HELLO, DONNA! - Murphy begins performances — Page 20

bk said: "poisonivy2 said: "bk said: "So in other words, it was a show about the audience, because any audience that stands on Dolly's entrance, and during or after Parade, and during the title song are just sickening, IMO. I understand everyone watches these stupid America's Got Talent and The Voice shows, where the audience there is instructed, INSTRUCTED, to stand in the middle of things, but in the theater it is just lame and embarrassing - have some decorum, let the show be the show, and stand, if you must, at the end."

Holy s--t. This isn't Angels in America. This is a s musical that deliberately breaks the 4th wall. And Parade is the Act 1 finale shpwstopperr so standing after is entirely appropriate."

You know, I've seen Hello, Dolly! about forty times, starting with Channing, Rogers, Bailey, Diller, Dorothy Lamour and many others, and I recorded the revival in the 90s - and I am here to tell you that no one, not ONE PERSON, including the ubiquitous Charles Lowe, has EVER stood before, during or after Before the Parade Passes By. EVER. And they don't stand for it with Midler, so as I said this was a show about the audience. Ms. Murphy, who I like, had her friends and family there - great. But this had nothing to do with Hello, Dolly and everything to do with it being Ms. Murphy's final show - she could have been out there singing songs from Whoop-Up and they would have stood after Glenda's Place, and Nobody Throw Those Bull.

"

Uh, yeah, you know, final performance, so the audience maybe wants to show appreciation for a performer?

I was at the final performance of Stark Sands and Billy Porter's Kinky Boots and both of them got standing O's after their act two solos. Because you know, they've given a lot to the show and the audience wants to show appreciation and all that for their final turn.

I don;'t know why any of this is objectionable.

haterobics said: "I hope bk isn't going to Bette's last show, cuz... there will be standing. I counted three mid-show standing ovations when I saw her doing it in June."

Never worry - bk won't be going to any performance where an audience behaves like that - it is of no interest whatsoever. This mid-show crap started just a few years ago and for me I'm there to see a show and be involved in the story and characters - I'm not there to have that experience interrupted by a bunch of young musical theater people who think it's all about them. Not of interest. :)

bk said: "MoveOnGypsy said: "Foote was definitely on last night. I was surprised they didn't put notice on the board or an insert in the playbill as well. I would've liked to see a list.

BK, get a life. Donna was a revelation and her family, friends and fans were there to support her. Everyone was excited for her, even the cast who sang to her before and after the show behind the curtain so loud that you could hear it."

I suspect the people who need to get a life are the ones who behave like this while seeing someone's final performance. What would be wrong with just being happy to be there, enjoying it, and standing at the end to show appreciation for a job well done. All the other stuff is about the people in the audience. Ms. Midler doesn't get that many standing ovations - Ms. Channing didn't get that many standing ovations, unless her husband was leading the charge as he did for her entrance and the title song. But he certainly wasn't stupid enough to lead the charge before or during or after any other number."



Sorry, BK. I have to disagree. Channing got standing ovations on her entrance, after the parade, at the top of the stairs, after the title number and during bows. After the parade, Carol held the applause as long as she liked and ended it when she stamped pole of the pennant she was holding.

Yes, Charles Lowe did lead the standing, but there were times when he couldn't attend the performance and others were assigned the task. I was one of them and Patrick Wilson will also admit to doing this.

One way or another, Carol Channing DID get standing ovations after the parade.

Well obviously things were different in the performances YOU attended

BTW: How many dumplings did Carol scarf down at the performances you were at?

Updated On: 1/9/18 at 11:19 PM

You saw 12 performances and therefore feel you can speak to ALL of Channing's shows? Oy.



I don't think its fair to see the audience is makeing about them....what the hell would an audience member get from giving a standing ovation? I admit it's not USUAL to get them midshow -- but it does happen. And to judge ANYTHING today compared to its counterpart of the past (more than 20 years ago) is pretty silly. Everything changes.

UncleCharlie said: "bk said: "Never worry - bk won't be going to any performance where an audience behaves like that - it is of no interest whatsoever. This mid-show crap started just a few years ago and for me I'm there to see a show and be involved in the story and characters - I'm not there to have that experience interrupted by a bunch of young musical theater people who think it's all about them. Not of interest. :)"



I just love how you talk about yourself in the third person. Straight fire from bk. Never change, my man!

"

HAAAA

I have been going to the theatre regularly since 1964. The first standing ovation I ever saw was at the end of the show for a performance of Mame in June 1966, about 2 weeks after it opened. I had already seen Dolly at least 4 times (I saw Channing 3 times and Ginger Rogers once) and never saw a standing ovation. I actually do believe that audiences applauded more in those days vs. the standing and whooping that happens today.

