I could not believe it! At the matinee I went to on Saturday, the whole row of people behind me (large family group) was passing bags of candy back and forth. When they were opening the candy, the noise from the cellophane was SO distracting. I kept turning around and giving them dirty looks. I probably should have reported them to an usher.
Is this (eating) an acceptable practice now at shows?
No it's really not acceptable. The things that bugs me the most is the old ladies unwrapping all their caramel during the show! Ughhh it drives me crazy!! I think the worst time was when I saw Man of La Mancha...it continued throughout the entire first act!
I have been known to take the bag away when the dirty looks and comments don't work
Man of LaMancha had no intermission.
It is a truly sad sign of the times, that people go to the theatre and act as though they were sitting in their underwear in front of the television munching god-knows-what...people who do that have no regard for themselves or the people around them - its called greed, sloth, and several other unmentionable words seem to fit...I abhor those kinds of people.
when we went with school in middle school, one kid came back with a sub after intermission and ate it.
His parents should be slapped very hard across the face for that...
How about opening cans of soda, eating McDonalds, farting, arguing, yelling out "Yo' Toni", and "You Go Girl" during a performance of AIDA. Good Lord, that was the worse thing I ever saw.
And that was just the old ladies at the matinee! Think about what the kids would do!
Quoting "Invocations and Instructions to the Audience" from "The Frogs":
"Please refrain/
From candy wrapped in cellophane!"
And also cell phones, beverages, PDA's, alarms on your watches, Twizzlers, pets, or any other inappropriate items you feel you simply must bring with you. Stop, already!
oh if only I could find a transcript of that speech that Bill Cosby made recently regarding the up-bringing of today's youth...
I was pretty gassy during act 2 of ASSASSINS from all the McDonalds I had eaten during act 1, and we all just laughed and laughed. I don't know why everyone gets so upset.
"people who do that have no regard for themselves or the people around them"
aka - sociopaths
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/04
It's one thing to bring like a sandwich baggie of little (unwrapped) candies, such as mint, Mentos, M&Ms and that nature, but bringing things that distract from the show is another thing entirely. And cans of sodas? That's rediculous lol.
Well someone honestly was giving me dirty looks and than got rude with me for having a water bottle. Now that's taking it to an extreme.
i always overreact to things like that... i also give people dirty looks, etc.
but cell phones!? don't even get me started.
The worst thing about cellphones in shows are when the person starts recording it (if they have a phone that can take videos), and holding their arm in the air so they can get everything on their phone. Or, holding the phone in the air while their friend listens. Or, talking to their friend about what's going on in the show.
And I think the only thing that should be allowed is water. It doesn't make that much noise when you open it, and you can't chew water, so it should be acceptable.
wow Matt that's right...I completely forgot! Hmmm I can't remember what show I was at where my friend and I were talking really loud about the ladies during intermission with hopes that they would hear us and stop! I know they were bad during MOLM too though....
I get so irritable when people eat during shows. This isn't the movies, I didn't pay 100 dollars to hear you suck down your skittles. People can't refrain from eating for 2 and a half hours while the show is being performed? I am a little kinder to those more polite about eating, but those obnoxious ones just get under my skin.
I don't mind if someone brought a small water bottle or if there was a small snack (that wouldn't make too much noise) for health reasons. But no one should be allowed to eat a three course meal.
Years ago, my mother began peeling an orange during Bebe Neuwirth's high kicks in Chicago. Of course the orange smelled, and the more she peeled, the more heads turned. I was mortified, but she would have embarrased me more if I said something, so I stared too, pretending she was a stranger.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
Health reasons such as low blood sugar or a cough should be the only reasons people bring food to the theater. My last delightful seat neighbor spent half of Act I going to the bathroom, then crinkling her candy wrapping (this is for one piece of candy, folks), and didn't come back for Act II.
Wah? Look, I don't care if you got the tickets for free. Have some courtesy for the people around you. Especially if they happen to be cranky because they lost the Avenue Q lottery twice that day.
But ranting about it here is pretty useless. I doubt most of the people on this board are candy-crinklers.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/18/04
I usually have a water bottle..I think thats fine.
My 2nd time at Wicked I didn't eat dinner and we got to the Gershwin early so I bought a bag of pretzels and ate them BEFORE the show. No way would I have chewed on pretzels during the performance!
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