Bad Theater Behavior- Page 40

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 5/31/19 at 2:00pm

What is up with the responses in this thread not displaying correctly? I can't view pages 40 or 41 at all, it just takes me back to the main board.

[amaklo]

Posted: 5/31/19 at 3:55pm

Cape Twirl of Doom said: "What is up with the responses in this thread not displaying correctly? I can't view pages 40 or 41 at all, it just takes me back to the main board."

I have the same problem.  It's only this thread too.  Weird.

[LxGstv]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 2:50pm

Went to see The Rolling Stone at the Newhouse recently, I was appalled at the woman on the first row that put her feet up on the railing and left it there throughout the duration of the play, acting like she was in her living room...

[EddieP]

Posted: 7/25/19 at 9:33pm

I wear to bejesus... the only reason I went to see MY FAIR LADY was to hear the first 8 notes of the overture and the old couple behind me got into the hearing aid discussion the second it began...  Several other people gave them turn backs -- and its a dialogue heavy show.   I turned back, and they were like children.  They had these, "It wasn't us..." (stare straight ahead) faces.   After the third time I turned back, and gave them a cold stare and held it just long enough that they got the message... and it worked.   My worst experience was at HELLO DOLLY performances.  Crazy things always happen before the oak leaf monologue during the dead silence.  It's like, if there's an idiot in the theatre, that's their time to put on a show... throat clearings, phone alarms going off, soda slurping...   B*stards... each and every one of them!

 

[mimitchi33]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 11:40am

I already posted this story on another site, and I guess I'll post it here too. I went to see Aladdin last night, and there was a family behind me with 5 kids. While most of them seemed to be over six, one of them was a toddler. Said toddler kept asking questions about who the characters were, what happened in certain scenes, coughed on me several times and nagged his father for candy. It got worse when Act 1 was about to end and the kid told the dad he needed to poop. When intermission started, the mom didn't allow him, because the bathroom line was long and she feared they would miss the show, telling her kid to remember when they got kicked out of Frozen. (I assume because they got stuck in the intermission bathroom line and weren't allowed back in). She instead talks to his older siblings during this whole time. The toddler spends the entirety of Act 2 complaining about needing to poop, and then poops himself during the wedding scene. At the end of the show, the boy calls his mom mean and she just shrugs it off, saying that accidents happen. When toddlers need to use the bathroom, they need it now! Why did this lady not know that?

Oh, and that's not all that happened that day. There were four minor incidents that were not as irritating as this, but still deserve a mention:

1. There were also several other toddlers, including some in COSTUMES as if it were Disney on Ice. There's a clear difference between an expensive Broadway show and a touring ice production for children!

2. At the same point the boy needed to poop, a little girl was using a phone and playing an app with farm animal sounds. I didn't see said family after intermission was over, luckily. 

3. At least 5 people took pictures during A Whole New World. One of those people then UPLOADED THE PICTURE TO SNAPCHAT AT INTERMISSION.


4. We ate at a restaurant after the show, and this family walks in with a crying baby and toddler. The mom is holding a Playbill. What show is it for? Dear Evan Hansen, which is recommended for children over 12 and does not admit anyone under 5. Then again, some shows which had that policy didn't obey that rule, like the reports I've read about toddlers going to SpongeBob.

Updated On: 8/12/19 at 11:40 AM

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 11:46am

Ugh. That sounds like a nightmare. The smell of poop should not be a part of any theatrical experience. I’m getting nauseous thinking about it. It’s one thing if it’s an accident, but when you’ve been told multiple times and you choose to ignore it including after it happens, it’s not an accident you’re a bad parent (at least on that day) no matter how many Disney theatrical experiences you take your kids to. I’m sorry you had to experience that.

[mimitchi33]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 11:51am

And the worst part was that the family restroom was close to where they were sitting and had no line when they got out.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 12:05pm

I’m not shaming you for their behavior And I have never reported a fellow audience member’s behavior to an usher, but I think I would’ve been tempted to get up and telling usher if the smell of poop was noticeable. That is in no way acceptable.