The first time I saw a standing ovation during a show was in the mid-seventies at the closing night of Gypsy, after Rose's Turn; I understood that the audience wanted the night to be special, yet that was the only time in the entire evening in which they were different from any of the other performances of that show I saw. That was also 10 years and many attended performances later. (The one exception to this is one person concerts). The next one was either Moon for The Misbegotten (one of three performances I saw) or Christopher Plummer in Cyrano, at the end of the performance. So long ago that years could have separated them, but they were 35 - 45 years ago. Then there was Jennifer Holiday in Dreamgirls -- mid-performance and at the end. So, in 20 years of viewing, I saw two intra-performance SOs, and both were for legendary performances. I may have forgotten one or two, but there were only one or two at most.

My point is that SOs, particularly truly spontaneous ones, were incredibly rare. They just didn't happen that often...they were so infrequent that I still remember them.

I have seen Hello Dolly a fraction of the times that Dollypop did, but a lot more than most people, including regular theatergoers. I actually can recall 'participating' in an SO three previous times: once for Ethel Merman the night before it closed; it was not because of her performance, it was because she was Ethel Merman and it was closing; and twice for Carol Channing after the HD number, when she was in her 70s, in the most shamelessly awkward circumstances, i.e., it was very clear that the entire thing was setup. That SO took forever to happen, and ended up being more about the audience wanting to see what was happening on stage rather than anything resembling a spontaneous SO.

I love it when an audience recognizes a performer in a special way -- assuming it is deserved -- but I also think it can throw off the 'rhythm' of the show. Personally, in most cases, I would rather they recognize the performer at the end of the show for as long as they want, rather than harm the rhythm of the show.

It is also true that final performances have become about exaggeration in the last decade or so; I have been to a decent number of closing performances and they didn't become exaggerated IMO until the last decade or so...the applause during the show may have lasted a fraction longer, but they did not seem 'exaggerated'.

SmokeyLady said: "I suspect the audience will be obnoxious and untruthful for her first few performances."

Not me. I'm doing the same thing as I did after seeing JCM's last Hedwig, and waiting a while before revisiting Dolly to see Bernadette. That said, I will be interested in seeing her unique take on it then, and not comparing her to Bette. I've been a Bette fan for ages, so no one will compare to her. But will they be able to make Dolly their own? Sure, why not?

Bk wrote: "I suspect the people who need to get a life are the ones who behave like this while seeing someone's final performance. What would be wrong with just being happy to be there, enjoying it, and standing at the end to show appreciation for a job well done. All the other stuff is about the people in the audience. "



Sad, but true. Very sad, and very true. It's all the noxious legacy of the counter-culture's self-absorbed "do your own thing" mentality. Doing one's own thing at the theatre nowadays means jumping out of one's seat like an overwound jack-in-the-box, having counted down the seconds for a number or show to end, so as to show off to the world how to outdo everyone else in whoo-whooing.

And what about one's fellow theatregoers' "thing?"

"Who???"

The fact that the people nearby may not want to hear one's infernal racket, or might be unable to see the stage because one's standing blocks the view is of no concern. But then, why should it be? Isn't it all about one's need to be a participant in an "event" --- indeed, to make sure the event IS an "event?" Irritating or inconveniencing others is irrelevant. Interrupting the flow of the show or breaking its spell matters not a whit. It's all about one's own needs, one's own wants. It's always about one's own needs, one's own wants.

We're told it's all just a way to demonstrate one's love for the performers on stage. But is it really? In fact, the to-do coming from the audience serves only to distract from the brilliance of the performers on stage by shifting attention to the ruckus raisers off of it.

But then what can you expect when ideals such as propriety, decorum, and consideration for others have all gone down the tubes? And as for humility... well, does the concept even exist any more?

If only people would use common sense for a moment, they would realize that if everything under the sun merits cheers and standing ovations, then nothing does. It's the theatrical equivalent of grade-flation.

But this is how it is, and this is how it is going to be. All the rest of us can do is grin and bear it, or more appropriately, sigh and lament it.

After Eight said: "All the rest of uscan do is grin and bear it, or more appropriately, sigh and lament it."

Sigh and lament is already your default setting, no?

Dollypop said: "You know, if BK is talking about performances that weren't in NYC, he may be witnessing crowds that are a bit more reserved. I saw DOLLY (with Carol) at the Mohegan Sun Casino in CT and the audience sat on their hands at each of the 5 performances I attended."

You know exactly what BK is talking about. I saw the show on Broadway and I saw it on tour many times. I am a Hello, Dolly veteran my friend. Were you even born when the original run was happening.