Caps in theaters
Caps in theaters
Caps in theaters #1
Posted: 5/24/26 at 4:34pm
A definite trend that I noticed on this theater trip is audience members not removing their baseball caps. Last night at the Hayes, I counted six people (5 men, 1 woman) in just my row and the row in front of me who kept their caps on throughout the show. It doesn’t necessarily block views (although I did ask one person at a show last week to remove theirs, since they were wearing it with the bill pointed up and it did interfere with sightlines…they looked at me like I was nuts but complied), but I’m from a generation where the rule was that you took your hat/cap off indoors, and particularly at the theater. Am I just out of touch, or is this another example of declining audience behavior? Does this bother anyone else?
Updated On: 5/24/26 at 04:34 PM
Caps in theaters #2
Posted: 5/24/26 at 5:06pm
Obviously I'd be bothered if a hat blocks someone's view. Otherwise, I cannot possibly overstate how little I care what other people choose to wear, at the theater or anywhere else.
Stand-by Joined: 5/19/20
Caps in theaters #3
Posted: 5/24/26 at 5:07pm
Not to be rude, but out of touch. If it's blocking your view, that's 100% fair, otherwise who cares. Like the content on stage changes to reflect the world, society and attitudes change. No offense to you, but I'm confused how people who can appreciate art, which is constantly in flux, can also seem confused when society is.
Caps in theaters #4
Posted: 5/24/26 at 5:58pm
It's a generational thing. I have never nor ever will wear a cap inside a theater. My mother would reach down from heaven and knock it off my head if I did! I was raised that you didn't wear caps indoors at a lot of places.
With that said, I don't mind them in a theater unless they are obstructing my view. I have asked a few people over the years in front of me to remove them. But along with society's "flux" it isn't just wearing a hat inside but it is also, as the OP mentioned, the attitude you can now get when you ask someone to remove it because it is obstructing your view of the stage. JMO
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
Caps in theaters #5
Posted: 5/24/26 at 6:18pm
The unofficial rules of the theater to me are be clean, be quiet, and no screens. Tons of people wear baseball hats in the theater and they obstruct absolutely nothing, so I don't see the issue besides you wanting to control people by deciding the proper etiquette of total strangers. That guy looked at you like you were crazy because it's an exceptionally weird thing to ask.
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
Caps in theaters #6
Posted: 5/24/26 at 6:23pm
I went to see a show where a man wore a baseball cap loosely sitting atop his head, not fitted to his head. It absolutely blocked the view of myself and the woman next to me, who I did not know. I guess we're all nuts because the queen of mean says so.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
Caps in theaters #8
Posted: 5/24/26 at 9:07pm
People are slobs. Yeah, yeah, I know. People want to be comfortable. People can wear what they want. It’s none of my business. Again, people are slobs.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/30/17
Caps in theaters #9
Posted: 5/24/26 at 10:47pm
I've taught my son to remove or turn his baseball hat backwards, as the show begins, as not to block views. He doesn't wear one now since his natural hair is longer.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
Caps in theaters #10
Posted: 5/24/26 at 10:52pm
Careful with this one. A lot of people I know wear caps because of personal or medical conditions.
If it's not blocking your view, I would give them the benefit of the doubt or risk embarrassing yourself.
Caps in theaters #11
Posted: 5/24/26 at 11:41pm
I occasionally wear a cap to the theatre if I’m having a crazy hair day. I always ask the people behind me if it’s an issue and they’ve always been very sweet and grateful that I ask.
Broadway Star Joined: 6/3/18
Caps in theaters #12
Posted: 5/25/26 at 12:02am
l wear a cap to theatre like 80% of the time. and i always take it off when the show starts.
i think because i am short so i understand how it feels when the view is blocked.
another similar thing is the hairstyle - i once sat behind a lady whose hair was like 5 inches UP on top of her head. I think i was just unlucky because of my height.
Caps in theaters #13
Posted: 5/25/26 at 3:53am
I once in a while wear a cap depending on the weather I take it off when the show starts and after intermission Respect
Caps in theaters #14
Posted: 5/25/26 at 7:18am
If someone is blocking your view with a hat/cap, we should be able to at least ask them to remove it. If we’ve lost the ability to kindly ask someone to do us a favor that will make a difference in our viewing experience - especially when, of course, they have the freedom to decline - then we have a huge, huge problem. It’s not “crazy” at all to ask someone something like that. And if you’re told that it’s because of a medical condition, that doesn’t need to be embarrassing… you just didn’t know. You then just say, “Okay, I understand,” and then move on. No need to feel ashamed or stew in embarrassment. All of this business about not being able to kindly ask things and needing to feel diminishment if it doesn’t go your way is why so many people are so resentful and reactive right now. Just be mature.
