Broadway Ushering- Page 3

[bigrab1018]

Posted: 3/18/06 at 6:49pm

I saw Mamma Mia today, and my friend and I were doing standing room. No one was sitting in the third to last row of the orchestra, right in front of us. So after the first song, we went to move, but the crotchity old usher didn't let us sit there. Eventually, she left, and we went to the seats. I think it was completely rude of the usher not to let us sit in those seats. Sure, they're much more expensive, but no one was sitting there! It not like they would have lost money by letting us sit there, and besides, wouldn't they rather want the seats full than make people stand, so it would look like the theatre is full?
I just think that was rediculous.

[The W.A.N.D]

Posted: 3/18/06 at 6:51pm

I was an usher for 1 summer and I did not have good experience.
Most of the senior ushers were old hags who yelled at me for doing one little thing wrong. There were afew perks (Free shows were one) but on the whole I wouldnt do it again.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 3/18/06 at 7:01pm

As to why the usher was like "Hitler"

I was seing POTO with my mom and my friend and we were standing in the back. My mom was on one side of the audio and my friend and I on the other. Well my mom came over because she was lonely and the usher yelled at her and told her to get back to her own side and not invade other peoples areas. When we explained to her she said she wasn't listening. Then during intermission my friend and I went to the bathroom and when we came back we sat against the wall you stand up behind and told us we had to stand but a lot of others were sitting and she did nothing to them...



Hahaha, yea C is for Company told me a terrible story about that woman. She screamed at his saying she'd seen every show since 198-whenever the show opened and that she knows what she's doing.

[MaronaDavies]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 12:43am

If you were in a hotel would you break into the Presidential Suite just because "no one was using it"? Or insist on moving up to first class on a plane just because you saw an empty seat there? If you didn't pay for those seats, they didn't belong to you.

From what I know, usually it's standard protocol not to move until after intermission. People come in late all the time and it's disruptive if the ushers have to bump you back to standing room in the middle of the show. It happened in my section the first time I saw Gypsy and was a distraction for an entire number. Everyone clustered in the aisle, made noise, the usher was shining the flashlight down the row asking for tickets...all while Bernadette was singing.

And also...no offense, but if you buy a standing room ticket you should anticipate standing throughout the show. Yeah it sucks, but you know, you get what you pay for. I do TDF to see most of my shows. With TDF you are told up front that you have to accept the seats you are given. Sometimes you get sucky seats, but you know you take that risk up front. It's part of the deal. Don't get mad at the usher for insisting that you stay in the section you paid for.
Updated On: 3/19/06 at 12:43 AM

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 3:10am

Marona is absolutely right. It is usually chaotic and disruptive having to bump people from seats when late comers arrive.

[Anakela]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 11:52pm

I have a question for all of you that are calling the ushers "Hitler". What were you doing when they "yelled" at you?
Were you on your cell phone, snapping illegal photos, using a video camera?
Were you waiting patiently at the top of the aisle to be seated, or did you storm down the aisle?

Ok, I have a question for those who work as ushers- I see a lot of shows over and over again via rush/lotto. So while I don't 'storm down the aisle,' I do know where I am going when I go to shows that I have seen before (on occasion I am even sitting in the exact same seat number that I have been in before). There are a couple of shows where certain ushers recognize me and know that I know where I'm going (yes, I see some shows too many times), but what's the best way for me to say that I know where I'm going to an usher?
If I go "that's ok, I know where my seat is" I get a demand for my ticket, to prove I'm in the right section and such. I've tried lying, and saying "oh I see my friend sitting down already," and just making my way down the aisle, but that seems rude. But sometimes it's like it's almost just easier for me to waste the usher's time and have him/her show me to a seat I already know how to get to, rather than explain that yes, I do know how to get to the box seats at DRS, or over to ORCH left at Hairspray, or wherever I am headed.

And I was at Hairspray tonight, and man I do NOT envy the job of the ushers- I heard audience member complaints about 'rude' ushers when (mind you, all of these happened around me, and none of the ushers involved were anything approaching rude):
* people having to be asked to stop taking pictures...
- One woman was during the curtain call, and she started arguing with the usher that the curtain call wasn't part of the show, so it was ok to take pictures then. But she was a total rhymes-with-witch who I actually had to shush during Act II when she opened her cell phone and started READING OUT LOUD her text messages to her friend, letting her know where they were all going to meet up for drinks after the show, this bar, that bar, blah, blah, blah, so I was not surprised when this woman started arguing with the usher during the curtain call.
- One group of teenage girls, and when the usher walked away from them after the *second* time of asking them to put the cameras away, saying she would take the cameras if she had to come back, the (mom? teacher? supervisor?) of the girls was all "well, they're much stricter about all that than they were over at _____ theatre." Ok, see- the proper response there was to make your kids put their cameras away the *first* time they were asked, not to talk about what other theatre let your brood get away with doing.
* one woman having to be asked to please take her stuff off of the stage during intermission. Seriously- what grown person thinks the stage is the perfect place to hold your stuff, at any time?? Am I the only person who would never think of even touching a stage, let alone putting my stuff on it?

Apparently in this day and age "someone told me no" equals to "rude"- who knew?

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 11:59pm

Who do you care so much?

Let them do their job.

It doesn't hurt anyone to just take 15 seconds of being guided down the aisle to your seat.

