Bad Theater Behavior- Page 38

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 5/6/19 at 10:09am

Almost every time I've seen Hamilton, someone around me starts to sing along with Aaron Burr when he starts the show with "how does a bastard, orphan.." 

Last week, when I saw Hamilton in Chicago, a woman behind me started to sing along and was immediately shushed by what sound like the entire theater lol. She giggled and said sorry. But then she kept singing along to every song. Her boyfriend (or whoever he was) tried to get her to be quiet, but she wasn't having it. 

At intermission, she chatted up the girl next to her (and behind me) telling her that she has seen Hamilton many times and that people always love that she knows all the words and think it's really cool that she can sing along with the cast onstage. The girl next to her just kind of pleasantly nodded. I kept turning around and nonverbally commiserating with her as this obnoxious woman kept going on and on about how she has a lot experience in theater so she knows her singing isn't disruptive because people around her always like that she does it. I was with my aunt and complained to her about it and my aunt said that she didn't hear a thing. I decided that I wasn't going to let this woman ruin the show for me so when she sang all through Act 2, I just forced myself to focus on the stage and ignore her. 

I have mixed feelings about Ain't Too Proud. I'm not that interested in the Temptations catalog in the first place, but I am one of those "see shows just to see them" kind of guy. Knowing that people WILL sing along might actually make it easier to deal with. It sounds like the singing along at Ain't Too Proud is officially allowed?

That article from the Root was just terrible. Why did she have to bring up that the guy shushing her mom was balding?  How was that relevant?  And she doesn't know the difference between a play and a musical, a cast recording and a soundtrack, and she's lecturing people about theater?  I don't get it. That said, if I had not known people would sing along (like my Jersey Boys experience, where people replied to my shushing with "oh come on lighten up"    I would have been upset that people were singing around me. I do think it's dangerous to suggest that black people, in general, are loud in theaters and non-blacks have to accept that. If you read the FB comments under the Root article, people are bragging about going to other Broadway shows and singing along at those shows as well, and daring people to shush them for it. A troubling trend for sure. 

Updated On: 5/6/19 at 10:09 AM

[RndmAnswrs4RndmQstns]

Posted: 5/6/19 at 10:43am

GeorgeandDot said: "When I saw Hadestown recently, at the end of Wait For Me about 10 people in the orchestra got up and started running for the restrooms. They were literally jumping over other patrons to be first in line. As the stampede was halfway up the aisle, they realized the act wasn't over and turned around and started climbing back over the people still in their seats in order to see the end of the act. It was pretty remarkable."

That happened when I saw Hadestown too. I guess “Wait For Me” sounds like an act 1 closer and people are impatient/desperate.

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 5/6/19 at 4:20pm

If Vegas can use this on 2K+ people, so can Broadway.

https://www.overyondr.com/howitworks

 

I'd love to see this system instituted at EVERY show.

[SweetLips22]

Posted: 5/6/19 at 4:25pm

BenjaminNicholas2 said: "People who talk back to a show should be beaten.

It's happening more frequently and it's annoying as hell. I assumed it going in, but the audience at Beetlejuice was one of the most drunk, uncouth masses I've seen in awhile. They regularly shouted back to the stage like they were at a baptist revival"

I had a laugh when I read what you said 'cause that's exactly what your avatar would do [Joke Joyce x]

 

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 5/6/19 at 4:57pm

BenjaminNicholas2 said: "If Vegas can use this on 2K+ people, so can Broadway.

https://www.overyondr.com/howitworks



I'd love to see this system instituted at EVERY show."

The issue with these is the "problem people" will refuse/lie/etc because the rules don't apply to them and they have a very important reason! Most of us who never ever text or have phones on will comply and be stuck in lines to unlock at the end of the show to boot.

There's also more likely more fire/safety laws in NYC theatres since they're tighter and have fewer exits than large Vegas theatres with a dozen exits.

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 5/6/19 at 5:06pm

SweetLips22 said: I had a laugh when I read what you said 'cause that's exactly what your avatar would do [Joke Joyce x]

"

OH PISS OFF, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF FILTH.  

 

*smile*  Patsy would definitely be one of those folks.

 

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 5/6/19 at 5:08pm

nasty_khakis said: "BenjaminNicholas2 said: "If Vegas can use this on 2K+ people, so can Broadway.

https://www.overyondr.com/howitworks



I'd love to see this system instituted at EVERY show."

The issue with these is the "problem people" will refuse/lie/etc because the rules don't apply to them and they have a very important reason! Most of us who never ever text or have phones on will comply and be stuck in lines to unlock at the end of the show to boot.

