Bad Theater Behavior

Is it just me or has behavior at live theater events really gone down hill in the last couple of months. I am in my forties and see a ton of theater, at least 2 to 3 shows a week. I was at Cinderella last night with a ton of kids. Kids were all perfectly well behaved. It was the adults who were the distractions. Between taking pictures during the show, talking, opening loud plastic bags and texting. One rude lady behind me decided to open her plastic bag full of candy 5 minutes into the second act. Why not open it, get out what you want and have it ready DURING intermission. Also was at Rocky third preview in Golden Circle and some jerk filmed the entire fight scene. Similar thing happened at the first preview of Aladdin.

Are you telling me your comments cannot wait for an applause break, that the text cannot wait until intermission. That your memory of the show is not good enough, you need to film it? That you are not smart enough to get out your snack and have it ready? Has it really gotten this bad? Sorry to vent, it has just become very frustrating as of late.

The actors are working hard to put on a show for you, sit back, TURN OFF and put AWAY the phone, open your snack before the show, be courteous and give them your full attention. Is that really too much to ask?

only when correcting the situation does not cause more of a disturbance. I like to wait until intermission and then talk loudly about the rude person. I have gotten some interesting looks over the years. But I got my point across.

I have said things, put my hand over (NOT TOUCHING)someones cell phone and told them it can wait until intermission, please, turn it off. It depends on the situation. As I stated sometimes correcting the situation would be more distracting. Especially with my potty mouth. I am not always the nice 40 something lady you would expect me to be.

Gee maybe it's CINDERELLA. I opted for premium seats and witnessed the worst behavior I'd ever seen in the theatre. The woman right next to me was texting throughout the first act. I opened my Playbill and placed it as close to her damn phone as I could but she couldn't have cared less. The usher took care of the situation during intermission since anything I said to her wouldn't have mattered.

But worse than this was a woman sitting next to my partner who had smuggled in an order of McDonald french fries in her pocketbook. She continued to slowly devour her snack throughout the first act. There was an extremely offensive stench of old cooking oil that hovered over our area that couldn't be ignored. It was truly nauseating to have to sit through.

Lastly, during the entire first act a woman nearby insisted on video taping the show. After threatening to confiscate the woman's camera if she didn't stop, I had the opportunity to speak with the house manager during intermission. He said he had been called down from his office after being alerted by cast members about this woman's behavior. Not sure where the ushers were since you could easily see the lit screen of her camera. Anyways, audience behavior has definitely changed in recent times. I'm hoping it's possibly better at straight plays. But overall I did enjoy CINDERELLA and thought the sets and costumes were remarkable.

"He and his female friend left right after that."

Wow, what a t**t. Paid for two tickets, annoyed the audience with his snacking yet was so surprised that someone called him out on his bad behavior that he chose to miss the rest of the show. Good for you for speaking up, that chewing must have been horrendous to sit through.

I also had a bad time at Cinderella. This woman had two children with her, one maybe 2.5 and the other maybe 4. During the first act it was all good - during the second act the younger one was crying, grabbing seats, talking - and the mother wasn't doing anything!! I wanted to punch that child and her mother in the face. Completely killed the second act for me. It bothered me so much that I did complain to the House Manager because I thought they didn't let children under 4 - turns out they are 'flexible'. He was pretty nice and offered to comp me another performance but alas I didn't have any time/slots left.

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@ Phantom Of London, I suppose you eat your dinner on the subway also. and you are kidding yourself if you think sushi does not smell. Food other than snacks should not be eaten in the theater period. Wow what a tool.

You re there to see a show not eat.

Wanna eat during a show try Dinner Theater.

Updated On: 3/5/14 at 04:17 PM

Thanks, Rainbowhigh23. I'm constantly amazed how clueless some people are when it comes to common sense behavior.

At Rocky, there was a couple directly behind my boyfriend that was catching his eye. The woman was texting most of the first act. He asked her to put the phone away and the boyfriend started yelling (the show was still going on). He goes, WHAT DID YOU SAY? TURN AROUND AND WATCH THE MOVIE. Classy people.

"When deciding what to say, just remember you never know who carries a gun these days. "

Talk about Bullets Over Broadway!!! LOL

Because everyone who goes to a Broadway show is packing heat and is going to shoot a nice lady for asking them to stop doing something they should not be doing anyway.

Several years ago here in LA when seeing Celine Dion on concert, the couple behind us wouldn't stop talking throughout the entire concert. After asking them to please be quiet several times, he got very hostile - trying to impress his gf that he's THE MAN. I got up, told an usher what was going on, and Security came over to them.
He got more irate, and they removed them from the arena. There comes a point where enough is enough.

Without defending any of the misbehavior itemized above (none of which I would engage in myself), is it possible our musical theater actually encourages bad behavior?

We upped the amps to deafening levels, to point where in many shows the voices seem to come not from the characters but from everywhere in the house. We've computerized sets and lights to the point were they change as mechanically as if we were watching a film. (And let's don't even get into the types of stories we adapt for large-scale shows.)

And now we cater to patrons by letting them take their drinks and food to their seats. (!)

Is it really a wonder that some patrons behave as if they were in a movie theater or at home watching TV?

To the petite woman above who likes to get aggressive in these situations, I would just say to be very careful. The below is a true story.

A few years ago, I was at a movie and these two idiots (one man, one woman) would not shut up. There was a petite woman in front of them and after enduring the blabbering for at least 30 minutes, she turned around and very agressively told them to shut the hell up. Before I could think "good for you", the female idiot got up, charged into the petite woman's aisle and punched her right in the face. Super hard.

Chaos ensued. Police were called. The good news was that the movie sucked and everyone got a free pass to a future movie.

The moral of this story is that confronting a jerk rarely ends well and could result in assault. Do yourself a favor and don't ruin your expensive night on Broadway. Get an usher or house manager and make them do the job they are paid to do.