[magictodo123]

Posted: 8/13/19 at 8:16am

This is audience related. I think it's in incredibly poor taste to wish that a show would close. To celebrate low grosses. To be happy when a performance seat chart shows that the performance hasn't sold that well. I don't care how much you dislike a production- by wishing a show to close, you're wishing hundreds of people out of work, wishing their livelihood away. Contrary to what people may believe, you don't just go from one show to the next. Acting is HARD. You're competing with thousands of other people at auditions. I'm guessing (I'm not an actor) they hear more "no's" than "yes'". I consider this to be very poor audience behavior and not okay at all. If you don't like a show, ignore it. Don't wish a closing on it. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/13/19 at 9:10am

Please stop lecturing us. Over and over and over again. This is not "audience" behavior.

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 8/13/19 at 9:16am

This thread is specifically about audience behavior during a performance. Not how they act towards shows.

As I imagined, lots of people recording and taking pics during MR. Ushers weren’t responsive either. It didn’t ruin things for me because I can ignore it for the most part but it can certainly be distracting. Shame on the ushers frankly for not being more proactive

[Pose2]

Posted: 8/13/19 at 2:28pm

magictodo123 said: "This is audience related. I think it's in incredibly poor taste to wish that a show would close. To celebrate low grosses. To be happy when a performance seat chart shows that the performance hasn't sold that well. I don't care how much you dislike a production- by wishing a show to close, you're wishing hundreds of people out of work, wishing their livelihood away. Contrary to what people may believe, you don't just go from one show to the next. Acting is HARD. You're competing with thousands of other people at auditions. I'm guessing (I'm not an actor) they hear more "no's" than "yes'". I consider this to be very poor audience behavior and not okay at all. If you don't like a show, ignore it. Don't wish a closing on it."

You are the in the WRONG thread.  This has been a long established thread regarding bad theater behavior. Your post has nothing to do with anything we talk about on this thread. Delete it or learn from it. Ridiculous. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/13/19 at 4:06pm

magictodo123 said: "This is audience related. I think it's in incredibly poor taste to wish that a show would close. To celebrate low grosses. To be happy when a performance seat chart shows that the performance hasn't sold that well. I don't care how much you dislike a production- by wishing a show to close, you're wishing hundreds of people out of work, wishing their livelihood away. Contrary to what people may believe, you don't just go from one show to the next. Acting is HARD. You're competing with thousands of other people at auditions. I'm guessing (I'm not an actor) they hear more "no's" than "yes'". I consider this to be very poor audience behavior and not okay at all. If you don't like a show, ignore it. Don't wish a closing on it."

Not only does this have no place in this thread, but you have belabored this point to death in many other threads. 

 

[NievesG]

Posted: 8/14/19 at 12:55pm

This seems appropriate for this thread:

 

https://twitter.com/PattiMurin/status/1161629566907179008

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 8/14/19 at 3:24pm

NievesG said: "This seems appropriate for this thread:



https://twitter.com/PattiMurin/status/1161629566907179008"

The person who took the picture should have said something, I'm even more surpised the person in that seat didn't say anything because I certainly would have.

[NievesG]

Posted: 8/14/19 at 4:08pm

According to Ms. Murin: "They did speak up. Then they took the picture when they wouldn’t stop."

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 1:39am

Well, I finally hit my breaking point, I guess. Lol. In the past I’ve either ignored the offensive behavior or been passive-aggressive (looking over my shoulder at the person, actively talking to another audience member - loud enough for the offender to hear at intermission  - about how much I hate it when people check their phones during a show, making a big production of turning my phone off before Act1/Act 2). Not surprisingly I’ve had at best mixed results with all the above. So when Act 1 began at Hamilton (Oklahoma Ciry), people to my right (there were two or three offenders) were still reading on their phones, but they quickly “put them away”. I think that was mainly them just turning them upside down in their laps, but I didn’t see light from their direction except for the person seated next to me whose phone momentarily lit up (it looked like she had stuck it between her program), but by time I realized it had happened, it was over so I let it go.