There's also more likely more fire/safety laws in NYC theatres since they're tighter and have fewer exits than large Vegas theatres with a dozen exits."

 

I agree and thought of that after I posted.  

 

But still...  It's a nice thought:  People not acting like entitled, uncouth assholes.

 

[romain2]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 9:16am

Regarding that article on The Root about the white dude shushing the author’s black 75 year old mom who was singing along to her favorite Temptations songs. I can kind of see the author’s side: I haven’t seen Ain’t too Proud but it sounds mostly like a nostalgia concert that celebrates a key black group. I personally would expect people to dance and sing along.

But the author comes off as extremely entitled. And as she gripes about the audience racial make-up she’s missing the point that people of all backgrounds are paying hard earned money to keep this show afloat. So the theater has become a shared space. If the guys on stage are asking for everyone to sing along and join in then go for it. I would like to hear what the actors have to say. On the Today show they said they loved that older nostalgic people are having a good time so I’m assuming they are liking the sing along factor.

In this case the issue has several sides. I am agreeing with the author on one level but am raising my eyebrows at her entitlement on another. And yes her throwing the word balding in there adds a childish tone to her argument that makes her come off as less than convincing.

[Eliza2]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 10:08am

romain2 said: "I personally would expect people to dance and sing along."

Me too, which is also why I will never go see Ain't Too Proud. It's disappointing, because I'd like to see it, but I'm not spending that much money to listen to people around me sing instead of the cast that's being paid to perform.

I also heard that an audience member rushed the stage during a performance so that sounds fun.

[LxGstv]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 11:46am

Delete 

Updated On: 5/7/19 at 11:46 AM

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 12:07pm

Campbell5 said: "I was at a performance of Matilda (touring) in Orch row g center. A couple arrived and took the pair of seats next to me......and they had an INFANT with them. I would say about 9 months old. AND of course the baby started to act up AND then the mother begins to breast feed the child. I honestly could not believe what i was seeing. I went found the house manager and complained but he said there was nothing he could do and would move me to another seat. I hated the show and left at intermission."

 

This is amazing to me. Just about every theater I know of has a "no children under 4 permitted" policy.

 

[JuliaWilmerXO]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 12:15pm

This is SO annoying and happens far too often. Luckily, every time this has happened to me I've just been able to stare at the person long enough that they've become uncomfortable and stopped. Usually people do know they're doing something wrong. But nobody's forgotten the phone plugged into the stage outlet still

[dshnookie]

Posted: 5/8/19 at 5:33am

GeorgeandDot said: "When I saw Hadestown recently, at the end of Wait For Me about 10 people in the orchestra got up and started running for the restrooms. They were literally jumping over other patrons to be first in line. As the stampede was halfway up the aisle, they realized the act wasn't over and turned around and started climbing back over the people still in their seats in order to see the end of the act. It was pretty remarkable."

I know in reality this isn’t funny but the way it was written gave me the giggles. Thanks for the laugh!

[MattieIce2018]

Posted: 5/8/19 at 10:46pm

Made an account just to share this. Saw Wicked in New York for the first time today (trying to catch Jessica Vosk before she left, but saw her standby instead who was also fantastic) and I was shocked at the audience behavior.

The woman next to me checked her phone during The Wizard and I (thankfully, that was the only time she did it)

When Elphaba flew during Defying Gravity, it was interrupted by an usher shining a bright flashlight at someone who I can only assume was trying to take photos. Completely took me out of one of my favorite moments in the show, and made everyone look away from the stage for a few seconds to figure out what was going on. 

The people behind me talked through the first half of Thank Goodness until the girl next to me turned around and asked them to stop, at which point they continued talking for another minute and eventually gave up.

Also, just in general, the amount of candy wrappers I heard crinkling was unreal, and people always seemed to save it for the quiet scenes. And the ushers were letting people leave and come back mid song, which shocked me.

I was still able to enjoy the show, but the behavior of everyone around me definitely hurt the experience.

[forgetmenotnyc]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 1:28am

Has no one who leans way forward in their balcony seat ever been behind someone who has done that & blocked their view - or is it that they are just so self-involved they don't care? So many times it is some jerk more than right in front of you so that it becomes something you can't try & request they sit back. A telescoping pointer I have imagined using many a time.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 1:30am

I would say just ask anyway. Someone asked me to lean back once at Phantom when I hadn't realized how far forward I'd pitched myself.

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 10:42am

I took my husband to see "The Cher Show" last week (Yeah, I know but he likes Cher and I had already seen it once and enjoyed it).  Before the show I warned him that people would probably be singing to some of the songs (although clearly not as much as Moulin Rouge because the arrangements are different).  Before the show started the two women behind us were talking on their phones, I heard much more than I wanted to hear and throughout the first Act they continued to talk.

