Hilarious Comments Overheard By Tourists and Audience Members- Page 39

[FrontRowCenter2]

Posted: 9/22/06 at 10:30am

Overheard during intermission of Thou Shalt Not:

Wife to husband "Seems like Susan Stroman took a vacation during the rehearsals . ."

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 9/22/06 at 10:41am

Elton John, Verdi, close enough. I mean, they're practically the same person. I hear they used to have slumber parties and borrow each other's rings.

[actor]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 4:03pm

bump

[Anakela]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 10:49am

From the OiNY website:

Girl #1: Where does Rent take place?
Girl #2: I heard it takes place in China.
Girl #1: Oh, really? Are they going to eat a dog here?
Girl #2: Maybe a puppet.

--41st & 7th

That was a little funny, but it was the title that killed it:

And Then They All Come Out in Cat Makeup and Sing About Hitler
link to OiNY site

[jess20882]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 11:02am

Overheard at Hairspray about a week ago...

(In response to seeing Edna Turnblad)
Woman: That woman's huge.
Woman2: Um, you think?
Woman: Is that really a woman?
Woman2: Check the playbill...the actresses name is Blake Hammond.
Woman: Ugly woman.

HAHA thought that was kinda funny...

[Dre2387]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 12:23pm

this happened to me a while ago.

I went to see the Boys of Syracuse (revival) and at the end, a surprised guest came out (she played the twins mother). I was looking in the playbill to see who it was, but it had no one listed. This old guy next to me, said "Ooo, it's Mary-Tyler Moore." I was young at the time and couldn't really see her face properly and said: " oh really?" and he said yes. We counted the number of people in the bow line and it seemed like there was one extra person and since she was not listed, I accepted his answer. A few years later, I looked online and realized that he was wrong. It was Georgia Engel and she was listed as uncredited. How in the world can you mistake Georgia Engel for Mary Tlyer Moore?

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 3:22pm

jess, my mom thought the person who played Edna was a woman too! my mom was like "so did the woman who played the mother wear a fat suit, or is she really that fat?", and i was like "mom...that was a man"
:P

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 3:27pm

Back in 2001, when Hairspray first opened, there were visible lines up and down the block to get tickets. I was there with my family, waiting, and Harvey comes strolling up. He starts talking to the crowd, none of whom know who he is. After having a nice conversation with him, he went in, prompting the woman in front of me to ask "who was that?" I reply "He plays the mom." "Oh...."

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 3:55pm

Not really heard by an audience member or a tourist but we were listening to my copy of the Follies CD (Paper Mill) and we get to "Broadway Baby" and my mom says, "Where's Bernadette?" because we had first heard Bernadette singing this song in "Hey, Mr. Producer." I tell her politely that it's a different person but inside I'm thinking, "Sweet Jesus almighty!"

She has also pronounced Idina's name as Odina and also revealed the ending of Wicked to one person.

[jess20882]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 4:08pm

i'm actually a bit of a HAIRSPRAY junkie and every single time i see the show i always encounter people who don't realize edna is played by a woman...even when they look in the playbill and see blake's headshot...they still think it's a woman. the best were the two elderly southern baptist women sitting behind me who 1) were appalled that someone large was onstage in public and 2) that it was a man in drag. i would repeat some of what they were saying but some of it is pretty offensive...
Updated On: 9/26/06 at 04:08 PM

[americanboy99]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 4:29pm

"Oh! Let's go see CHICAGO. Chita Rivera is in it. She's playing that Zeta-Jones girl."

[mominator]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 5:10pm

So nice to see this thread as funny as ever.

[worrell4077]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 8:21pm

I'm not kidding when I say this, this actually happened,this past Sunday at the stage door of Jersey Boys, this old, blonde lady said to someone, "Was that them singing or the original guys singing?" Just about everyone around here said, "It's them singing." She literally thought that John, Christian, Daniel, and John Leone(who was in for Bobby) lipsynched to old Frankie Valli records. I don't know if that's an insult or a complement.

[nealb1]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 8:53pm

Saw "Jersey Boys" on Thursday night, September 21st. Two ladies behind me were looking through the program before the show started, and Lady #1 said to Lady #2, "Look, that's the guy who won The Tony." Lady 2 said, "Yeah, but is he any good?" Lady #1 replied, "Yeah, I'm reading here in the program and he has been on television."