[Anakela]

Posted: 3/22/06 at 12:07am

Well, I figure if there's a line of people waiting to be seated that it's easier for the ushers to use my fifteen seconds on the next person in line instead, and 'do their job,' as you say, on that person instead, if I know where I'm headed- that's all.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 3/22/06 at 12:21am

I think some ushers make a big deal of it because people often seat themselves incorrectly and/or try to sneak to a better seat--and it actually is more of a mess dealing with someone in wrong seats than just seating the person to begin with. And they don't know that you do indeed know where you are going. I was a Broadway usher and when I see a show, I let the ushers seat me if they wish.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 3/22/06 at 12:52am

JRB and Thesb are right.

I mean it is their job; it's what they're getting paid for. This probably wouldn't happen in the hierarchy but bare with me through this example...

How would you feel if you're the editor of a newspaper and one of the writers of a column says to you that they edited it themselves, they're capable of doing so, so don't bother, etc?

Updated On: 3/22/06 at 12:52 AM

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 3/22/06 at 1:42am

Yes, and the fact that until you have done the job and extensively so (as many of these ushers have), you just do NOT understand all of the logistics and potential problems. Things happen that you just can not conceive without having done it.

This is true of any job. Think about jobs you have held and the number of times customers assumed they knew better than you. Or, heck, even management sometimes doesn't have a clue how things really play out.

[FrontNCentre]

Posted: 3/23/06 at 3:00pm

Well said my friend...OH... and why can't you have your Showcase on one of "my" dark days??? HUH!!! LOL

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 3/23/06 at 7:28pm

how are the ushers at DRS?

[dirty rotten guy]

Posted: 3/23/06 at 7:31pm

From what I remember everyone at the Imperial (DRS) is pretty nice to deal with.

[florida theatre kid]

Posted: 3/23/06 at 10:08pm

I saw four shows in New York, DRS, Rent, Chicago, and the Producers. The ushers at DRS, Rent, and Chicago were very nice and helpful. At the Producers, an usher was helping a group of people down the aisle. My mom was using the restroom, so I was making my way to my seat by myself. I got sidetracked walking down the aisle, looking around the theatre, at the curtain, and such, and I accidentally passed my row. When I showed the usher my ticket, she asked me if I had gone to elementary school and knew the alphabet. I guess it was kind of my fault for not paying attention to where I was walking, but it was still very embarassing.

Posted: 3/24/06 at 2:49pm

Call me old fashioned, but why not just slip the usher a $5.00 bill? I think it would work wonders.

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 3/24/06 at 2:53pm

Yeah so you slip the usher $5, the person comes late to the show, you move back to Standing Room and you are out $5. That makes alot of sense.

I actually follow one simple rule if I have crappy seats or standing room. Wait until intermission and move down. Simple as that!

[moljul]

Posted: 3/24/06 at 2:57pm

Vespertine, MTC does indeed use volunteer ushers. I did it for Rabbit Hole. They use them for all their shows (on and off Broadway) though I have to say the process of signing up is not as easy at Roundabout.

Posted: 3/24/06 at 3:08pm

Okay, my suggestion is revised. First, make up your mind that you might lose $5.00. Then, find the kindest looking usher you can find, slip them the $5.00, and ask them to please consider moving you to better seats if something comes up at a reasonable time after the show starts.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 3/24/06 at 3:25pm

For $5, an usher is going to wait around and keep her eyes open for where a seat might be available? Oh god, no WONDER some of these ushers are so rude to you guys...

[downtowndiva84]

Posted: 3/24/06 at 4:10pm

I don't like to make generalizations but I've noticed that how I'm treated by ushers seems to be related to whether I'm a full-price patron or whether it says 50 percent off on my ticket.

And when I go with my friends, forget about it. They are usually nasty to us, and we are all theater students with impeccable audience etiquette. I've been treated badly at pretty much every show I've seen, with the exception of "Rent".

Off-Broadway ushers however, are generally EXTREMELY nice, knowledgable and chatty.

Posted: 3/24/06 at 4:38pm

Yes, Munkustrap, perhaps an usher is going to keep their eyes open for a seat for $5.00. However, if you'd like to give $10 or $20, please do.

[TheOneAndOnly]

Posted: 3/24/06 at 4:41pm

Everyone is missing one important aspect of trying to find an empty seat when you have standing room tix. First of all, you knowingly bought a standing ticket, and paid accordingly, so you don't belong in the seats. Secondly, shows 95% of the time will only sell standing room if the rest of the house is sold out. This means that even if there are empty seats, someone (whether they are present or not) owns that seat, and could come in at any time (as late as half-way through the second act-IT HAPPENS) and rightly claim their seat. Standing room isn't like lotto where they sell it at all times. The producers & b/o's want to sell as many full priced or near-full priced seats as possible. They aren't gonna open a block of 20 standing room tix at $20 when they have 50 full priced seats available. They figure enough people will end up being willing to pay for the seat to make it worth NOT opening standing room.


You paid for standing room, so stand. Don't sit on the floor in the aisle, it's a fire hazard. Don't sneak to find a seat, don't try to bribe an usher. Very few will risk suspension just because you slipped them a five. If you aren't willing to stand for the entire show, don't buy a SRO ticket. End of story. Updated On: 3/24/06 at 04:41 PM