When the Act 2 began, again, they started talking so I turned around and said "Shut Up", I wasn't subtle because of their Act 1 performance and for the most part they kept quiet except for when one of them was singing along.

Well, we were on the extreme house right, so at the end during the curtain call I quickly got up to stand here the doors and clap (I was in the last seat in the row) and I see one of the women, the one 2nd of the end hop over her friend and come up to me to start yelling at me.  Because the music was so loud all I could hear was "My dead mother said...blah blah blah...go F@@@ yourself"  I had a few choice words for her and my husband got between us because she kept getting closer and he was afraid she was going to slap me.  Unfortunately, I was riled after that interaction but glad that I sat through the second act unscathed.  Still bewildered that they were talking throughout the show, yet I was yelled at for telling them to shut up.

[LxGstv]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 1:34pm

^ That sounds dreadful, sorry that happened to you BuddyStarr, although I’m afraid that’s getting more and more common, the entitlement mentality.

I know the “article” of The Root that was posted here was for a different show with different “reasons”, but I feel that most people have selective reading these days, and will only interpret the part where they can act however they see fit.

Also, confronting someone at the theater after being shushed?! How is that ever ok???

[theaterlyfe19]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:17pm

Not so much bad theater behavior as a question about something that I didn’t want to start a new thread for.

So, even though ushers tell you not to, there are preshow things like at Waitress and Kinky Boots, and reminders during intermission not to, it’s okay for people to take bootlegs and audio of performances and they’re applauded for getting it if people ask. However, then someone speaks up and says it’s illegal, wrong, distracting to the performers (don’t tell me it isn’t, Lin-Manuel Miranda literally changed lyrics to call out someone who was filming), these people who tell the people who think it’s okay get bullied, rude things are said to them....in this time of talking about mental health, do you honestly think that’s the correct way to treat someone? If you’re okay with disrespecting your favorite performers, by all means; just don’t be surprised when someone behind you tells you to put your phone away, or an actor glares at you, or someone eventually pulls a Patti LuPone again.

Just saying. It’s not okay to be that rude. You can say “so don’t post/comment” yeah, I shouldn’t have to not post so y’all can ask for bootlegs or audio. Not okay. Never okay.

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:20pm

The two teenage boys next to me yesterday were pretty clearly filming at few points during Be More Chill yesterday afternoon. They never got spoken to. I, as a younger dude, decided to tell them that its inappropriate to do that and it can distract not only others, but the performers. They said they didn't care, so I told them they can be kicked out and arrested if they do it and get caught, and that made them stop lol. Scared em a bit but ya know what they needed to stop. Wasn't ruining the show for me but still. Couple phones during the curtain call too. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:31pm

There is a difference between "shush" and "shut up".  A big difference.   (Not saying I don't understand the annoyance.)

[JSquared2]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:35pm

dramamama611 said: "There is a difference between "shush" and "shut up". A big difference. (Not saying I don't understand the annoyance.)"

There certainly is a big difference.  People ignore "shushes", but a full voiced "shut up" will SOMETIMES work.  Neither of them, however, is as effective as a vocal "SHUT THE F*CK UP RIGHT NOW"!!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:53pm

I've had shushing work.  I've also had my request to "please refrain from talking through MY experience" work really well.  (of course, my Saturday night special making an appearance....)

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 2:58pm

Not theatre but during my showing of endgame someones phone rang and one guy yelled "TURN YOUR F'ING PHONE OFF" and no phones went off for the rest of the film. Sometimes being loud is necessary to get the point lol. Sad, but true. Would never do that at a live performance but you get the point. 

 

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 5/9/19 at 3:25pm

uncageg said: "A friend posted this and tagged me on Facebook for my thoughts. I had a few! I wanted to respond but did not want to create an account to do so. I do not agree with most of what she wrote.

https://www.theroot.com/ain-t-too-proud-to-sing-claiming-black-space-on-the-gr-1834448909"

"When you entered this theater, you entered into black culture. It’s in the music and the story and it’s a part of the entire experience. People will sing along. It’s what we do. And if you wanted a quiet theater, you should’ve seen My Fair Lady."

I LOVED THAT. 

One of my favorite theatrical experiences was seeing Color Purple on broadway with a theater full of sassy black women. They said "amen" and "girrrl" and "UMHP!" whenever something moving happened and I didnt mind it at all because it felt so in the moment. It felt so good to have us all experiencing it together, During On Your Feet, someone shushed me for lightly singing "1,2,3" and I snapped back quickly with "Dont shush me." and I think I scared her.