Bad Audience Behavior- Page 5

[darkmist115]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 10:25pm

we just did Romeo & Juliet at my school (I know, Shakespeare in a high school.... don't get me started), and there was a LOT of bad audienece behaviour.

The first night, there was laughter during Tybalt's death scene. He also got death applause the second night. Granted, Ray died well, but applause isn't warranted.

There were people standing in the left of the auditorium against a wall, when they had seats right next to them. They just thought it'd be fun to stand and see into the wings? it was really annoying.

people talked and slept a lot, too. really annoying, and the talking got distracting.

ah, indeed high school audiences are fun.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 10:37pm

During my first trip to The Pillowman, I was sitting directly in front of a girl who was DEFINITELY too young to be seeing the show (I'm guessing she couldn't be older than eight) and her mother. Throughout Act One, she asked her mom constant questions about what was going on, what was happening, I don't understand, etc. At the same time, her mother was trying to walk her through the plot and everything, which was really annoying and distracting. On top of that, she screamed (loudly) at one point, very loudly opened a bag of chips, chewed gum, told her mother about six times that she had to pee and that she was going to have an accident if she didn't go to the bathroom, and drank a soda. Luckily (thank God), they left at intermission. That is probably the worst case I've ever encountered.

[greenifyed]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 11:32pm

I think overall the "best" I can think of was Student Day at All Shook Up in the balcony. I need say nothing else other than I moved.

The worst behavior I can really think of wasn't inside, but right outside of the Gershwin. On Jan 8th last year after everything had gone on, these two girls were SCREAMING at the top of their LUNGS about how they "DIDN'T PAY TO SEE THAT FAT C*NT SHOSHANA BEAN." No, I'm not kidding.

[Lamc16]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 11:33pm

that's pretty bad, mef. my two worst both involve "virginia woolf" (same show, separate occasions). the first was when i was in the balcony. these two LARGE women walked in about fifteen minutes after the show started, carrying tons of shopping bags--PLASTIC shopping bags. then, after getting settled in their seats, they decided to pick up all their bags and move two rows up, all the while making even more noise. finally, once i thought they were done, one of the women pulled a large sandwich out of one of her noisy bags and proceeded to eat it.

the second occasion was when i was sitting in the very front row. the guy next to me, about a third of the way through the play, got comfortable and put his LEGS UP ON THE STAGE (!!!). as if that wasn't bad enough, he then proceeded to fall asleep. i was beside myself. i could not believe that his wife didn't even TRY to wake him up. not only that, i was shocked during the intermission that none of the ushers told him he couldn't put his legs up there. i swear, the whole time i was praying that kathleen turner would throw something at him. talk about disrespectful!

[Radioactiveduck]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 12:56am

When I saw Wicked in LA, my parents got me a 6th row VIP seat for my birthday. The people next to me brought their 6 year olds, and they talked thru the whole show, and were hardly ever paying attention. It pissed me off SO much

My school put on Medea (a greek tragedy...I know, my director's crazy). 1/2 the kids fell asleep, and the other 1/2 had really inapproriate responses to the show. Example...HUGE bouts of laughter during really intense or sad moments because of some of the phrasing (REALLY archaic language). What's worse, they all posted about what a horrible show it was on their blogs.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 1:13am

Duck, you would have been well within your rights to tell them to.......be quiet (although I have a different way to say it).

I have told many people in theaters to SHUT-UP

[Radioactiveduck]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 1:35am

I felt bad, cuz it's really not the kid's fault. Had they been closer to 10/11 I would have had no qualms. It's the parents of those kids who pissed me off the most.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 6:24am

the second occasion was when i was sitting in the very front row. the guy next to me, about a third of the way through the play, got comfortable and put his LEGS UP ON THE STAGE (!!!).

That's so funny; I noticed the same thing on one of my trips to VIRGINIA WOOLF. I was sitting front row center mezz at a Wednesday matinee in the summer, and I noticed a woman in the second row of the right orchestra with her feet up on the stage. Her feet were close enough to Bill Irwin to kick him at one point they were so far extended.

[Piazzaslight]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 7:49am

Darkmist: Yes, High school audiences are indeed fun. Whne i saw a one-act competition at my local high school, there was obnoxious catcalling, a baby crying, applauding for no good reason, yadayadayadayada. I was ready to KILL myself in this audience. Thankfully, I survived.

[jimmirae]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 8:09am

Next time you see a woman with her shoes off in a Broadway House, Look again, Mrs. James Brolin is noted for doing just that!

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 9:30am

I love my old high school, and we really did have great theatre. We just had crappy audiences.

* During a production of "Footloose," the girl playing Mrs. Shaw had a penny thrown at her durring "Can You Find it in Your Heart"
* During "The Visit," people were yelling and catcalling during the whole show.
* I just went back to see my high school put on "Urinetown." The show was phenomenal, but the audience yelled LOUDLY at the end of EVERY number and during the kisses. I wanted to go up to them and glue their mouths shut.
* Went to see "The Nutcracker" last week and some jerk whistled at the end of every number. And a cell phone went off right before "Waltz of the Sugar Plum Fairy."

This isn't the same, but when I went to see the RENT movie, there were some STUPID little girls sitting behind me who giggled and talked through the whole movie. It pretty much ruined the experience for me.

[Kimmygonbefamous]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 9:48am

I saw the Wicked tour in Hartford last night, and the people sitting behind us (I'm assuming a mother and a daughter) were horrendous. The daughter had a jingle bell necklace that she would shake at strategic parts in the show. Also, whenever a funny line was delivered, the mother (in her Patty/Selma from the Simpsons-type voice) would feel the need to repeat it. Not to mention the gratuitous hard-candy-unwrapping. Ugh.

