzanine was taken care of. We looked at each other and turned around. Two rows behind us were 3 EMT people helping a gentleman who was having trouble breathing. They had a chair in the aisle and slowly got him to the chair and out of the theatre. I was surprised at how quiet they were during the whole process - we didn't even realize they were there until we turned around!

#17

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/14/16 at 10:51am

Thanks, Anakela!

"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt

#18

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/14/16 at 11:03am

I wonder what Broadway Guru would think of that.

....but the world goes 'round

#19

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/14/16 at 11:12am

I attended a theatrical production in Philadelphia recently where an older patron seated in the front row became incontinent about 15 minutes into the show. I was impressed that the house staff were able to discreetly usher the man out to clean himself up, and to clean the area around his seat, without interrupting the play. That said, I wouldn't want to have that job.

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

#20

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/14/16 at 3:51pm

mufish said: "Saw The Color Purple last night. I'm glad this was brought up as now I know it wasn't just me! It seemed a bit worse during Act I.

I know that with some HVAC systems, either the heat or the AC is on, and switching between the two isn't very seamless. I remember my junior high being like that (and I'm not that old). Perhaps this is an instance where they haven't switched over to cooling yet because it's been warmer than usual, and temps are anticipated to come back to normal for a bit yet. Then again, usually theatres are freezing, so who knows.

On on the subject of emergencies - was at Fun Home a few months ago, and someone had some type of issue. At first the people with the person and some of the house staff tried to tend to the person while the show was going on, but ultimately they had to stop the show (during the climactic final number) so paramedics could come in and tend to the person. Once the person was taken out, they started the number over. That was the first time I've ever been at a show when something like that has happened.

"I think you're right, Mufish--they had not turned the system over to cooling. Act II felt like we were sitting in a sauna!"

#21

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/14/16 at 4:31pm

At a performance of the A Little Night Music revival an older audience member started loudly groaning during "It Would Have Been Wonderful". They stopped the show and it took about a half hour for everything to get settled. Paramedics ended up taking him out on a gurney. It goes without saying it was pretty traumatic in the middle of such a comparatively light show. They started back up at the top of the number, and Alexander Hanson very knowingly delivered the first line "I should never have gone to the theater" and it got a huge laugh. It really relieved the tension and helped get the audience back on track.

#22

Audience Member Emergencies?

Posted: 3/14/16 at 5:26pm

I saw a performance of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time last year, and a woman fainted when we were waiting to go into the theatre. The worst thing about it was that the entire box office was packed and she was right by the doors into theatre, and it was difficult for people to get to her.

Updated On: 3/14/16 at 05:26 PM

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