OH, MY GAWD!!! As if to say that if you're on tv, you have talent and if you win a Tony you don't.

[Maile]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 1:13pm

An acquaintance has matter-of-factly informed me the reason Cats played as long as it did on Bway was because organized tourist groups from Japan would book the show as that trip's theatrical experience. Meaning, they just didn't understand what they were seeing.

I had to laugh.

This friend is known to just make things up. Can anyone verify this?

[Fosse76]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 1:21pm

"An acquaintance has matter-of-factly informed me the reason Cats played as long as it did on Bway was because organized tourist groups from Japan would book the show as that trip's theatrical experience. Meaning, they just didn't understand what they were seeing.

I had to laugh.

This friend is known to just make things up. Can anyone verify this?"

Verify what? Speculation as to why Cats ran for 17 years? While I'm sure there MAY have been organized tourist groups from Japan seeing the show, organized tourist groups see shows all the time. In fact, tour bookings make up a good portion of a show's ticket sales.

[NJgirl]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 1:25pm

Hairspray this past Tues night:

We were sitting next to 4 senior citizen ladies in the front row lotto seats. They happened to have the 4 middle seats. At intermission, they started chatting with my friend and I since we had chatted at the lotto earlier. One of these 60-70 yr old ladies cracked me up when she said to me, "I really like this seat! That sexy boy was shaking his pelvis right on top of me!"

Aaron Tveit apparently appeals to all generations...lol

[Maile]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 1:27pm

I have no doubt that tour groups make up a good percentage of sales, but what my friend is getting at is, CATS ran *solely* on Japanese tourists, specifically. It was the most ridiculous thing I'd heard and I'd like to know if there's any truth to it.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 1:31pm

Japanese tourists do not make up any more a siginificant portion of a Broadway audience than any other group. The answer is an obvious "no."

[Maile]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 1:59pm

"The answer is an obvious "no." "

I must be stupid, then. Granted, I've heard other ridiculous things that turned out to be true (Ashley Simpson in Chicago).

Now someone will post to tell me I'm off-topic.

[Pippin]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 2:05pm

well, stereotypes aside, I think there is some truth to that. when I saw cats, the audience had to be at least 40% asian.

think of it, they are big tourists, and there are more asians on this planet than any other. they would obviously have a higher percentage rate of coming to New York than other nationalies.

[lildogs]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 2:06pm

I read something similar to what your friend said, Maile. But I think it was more for FOREIGN tourists rather than to single out one group.

CATS and Bob Fosse's DANCIN' were two shows that could be appreciated by those who don't speak English, which is one reason they both had successful runs despite not being the most substantial shows ever conceived (to put it mildly).

[Maile]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 2:10pm

Pippin,

My God, my friend might be right?! Seriously, he just makes stuff up on the fly. I wish I could remember all the other broadway "tidbits" he's shared over the years. Some were just priceless. He once tried to convince me South Park is actually made in Japan. He seems to have a fascination with Asians.

Interesting points. Thanks for sharing!

[Maile]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 2:14pm

lildogs,

Thanks for replying too. Wow. So there's some truth to that. Darn. I was so looking forward to pointing out that he was wrong.

I would think Cats would be even MORE lost on people who aren't fluent in English (true, nothing of substance really happens, there's no plot per se, but would they be able to figure out what the hell is happening with the cat on the tire at the end?)

Edit: In the end, I guess it doesn't matter if they understand it or not. If they keep Bway going, that's all I care about! So, yeah for foreign tourists!
Updated On: 9/28/06 at 02:14 PM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 2:33pm

"well, stereotypes aside, I think there is some truth to that. when I saw cats, the audience had to be at least 40% asian."

That is highly improbable. Most studies that have analysed people who make general estimates of population composites are grossly mistaken. While it may have looked like 40% to you, the actuality is that it probably wasn't even 10%. The seating arrangement and the fact that not all Asians who see a Broadway show are necessarily form a foreign country would substantially increase "your" view, but it would be a misleading sample. It is improbable that the audience make-up of a performance of Cats (on Broadway) would be 40% Asian tourists. 40% non-English speaking tourists, yes that is more probable (those who spoke English knew to stay away).