So Act 2 begins and to her credit the lady next me appeared to have put her phone away. But here “What’d I Miss” is starting and these two ladies next to her have their phones out again and are still reading at full brightness. So I say in moderate volume something to effect of, “You’re phones need to be off!”. No response. I think they honestly probably didn’t even hear me. So I leaned over and say louder, “you’re phones need to be off!”. Phones instantly went away. Again I think it was just the phones upside down in their laps because I think one of them lit up upside down in her lap at one point when they probably got a text. My friend was surprised and humored I did that but I’d had enough. She thought they might start trouble but they didn’t. I paid $211 for my ticket and King George had already told them what to do with their phones before Act 1. Plus Hamilton is my favorite musical and after this (my sixth trip to Hamilton) I don’t know when I’ll see it again next and I wasn’t letting someone’s bad behavior ruin my experience.

Anyway, not touting my behavior. Nothing remarkable. I have to say if was pretty liberating. Just sharing my experience of my “I’m Mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore” moment. Also, true to my past experiences that bad behavior isn’t age specific. I’ve experienced it from teenagers all the way to the elderly all of which these women were. I say this as a 55 y.o. man so I’m no spring chicken myself.

Updated On: 8/15/19 at 01:39 AM

[mailhandler777]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 12:18pm

Last night on the Waitress tour some lady yelled GORGEOUS right before the last line sung in She Used To Be Mine. Took me completely out of the moment.

[IFeelPretty95]

Posted: 8/16/19 at 2:26pm

It seems like every show I've seen in the past year or so has had bad audience members. The girl at The Ferryman who took her shoes off and sat cross-legged in her seat, the man who was recording at Mean Girls, the strobe lights going off on phones during Beautiful and the women on either side of me at My Fair Lady - one was eating and digging in what sounded like a cereal box and the other was humming along and waving her hands like a director... and we were on the third row! I honestly don't understand what these people are thinking.

[inmyownlittlecorner]

Posted: 8/16/19 at 7:06pm

i don’t have a lot of stories of bad audience members but there is one that always sticks out in my mind.

i went to see the 20th anniversary rent tour a while ago. i had been planning this for about a year with my friend, ever since it was announced that it was coming to our city. rent is a show that’s really close to our hearts and everyone always talks up the first time they see rent, it’s an experience i was so excited to have.

we had these floor box seats that we got from a friend and the show begins. i’m having a blast, it’s amazing and everything but then light my candle starts.

this woman behind me, with a ‘can i speak to your manager?’ haircut begins to sing all of mimi’s lines. now, i’m usually the kind of person to cut them some slack. i get muttering a lyric or two under your breath because it’s important to you. i get it. so i didn’t say anything

but this woman CONTINUES to sing audibly. once she started to sing during tango maureen, i turned an motioned to cut it out. but she decides keep singing and during out tonight, i turned around and told her very clearly to cut it out. and it worked, she stopped singing during act 1. 

it’s now intermission and she asks if she was being bothersome. i was very clear in telling her that what she was doing was disrespectful and ruining the performance, not only to the audience members but to the actors as well. she wasn’t apologetic and said that because she paid for these orchestra seats, she was allowed to sing.

that’s when i was done playing nice. i told her that this wasn’t a sing along and that i was going to go to the ushers. my friend who was with me has a fear of confrontation and apologized when i left though.

long story short, ushers moved us to empty seats up front and we ended up with better seats. reminder that i am a teenage girl and this woman was 35+. her behavior was entirely ugly and disrespectful. i also have this entire interaction on camera because my friend and i were sending something to another friend who was sick and couldn’t come.

[Impossible2]

Posted: 8/16/19 at 8:21pm

I've had some right doozies over the last 6 months...

