Have you ever seen a musical on Broadway that didn't get a standing ovation?

Discuss

Y'know I think that the ubiquitousness of standing ovations is a very American thing. In much of Europe, even in Britain, it's a lot more common for shows to not get standing ovations. Some shows are so spectacular and huge in scale that it's hard not to give them a standing ovation, but here in America we give standing ovations to middle school shows. Freaking middle school plays. And people throw around absolutely absurd compliments. I've had people tell me that community productions I'm in are better than the Broadway productions. It's weird because generally Americans are the mean ones but for some reason we all stand when we clap.

The only time in my life was at Almost Famous. Not only no standing ovation, but it was probably the quietest and tamest audience I've ever been apart of. And the curtain call was essentially a rock concert moment. Incredibly awkward when there's no noise in the house and everyone's walking out or still seated. That was a rough night of theatre IMO.

Weirdly enough, because the audience was really into it AND it was a great performance, but nobody stood when I saw Avenue Q on Broadway. I really wanted to, but I was too nervous to stand on my own back then. (I could not see the mezzanine, so I'm not sure if people stood up there, but nobody stood in the orchestra.)

"Head Over Heels". Lots of people left after Act One and the crowd at the end just silently walked out of the theater during curtain call.

In the 70’s the only two that I remember getting standing ovations and people going crazy, was the original casts of A Chorus Line and Annie. Pippin, Chicago, Grease, The Wiz, Sweeney, and so many others did not. And to this day it amazes me what gets standing ovations, but to go into that someone will say I am ‘precious” or look foolish that I will remain seated if I truly hated the show or performance.

BentleyB said: "In the 70’s the only two thatI remember getting standing ovations and people going crazy, was the original casts of A Chorus Line and Annie. Pippin, Chicago, Grease, The Wiz, Sweeney, and so many others did not. And to this day it amazes me what gets standing ovations, but to go into that someone will say I am ‘precious” or look foolish that I will remain seated if I truly hated the show or performance."

Interesting. I saw ACL 3 or 4 times in its first 4 months, and it never got one. I saw Annie on opening night and there was no SO. So, they probably happened occasionally.

i do remember one other show from the mid-seventies that got SOs every time I saw it. The SOs were specifically for John Cullum in Shenandoah. That’s the other thing…in all but one case I can think of, no one stood until the lead came out for their bow. In The Producers, for example, despite all the acclaimed performances, not a single person stood until Lane and Broderick came out. This standing up when the dancers of a show with rotten choreogtaphy take their bows is so stupid. Crowd mentality…one shill stands up and it’s all over.

I don't think there was a standing ovation for "Walking with Ghosts" the night I saw it. So many people were asleep, it was probably a comp night because even I had a comp,and it was a terrible and meandering show. I don't even remember the ONE MAN who was the main speaker's name. I think he was Irish and talking about his family but other than that it was so forgettable.

Cry-Baby

The ten of us in the Mezz didn’t stand.

jagman106 said: "The standing O is a rather recent phenomenon that gained momentum around the mid-late 90s. Certainly they are the norm throughout the 21st century to date. In the 70s and 80s, standing Os were reserved for truly outstanding shows or performances. I recall standing Os at Evita and 42nd Street. The only time I've ever been part of a standing O at the end of Act 1 was for Jennifer Holliday in Dreamgirls.

Since the time that Standing Os became "fashionable," I can recall three shows that didn't get a standing O when I was there: Dance of the Vampires, A Tale of Two Cities, and Women on the Verge..."

The afternoon I saw.”War Paint” something was definitely off and people could feel it and no one stood for it. Only 2 shows I have seen SO during an act was Something Rotten and Hello Dolly!. The only at intermission was Wicked and Funny Girl (not with Beanie.)

RUkiddingme said: "I blame Blood Brothers - they had that counting standing ovation marketing campaign."

It was well after Blood Brothers. Another show that advertised that was the Lansbury Gypsy. That was 49 years ago. On the one hand UGH! On the other, I enjoyed the mediocre shows 50 years ago more than I enjoy them today. At least 50 years ago, you could hum half the score as you left the theatre...unlike today, when I can rarely hum one. I know I sound like a lyric in Merrily (which I love), but it's true...enjoyable songs make up for a lot of other sins in a show.

I do hate standing for most shows I see...this constant standing has cheapened the impact of an SO. The first one I ever saw was absolutely thrilling, especially since I was very young and loved the show. I thought recent SOs for Harmony and Almost Famous and SIX and PV the Sondheim musical (forgetting the name right this minute (the latter two which I really enjoyed) were hard to justify, at least in the context of what SOs used to mean.

I've been to many performances of Rent later in its run when it only received a few rows of standing ovation; same for Phantom. Often what would happen is people in the back would get up, and then the people in the front didn't notice that people were standing.

The very first time I saw Les Miserables on Broadway in December 1998, I was shocked by the rock concert vibe of the audience, hooting and hollering after every song, and of course enthusiastically jumping to their feet at the curtain call. When I went again a few years later in 2002, I had become quite the Eponine fanboy, and when she came out for her bow I leapt to my feet. Not only did the rest of the audience not join me, but people looked at me confusedly and a few people even whispered to the seatmate and rolled their eyes at me. I was shocked that nobody else was standing but I wasn't about to sit back down lol.

Nowadays it seems similar to getting up when the seatbelt sign goes off at the end of the flight. You know you still have to wait to get off the plane, but it's just nice to stand up and stretch your legs.

Yes, most of them before 2002. I remember noticing that the standing ovation started to get built into the curtain call post 2002 with lighting shifts, orchestrations, etc. I agree that it was influenced by American Idol, etc. But it was also part of the destination tourism shift of the newly renovated Times Square district and its attendant "luxury event" ticket pricing. It spilled into everything including concerts, dance, etc. The absence of a standing ovation now signals either that the show was really bad or it is not pitched primarily to tourists.

Updated On: 3/24/24 at 02:00 PM