Experiences With Condescending Theatre Goers — Page 2

froote said: "Why are people saying the man may not have known who LMM was when he clearly acknowledged at the end of the conversation that he did and that what he'd said had been intentionally condescending?

Because that never happened. He never CLEARLY acknowledged who he was or said he was intentionally condescending. That is why we are saying it, because that never occurred.

Question: is a condescending theatregoer a person who boasts about theater, or someone that's just horrible at the theatre? I like this topic, but being bad at the theatre doesn't necessarily mean condescending!

Case in point, I always try my best to be calm and relaxed at the theatre, considering it's my clichéd "home away from home" or whatever, but there have been instances of phones going off and babies being rowdy (trust me, it's even WORSE at regular movie theaters!) Sometimes, I may or may not strike up a conversation with the person next to me or in front of me, since we're both there for one clear thing: to enjoy great theater!

BroadwayConcierge said: "My favorite part was that she didn’t even try to counter back—she just pretended she didn’t say anything at all. When the lights started to go down, I held my phone up to her level to clearly show I was turning it off."

Isn't this in itself condescending? I mean, I would definitely never spar with an older theatregoer, especially one who has probably seen shows for 50+ years. Granted, I've never been in a situation like yours, BroadwayConcierge, but I guess elderly New Yorkers are ruder than elderly Texans (no offense to any old people on these boards!)

Solipsist234 said: "BroadwayConcierge said: "My favorite part was that she didn’t even try to counter back—she just pretended she didn’t say anything at all. When the lights started to go down, I held my phone up to her level to clearly show I was turning it off."

Isn't this in itself condescending? I mean, I would definitely never spar with an older theatregoer, especially one who has probably seen shows for 50+ years. Granted, I've never been in a situation like yours, BroadwayConcierge, but I guess elderly New Yorkers are ruder than elderly Texans (no offense to any old people on these boards!)"

Eh, I totally get where BroadwayConcierge is coming from... I almost always go to shows by myself (my preference), and so I’m usually texting or Instagramming or something before the show starts. I’ve lost count of how many condescending octogenarians have given me the stink-eye, assuming I’m some animal who will keep my phone on throughout the show. I applaud the passive-aggressive gesture!

PFFFFFFFFTTTT

https://twitter.com/idinamenzel/status/1016409006552813568?s=21

"Oh come on, he said he was an ass and asked LMM if they could forget the conversation ever happened. But sure continue to believe that he had no idea who he was."

Since that's what actually happened, I will continue believing the truth, thanks.

If the word “condescending” applies when I make a remark (to my husband) that “NO Carousel only has one horse”, then I guess I’m guilty of that...but it is far more memorable and enjoyable when “kinder and gentler theater goers are by your side”just s few examples; we went to see SITPWG with Jake & Annaleigh, I had just had foot/leg surgery, I was in a monstrosity of a cam boot; my husband was trying to help me get settled and then, Ryan Reynolds & wife, stood, smiled and offered some aisle assistance.
We saw Great Comet 3x and never had a bad experience; Farenelli was totally “up-ah crr-ust”! Also for me just being nice to the person next to you can have interesting results...husband and I had gone to see Dear Evan Hansen a 2nd time. A young woman seated next to me was by herself and had the bad luck of being behind a “Shrek”. She had to shift and struggle all through the first act as Shrek was flexing his upper body almost the entire act. As intermission lights were starting I introduced myself, told her I was aware of her problem and as I was sitting behind an elder person the size of Ruth Bader G, we could totally switch seats. She was thrilled and we did and then it gets better! She was only in town for the weekend, from Australia, in NY for the MSNBC Global Citizen Concert in Central Park the next day. She was the green room talent associate producer! She wanted to thank me/us and gave us green room badges, “just tell them you’re with me if anyone asks”! We met Stevie Wonder, Hugh Jackman, Green Day, so many more too. The moral here is always be nice and you’ll never have to get involved with the “Blue Meanies” in life.

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ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 said:
It's somebody who is horrible at the theatre because they are boasting, patronizing, have an air of superiority, and snotty. It's not just being overly eager and excited and showing off some theatre knowledge. There's a special vibe and tone that comes with being condescending that is beyond just talking theatre trivia or showing off some knowledge. Not everyone who is horrible at the theatre is condescending, but for the most part those who are condescending and are heard by others being that way are usually horrible."


This

You can be a rude/mean/bad theatregoer without being a condescending one (Not that that's anything to brag about!)

condescending is "our thoughts differ and mine are superior"

For whatever reason. Any time someone's opinion boils down to something like;
"You like Amelie and I do not, but my opinion is superior because critics didn't like it and therefore that is the Correct opinion" with a sidenote of "you can't appreciate what is good or not/you have bad taste and therefore I am better than you"

The Condescending Theatregoer is usually in favour of older shows and critically acclaimed shows, and usually against popular shows, newer shows, critical flops, or anything targeted towards the young. (I think that the "[popular show] is God and if you don't like it you're crazy/non existent/a bad person" is a separate phenomenon as it's less condescending and more fervent)

More people, especially people in the theatre community (Which I find particularly bad for it) need to learn to share opinions without value judgement.

"I didn't like it" is a sentence all on its own. Even when I say I don't like DEH and I don't think it's a very good musical, I make it clear that I appreciate it for what it does do, making many people feel heard and represented.

The first time I saw Carousel, I sat next to a couple that absolutely loved it, and were so glad they could see a show like this even though theatre was being "ruined" by Spongebob and Mean Girls. I regret not telling them that they can support one show without tearing others down.

Not sure if this makes me a condescending theatergoer, but I saw Mean Girls the night after the Tony noms came out, and heard a couple of tourists ask an usher what nominations the show had received. The usher replied that "Ashley Clark was nominated, but I can't remember who else." Oof.

I felt obligated to go over there and tell them the actual nominations... though I think I did it nicely, haha. And they seemed to genuinely appreciate the intel.

I used to work front of house at a major non-profit Off-Broadway theater. I can't tell you how much of this condescending behavior is also tied up, quite frankly, with racism.

During my tenure we did a number of highly acclaimed plays with casts predominantly or entirely comprised of actors of color, including one that won the Pulitzer. I can't tell you how much feedback we received about programming such "angry" plays full of "unrelatable" characters and "unbelievable" situations. We would average 5-10 people walking out at intermission per night.

At the beginning of that job I was in the house every night and after the third person told me they needed to switch to a better seat because "their cancer prevented them from seeing that far away/that far off to the side" I stopped listening to anyone entirely. If people want to be awful, that's their business. This kind of theatergoer may be what's keeping the form alive, but it doesn't mean they're not terrible.

There's no need to go to the theater to find condescending theater goers. This board is filled with them!

EllieRose2 said: "froote said: "EllieRose2 said: ""Oh come on, he said he was an ass and asked LMM if they could forget the conversation ever happened. But sure continue to believe that he had no idea who he was."

Since that's what actually happened, I will continue believing the truth, thanks."

More like your made up version of the truth that suits your own narrative."

Haha. Read that to yourself, because it only applies to you. None of the things you said were ever mentioned in his story, so yes, you make up crap and assume the man was insulting him and knew who he was. It fits your (delusional) narrative. Have fun with that. Bye bye!

"

And conversely you're assuming the man did not know who he was and was not insulting him. So this little argument can end now.