Medea - friends of the kids acting in show sat behind us laughing loudly throughout and then for the whole last 10 minutes as their mates were killed on stage. They were absolutely shocked when my partner and I abused the **** out of them in front of everyone as we walked out.

Company - Woman on her phone constantly in front of us who got screamed at by nearly the entire mezzanine and still kept on doing it. Didn't care one bit until the usher had a chat at intermission.

The yokel family behind us on their yearly theatre visit for their mothers birthday breaking out snacks from noisy plastic shopping bags at about 10 o'clock at night during the last 15 minutes of Curious Dog. When I turned and told the massive lumps they should all really be eating something a little quieter and healthier like perhaps a salad, they got the giggles and ruined the entire ending of the show.

Twilight Zone. 5 minutes into the already confusing opening act of that mess of a show, the woman behind us started loudly unwrapping lollies for like 20 minutes straight. Just as I turned around and yelled 'are you ***ing kidding me', I saw the woman 2 rows behind her fling her scarf at the womans head and it whipped around Indiana Jones style and whacked her in the face. She stopped...then at intermission she had the gaul to come up with some story about taking migraine medication. I asked her why she needed 30 of them and promptly left.

Updated On: 8/16/19 at 08:21 PM

[goovermon]

Posted: 8/17/19 at 12:02am

These are pretty hilarious (though I’m sure they were frustrating in person).

I’ve got nothing to match these, save for a young girl front mezzanine who looked no older than 6 constantly standing up and leaning against the railing throughout all of Mean Girls. She also laughed at all the adult jokes that were in the show. WAY too young for some of those one-liners.

Oh, and a lady who sat in front of me at Hello Dolly decided it would be a good idea to put her hair in a messy top-bun (ladies, please excuse me if there is a technical term for this hairstyle. Also please never wear it to Broadway...) It literally blocked my view of Bette for about 1/3rd of the performance. Although now I can just look back and laugh.

Both of these pale in comparison to what has already been mentioned. Still annoying and distracting from the show nonetheless.

Whoops! Almost forgot one last encounter before the show with the lady sitting 2 seats down from me at Waitress who kindly informed me that a woman in her party had literally JUST flown in to New York and held the ticket for the seat between me and her. You could guess who came stumbling in during one of the opening numbers. Lol............

Oh!! And the guy that sat next to me at Pretty Woman and chewed on his nails during THE ENTIRE PERFORMANCE!!! Every time his arm dropped I let out a sign of relief. Then 20 seconds later up it went, sending his nails back into his mouth!! (Chewing especially feverishly during the sex scenes).  

Updated On: 8/17/19 at 12:02 AM

[neurasthenia]

Posted: 8/17/19 at 10:54am

Yikes dude.

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 8/17/19 at 1:02pm

If someone chews their nails and that bothers you then don’t bother going in public. Sorry, but Jesus. Chill out. Let people be.


That being said, worried about my Dolly audience in Boston today. Heard some audiences have been quite vocal, which is much different than chewing nails.

[veronicamae]

Posted: 8/17/19 at 10:26pm

Today at a "Make Believe" matinee (at which I was the youngest audience member by at least a decade), the presumably sweet elderly woman next to me spent the first 30 mins of the show trying to figure out how to work the hearing assist device she rented (I have no idea how they work either) aka high-pitched feedback, squealing, and buzzing, paired with full-voice conversation with her friend about not knowing how to work it until she finally gave up and then fell asleep. The falling asleep resulted in every time she nodded off, the earpieces would get too close to the receiver on the device and it would buzz LOUDLY. Sometimes this would wake her up. Sometimes I had to nudge her.

She was shushed several times throughout the show and it sucked feeling like I was her keeper by doing what I could to at least keep her awake to stop the constant buzzing since she wouldn't just turn it off altogether.

(I'm sure she would have preferred to not be a disturbance as well.)

Sigh. Updated On: 8/17/19 at 10:26 PM