Updated On: 5/25/26 at 07:18 AMCaps in theaters #15
Posted: 5/25/26 at 7:43am
blaxx said: "Careful with this one. A lot of people I know wear caps because of personal or medical conditions.
If it's not blocking your view, I would give them the benefit of the doubt or risk embarrassing yourself."
C’mon. For every one person with a medical condition, there are 1,000 slobs who think they’re at a Yankees game. Done commenting on this, because it’s a losing argument. People don’t care how they look. They don’t care if they impede someone’s theatre-going experience. That genie is out of the bottle, and it’s not going back in. Your best bet is to hope for the best.
Caps in theaters #16
Posted: 5/25/26 at 8:13am
Reading this thread makes me wonder if I have lived too long.
Caps in theaters #17
Posted: 5/25/26 at 8:25am
I don’t recall baseball caps ever being an issue but tall hair and tall caps especially on tall people have been a problem on multiple occasions, especially when the hair or hat is also wide thus making it impossible to adjust my body so that I have a sightline between the heads of the people in front me. Not sure what can be done about the hair situation. Other than to find someone taller to switch seats with but that comes with its own set of problems (unless the tall person is within your party - my partner is 4 inches taller than me).
Stand-by Joined: 11/15/13
Caps in theaters #18
Posted: 5/25/26 at 11:49am
another similar thing isthe hairstyle- i once sat behind a lady whose hair was like 5 inches UP on top of her head. I think i was just unlucky because of my height.
"
Exactly, my view has never been blocked by a hat, but was blocked by a very tall man with a high manbun.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
Caps in theaters #19
Posted: 5/25/26 at 12:01pm
Only time my view was ever blocked was in 1995 at SUNSET BLVD at the Minskoff Theatre 5 minutes into the show. I was sitting center orchestra and the 2 dumbass lovebirds directly seated in front of me decide to cuddle up and the girl puts her head on her beau’s shoulder - right in front of my face. I leaned in and whispered to beau that I now can’t see between their heads. He leaned away and gave me this look of horror. Needless to say, they stopped this cuddling immediately. I knew if I didn’t address it immediately, my entire night would have been viewing the show in partial view and around their heads.
Caps in theaters #20
Posted: 5/25/26 at 12:35pm
This is so interesting because I always take my cap off but a few weeks ago at a show, I noticed several people had theirs on and so I decided to keep mine on too. It felt socially acceptable, but I still always remove it except that one time.
Caps in theaters #21
Posted: 5/25/26 at 12:35pm
Good for you, we need to restore theater etiquette in the theater. At The Receptionist the other day, some lady kept snacking the whole show including licking her fingers many times over. Just when I thought it was over, sure enough, she’d pull out more food from her bag, string cheese, chips, candy. She then fell asleep. Why do certain people even come to the theater??
Caps in theaters #22
Posted: 5/25/26 at 4:43pm
As always, if what someone is wearing doesn’t bother you, shut up.
When I went to see Company, I had a woman ask me to take my beanie (flat, with no pom on it or anything) off. It was not impairing her view whatsoever.
Caps in theaters #23
Posted: 5/25/26 at 6:06pm
If someone is wearing a cap and it is legit obstructing you, then ask nicely. If your ask has an aura of condescension about it, then it is reasonable that you get a "look" or rolled eyes from the askee. I am curious what those of you who are so quick to condemn baseball caps do when the obstruction is a beautifully coiffed up-do with hair jewelry or a fascinator (with or without flowers).
Caps in theaters #24
Posted: 5/25/26 at 6:16pm
n2nbaby said: "As always, if what someone is wearing doesn’t bother you, shut up.
When I went to see Company, I had a woman ask me to take my beanie (flat, with no pom on it or anything) off. It was not impairing her view whatsoever."
I totally agree that if something isn’t impeding your view, why say anything… but honestly this story and your delivery makes you sound kind of reactive and defensive. She was just asking. Nothing wrong with that. And if you don’t like it, just decline and carry on. People should be allowed to politely ask things of each other, not just be expected “shut up.” This logic breeds resentment. And it’s not really for you to decide what affects another person or not (even though I admit I probably wouldn’t care about a beanie, myself). If she was polite about it and it was no huge deal to me to have it on or not, I’d oblige, but that’s just me. We’d have a much more comfortable and adult-acting society if we just chilled out about people asking things of us. On the surface this feels like a silly thread to get sucked into, but honestly I think this is part of a much larger, society-wide issue I find interesting and discouraging but still have some hope for. We could turn down the volume on so much mass hostility and anxiety if we made less of a big deal about asking for things like people taking hats off to improve a viewing experience, not talking etc.
And to be clear, I’m only talking about if it affects the viewing experience. Not about if you think people should dress more formally. That, I think, is something to get over and accept.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
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