Bad Audience Behavior — Page 4

Quite a long time ago, I was at a production of "A Doll's House" and it was at the final, emotional scene where (spoiler!) Nora has just walked out her husband, and he's alone in their house yelling out "Nora! Nora!" I think it was just after she'd walked out and before you hear the famous slamming of the door. Anyway, right after he yelled "Nora!" for the first time, some guy in the audience yelled out "WHAT?" really, really loundly. It was awful, as the whole theater had been so completely quiet. Our theory was that either a) he was a complete jerk or b) he had fallen asleep and his wife had decided that he should wake up for the big dramatic moment, so she nudged him, startled him and made him cry out.

On the other hand...we saw "Curtains" last month, and during intermission we got to chatting in the lobby with a nice woman. She was very upset because, she said, her husband/boyfriend had been laughing during the show, and the person next to them told him to be quiet or they would call an usher. She said several times that he was just laughing, maybe a bit loudly, but he was enjoying the show and was laughing during funny parts, not at inappropriate times. It really seemed to have almost ruined the experience for her. I felt badly for her.

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At Mama Mia (which I was dragged to against my will) this woman came in 10 minutes late with like 30 shopping bags and didn't give me chance to stand up and let her by so she just steps all over me and her big bags hit me in the face. She plops down next to me and I'm like, "ok good, so *that's* over"....WRONG. Throughout the ENTIRE show at every song she sings along and rocks back and forth in her chair thus causing the whole row to move. I was so shocked, I could not believe this was happening. Not only did I NOT want to be there, but this was making it even worse. Then after intermission if you've seen Mama Mia, then you know the entracte is really loud and startling so, this group of girls in my row start screaming, like SCREAMING. Then they start laughing and proceed to re-enact how scared they got when the entracte came on: "oh my god, it was so loud, I was just like AHHH!!!" We know, my dear. We know.

This has to be the worst though. I went with two of my friends to see La Traviata at the NYC Opera, and I mean yes, you should be behaved at any theatre, but I mean this is THE OPERA, don't f*ck around. So this French couple is sitting behind us and the woman proceeds to translate the entire first act into French for her boyfriend...loudly. We all kept turning around and glaring at them. The first act was only about 30 minutes so then after that they move into empty seats in front of us and continue to talk. Then they whip out a pair of binoculars- we were in the 4th ring so yea we were high up, but you could see everything, but when you're that high up and people lean forward it blocks the view of the people behind you. Then the worst thing happens. The woman starts rumaging through her bag, I can hear coins jingling and wrappers and she finally pulls out her cell phone, opens it to a glaring blinding light and then calls her voicemail!! UMMMM HELLO?! and it's on loud enough that we can hear it. So my friend leans forward ans taps her, the woman doesn't turn around so my friend pokes her really hard like 3 times rapidfire. The woman turns around and my friend says, "can you please turn that off" the woman goes, "it's not on" HAHA um it's blaring and ringing. my friend goes, "you're calling your voicemail!" and the woman goes, "no I'm not." I didn't know whether to laugh or slap her phone out of her hand. Anyway she puts her phone away for 30 seconds, then takes it out AGAIN and opens it. so my other friend goes, "jesus christ, people can't go without their phones for 2 hours!" So at that point they get up and leave near the end of the 2nd act and my whole row applauded them out, and let me tell you, the rows at the NYC Opera are looooong so they walked the length of this row to applause. great moment and the 3rd act was splendid.

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When I saw Fiddler 2 years ago, a man with his family in the row in front of me kept making loud, obnoxious comments that everyone around him could hear. Then at one point--I don't remember what was happening onstage--he yelled a comment AT the actors onstage. I was embarrassed for his family.

I absolutely hate when people check their cell phones near me. Even if it's not in my direct line of sight, I notice it in my peripheral vision. Nothing pulls me out of a moment or scene quicker than inconsiderate audience members.

I second Kevn520's comment about cell phones... the other night, at Boeing-Boeing, this teen thought he was way to important and was texting the whole time until the usher told him to stop. So he got up, most likely made a phone call, came back to his seat and started texting below him. Since I was in the balcony, I could see the light and everyone else around me. If people are that important, then why bother going? This is the same in the movies!

BUT, the worse experience I had was Bocelli at the Hollywood Bowl and these drunken dimwits, who obviously never been to a theatre or poses any etiquette, got wasted and started karaoke-ing!

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