Hard time at "kids shows"

[Mongo]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 6:19pm

THis is a thread to post about any rude or annoying things have happened at "kids shows". Like disney shows, Shrek, etc.

I went to a Shrek matinee today and I had a horrible time. The kids behind us wouldn't shut up, they were kicking my seat. Later on, my mom turned around and started yelling at the mother. TThe mother's rebuttal was, " Well, you shouldn't have come to a kid's show then!" Everyone in our row complained also, and during intermission everyone had a huge fight.

[dg22894]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 6:42pm

Not a kids show but these children at Wicked. They were talking they had a game boy and played it. It was bad.

[michelle3]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 9:17pm

dg - I hope the ushers came and reprimanded them...

Almost every show I go to, I hear talking and/or see fans dancing - it's almost inevitable.

[Mongo]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 9:17pm

I would consider Wicked as sort of a kids show, but that's just plain stupid to do in a theater. They shouldn't have gone if they were going to play it the whole time.

[dg22894]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 9:19pm

They were removed at intermission.

I also have one but this was just cute. I saw Lion King and there was a boy in front of me who had every characters as a stuffed animal. And she brought them and she would hold them when each of the charectors spoke. So during circle of live she had a Rafiki one in her hand. It was very cute. Updated On: 1/17/09 at 09:19 PM

[Mongo]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 9:20pm

This was just people being annoying, talking, and crunching cellophane.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 9:23pm

Alert Patti LuPone to the problem. She'll make sure that kid never kicks another seat in his life.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 9:48pm

I often find the mothers to be the real pains. I've had more than one experience, not necessarily at kids' nights, where they bring out the cellophane or the baggies for the kids, or insist on saying "did you see that?" or "ooh, he's bad", etc. Often the kids are more well-behaved in those families!

[I*heart*Manhattan]

Posted: 1/19/09 at 6:59am

When i went to see Phantom There was this young girl behind me around 9 or 10 i would guess. She sang (tried to sing) Every single one of Christine's lines during the entire first act!! I was 14 at the time and felt to shy to turn around and tell her to SHUT UP but thankfully she didnt continue during the second act. The thing that really pissed me off was that her mother was sitting right beside her and never even told her to shhh!! Parents should teach their kids about theatre etiquette before they take them anywhere near a show.

[thtrbear]

Posted: 1/19/09 at 7:11am

This is not a kid's show, but the only time I saw B. Peters in Gypsy, in a very good seat at (wait for it) the saturday matinee closing week, this 9 year old girl in front of me had a hacking dry cough throughout Rose's Turn and her mom just put her arm around her shoulders and comiserated instead of saying "Shut the ferck up honey! Stifle yrself! This is called Rose's Turn! Even in New Jersey we've heard of it!"

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/19/09 at 8:19am

the only time it was really bad was at little mermaid....just an overall constant noise level .

I bring my kids (12 & to the theatre often. We always discuss approriate behavior and exhibit it 95% of the time. My kids have it so ingrained on them that they would' t even stand up to dance at a " kids bop" concert so they wouldn't block others view.

That being said....I do think that, you do have to expect and tolerate a little more noise at the KIDDIE shows.

Updated On: 1/19/09 at 08:19 AM

[legally_popular]

Posted: 1/19/09 at 8:51am

I witness more bad behavior from adults than from kids, although it’s probably because I attend more “adult” shows where there are virtually no kids in the audience at all. When I’m actually at a kiddie show though, I mainly see restlessness and talking from the kids, which I sort of expect. The adults cause more problems I think, with candy wrappers, cell phones, rudeness, you name it.

The topic has been discussed over and over again. It’s just that people don’t know better and/or don’t care. I’ve never had a problem with someone that severe, but it does get annoying. This woman sitting behind me at the final performance of Gypsy was the epitome of a rude, annoying audience member… talking all through the orchestra and in response to some of the lines, humming along with the music, not shutting off her cell phone, telling her husband everything she knew about the show during the show, yelling at people if she couldn’t see (like when people stood up for Patti’s entrance or when an usher was standing in the aisle in her way). So annoying!

I can only control myself. I respect the performers onstage and the audience members around me. I follow all the rules and advise the people I’m with to do the same. That’s all I can really do I guess and just hope that other people will do the same.

[Mamie]

Posted: 1/19/09 at 8:53am

My problem is with parents - usually mothers - who bring their young children to see classic ballets based on fairy tales. The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, even Swan Lake. They will sit there and describe every single thing happening on the stage. As soon as they stop talking for a minute, the child will ask 'what is he doing?', 'who is that?', and on and on. I love the fact that they're trying to expose their children to the classics but taking them to an actual performance should also be a lesson in how to behave in a theatre. Let them watch the ballet at home on DVD first and explain the story to them then. When they come to the theatre make sure they understand that talking of any kind is taboo. Having their mother sit there and talk through the performance only tells them that this is proper behavour.

[shpants]

Posted: 1/19/09 at 9:16am

I've had similar experiences, one specifically at Wicked a couple of years ago. I don't really consider Wicked to be a "kids show", so I would think that if your kids wanted to see it, you best make sure that they are old enough and mature enough to sit through the show in a theatre full of adults!

I had two kids sitting behind me (with their parents off in different rows - smart thinking) who made such comments right off the bat, like, "Ohhh look, there's GLINDA!" (Said at top of lungs) and "Wow, she's so pretty!" and proceeding to sing every one of her lines. Needless to say, that didn't last too long...I turned around and 1. told them (in no uncertain terms) to be quiet and 2. to ask where their parents were to quiet them down.

At the end, one of the kids said, "Wow, Glinda is just so good, and that Elphaba is just so bad."
Clearly the whole point of the show was missed entirely. Are these kids really old enough to be seeing this show, when they clearly weren't old enough to understand the "moral of the story?"

End rant.

[Winston3]

Posted: 1/19/09 at 9:28am

I was at Mary Poppins the other day in the front row (great price too) and there was this little boy who was kicking my seat off and on during the first act. It was bothering me but not enough to make a scene and tell him to quit it during the show. I waited during intermission and kindly told him to stop. His mother was right there and he turned to her and said that I was lying. His mother told him not to kick my seat and that lying is bad. I found it funny that while she may not have seen her son kick my seat, she knew that her song was lying.

Truth be told I do like disney shows. And, I see nothing different between a Disney show on Broadway and any other show on Broadway other then the fact that Disney shows are geared towards a family demographic and they also are the kids first Broadway show.

Updated On: 1/19/09 at 09:28 AM