[wishinguweresomehow]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 12:32pm

The week that Ben Vereen came to Chicao to play the Wizard my cousin, Aunt, and I had just sat down when one of the people's cell phones(next to us) rang and she began talking so freakin' loud about how a person who knows a person who knows a person who knows Kate Reinders got them their tickets, and how no one is as lucky as they are because they were sitting in Orchestra E. I was like AAHHH!! Maybe, thats not the worst audience behavior, but I thought it was pretty rude...I dunno...

~Meg~

[DancNdaMoonlite]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 12:38pm

When I saw Rent in October, my 1st time, these really annoying 40-50 year olds were completely drunk and talked the whole way through and laughed during all the quiet parts. I wanted to shoot them.

[WickedRentEder]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 12:45pm

During a performance of Les Mis (one of the last ones), there were 4 people sitting in front of me in the orchestra level. About 30 mins after the show started, 2 couples came down the aisle and apparently the people in front were in the wrong row (were supposed to be in my row). Well, rather than sitting next to me until intermission as the usher suggested, they decided they they didn't pay for those seats that they wanted their seats! So they made up a HUGE stink over one row difference, causing now EIGHT people to move around while Fantine lays dying! Needless to say, I was annoyed. During intermission, the loud couples started saying stuff like 'they were going to whack the people who were in their seats' so another verbal spar began. I had enough and I told both parties to SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN! The oud couples gave me the 'look' and I gave it right back.

Also, during Dracula (yes, I SAW Dracula), there were some what I can only assume are out of towners, that actually booed and sneered (and stopped clapping) when the actors revealed what BC/EFA was all about. I've NEVER seen people boo during that part. I was rather annoyed by that!

[Garland Grrrl]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 1:14pm

at the kravis center in palm beach they are considering offering a free dessert bar after performances to keep their old, wealthy and very very rude patrons from running for the valet parking half way through the second act of a show. i've seen it with my own eyes, and it is not pretty -- at all.

[electrakitty]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 2:54pm

I've got a few too. . .A long time ago, I was doing a little summer stock production of Deathtrap (for those of you unfamiliar, the basic premise is that there's an older playwright and a younger and they are secretly in love and want to kill the older playwright's wife so that they can be together. Anyway. . .). At the pivotal plot moment, when they are about to reveal their feelings for one another to the audience, a very loud, very redneck voice came booming from the back of the house (loudly enough to be heard clearly backstage) "I believe them boys is gay!" No, I'm really not kidding. God love the actors, they carried on as if nothing had been said, but it was a struggle.
Of course, student audiences are always a trial, but I have a few great student audience moments from a production of Dracula (of which I did twelve weeks): One night this kid was making kissy noises at Dracula and Mina (they had this little waltz that they did together), which annoyed Mina (who was normally very patient), so as she exited in the blackout, she put her hand right in his face. She didn't touch him, but she sure scared the crap out of him. He yelled "Oh Sh*t!" and, of course, she was quite proud of herself.

[children&art]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 4:17pm

Ok, not Broadway but still HORRIBLE.

I live in Dallas and attend the Summer Musicals series at the Fair Park Musical Hall. For the past three seasons they have changed their policy that food and drink ARE allowed in the theatre. This is absolutely ridiculous!

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 4:57pm

I forgot another one. I went to see the Les Miz tour in Kansas City last month. They wouldn't seat people after the overture had started, but once it was over there didn't seem to be a problem. People were walking in during "At the End of the Day" making as much noise and commotion as humanly possible. They did the same thing after intermission, effectively ruining "On My Own." You'd think ushers would know better.

[Lamc16]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 6:20pm

MEF- doesn't it bother you that they let people get away w/ that? Especially since we now know it wasn't an isolated incident?

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 6:24pm

If I was an usher, I would have said something to that woman. Hell, I almost wanted to go find her at intermission and set her straight, but I decided to practice self-restraint.

[Lamc16]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 6:29pm

lol. but i'm especially surprised that the actors didn't alert anyone to ask them to stop.

[Anakela]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 7:43pm

When I went to see Great American Trailer Park a guy in the row in front of me (I was in the 4th row orch, he was in the third) fell asleep. Which I guess isn't as bad as some other behaviors listed here. But I only noticed that he was asleep when I heard the *snoring,* and I was trying to figure out what the hell that noise was.

[HBG]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 9:28pm

At Wicked a few weeks ago, there was a lot of picture-taking going on during the show...even a few people with the flash on. During the BC/EFA speech, Megan Hilty actually reprimanded the audience, saying that picture-taking at a show is a federal offense punished by a $10,000 fine. I think that was the most serious I've ever seen Megan. Then during Shoshana's part of the speech, someone took a picture, and she's like, "Did someone just take a picture?!" and then she started yelling at the audience for someone to tattle on the person who took the picture. After the show I spoke to Megan about it, and she said that so many people were taking pictures during the show that all her and Shoshana could see were orange lights the whole show, with the occasional flash. It was extremely distracting to them, and they had to put up with it the whole show. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love seeing pictures from the show, but there is a time and place...it's called curtain call.

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 11:00pm

A few months ago I won the RENT lotto with my friend who has never been to a Broadway show. So, we were in the first row...in the very middle. After every single song she sat there slumped over looking bored...never clapped or smiled....NOTHING! I told her that it was rude and the actors could see the first few rows. She just sat there and told me that she didn't like it. I mean, if she didn't like it, thats her opinion but to sit in the first row slumped over and not clapping is just....rude. At the end, during the standing ovation, I literally had to pull her up off the seat and still she never clapped or anything. I was embaressed. Afterwards I wanted pictures but she refused to stay (which I was kinda glad because I didn't want the actors to possibly know that I was with this 'rude girl.') After I got pictures taken, I met her at the restaurant.

From that day....I haven't talked to her much.