Hilarious Comments Overheard By Tourists and Audience Members — Page 8

Okay, this was from a regional production of South Pacific.

My friend and I were sitting next to this couple with really heavy sort of Jersey/Wiconsin accents, however that works out. We had struck up a conversation with the man in the couple, and we mentioned that our English teacher, an accomplished actor, was playing Emile. The guy went "Oh, she's playing Emily? That's great!"

At intermission, he said to his wife, "I can't believe Emily was a man. Was it supposed to be like that?"

---

In Thoroughly Modern Millie, the Speakeasy number, this little six-or-seven year old sat directly behind me, kept kicking my seat, and shout-whispers to her father "DADDY DADDY WHAT ARE THEY DRINKING???? (lowers her voice dramatically) Is it apple juice?"

It only got worse when the dad started explaining the history of alcohol to her.

---

I guess old ladies provide some good material.

At a Nevada Ballet performance in October...

Little boy in front of me to his dad, during a pas de deux: Daddy, can you lift Mommy like that?

(edited to fix accidental sex change. oops!)

---

Updated On: 6/17/06 at 01:30 AM

Here are a couple.

The Hot Feet comment reminded me of something that happened during the pre-Broadway run of Beauty and the Beast in Los Angeles. I have to admit that it might have improved by the time it got to Broadway, but I thought it was pretty lousy and only a cut above the "shows" they have at Disneyland (and I loved the film). At the point the wolves chase the father, he yelled out, "Come on, wolves, get him so we can go home!" From the applause, I don't think I was the only one in the audience who agreed.

I was in a semester abroad program in 1989 with other students from my college. We were lucky to get tickets to see Trevor Nunn's production of Othello at the Young Vic in London. The cast included Ian McKellen as Iago, Zoe Wanamaker as Emilia, and Imogen Stubbs as Desdemona. It was one of the great theater experiences of my life. Afterward, I overheard one of my classmates refer to McKellen: "What was he? A gay Nazi on acid? He's not much of an actor."

My favorite, though, was during Dead Funny, a play that I saw in the West End. We had front row seats next to an elderly pair of tourists from Nebraska. At one point, one of the male leads, David Haig, took off his clothes, came to the front of the stage, and sat down directly in front of us. Needless to say, the two ladies were completely scandalized by full frontal nudity on stage, particularly when it was only three feet in front of them. At intermission, one said, "That wasn't real, was it? Not the way he was wagging it back and forth like that." The other replied, "Of course not. This isn't New York. This is England."

at the cats tour in san diego during intermission I heard a man say that he still didn't understand what a geliton cat was...

I think I was at Les Miz when a couple behind me was flipping through the playbills. Aida was coming to town soon.

"Oh! We should go see Ayyyyda."

Pronounced with a long "a" and two syllables, of course.

---

Updated On: 6/17/06 at 04:21 AM

In Thoroughly Modern Millie, the Speakeasy number, this little six-or-seven year old sat directly behind me, kept kicking my seat, and shout-whispers to her father "DADDY DADDY WHAT ARE THEY DRINKING???? (lowers her voice dramatically) Is it apple juice?"

Apparently, this kid thought he'd been drinking apple juice for all those special occasions when he was REALLY drinking hard cider!

---

See, this is why I never really want to work IN a theatre.

---

At Spamalot:

Woman: (to her husband)... Tim Curry... wasn't he that he-she in that movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show?

At the Avenue Q stage door

Teenage boy: (after Barrett Foa came out) Omigod, Barrett Foa is so hot, I want him to lick my vagina.

This post is great, you guys.

"That comment about the teenage boy is kind of creepy."

Oh, just a bit.
(Someone's a little confused...)
But Barrett IS quite beautiful.

At POTO:
My brother: "OMFG who's that dude in the hat? cause that hat is fugly and I think he's wearing makeup. That is so gay.

At RENT:
My mother: I don't understand. Why are they screaming so much?
Me: Well mom, they're sining.
Mother: Oh. The sound is very loud. It really should be turned down. And that poor girl in the santa outfit. She's so homely, little thing.
Me: That would be a guy.
Mother: Oh my! They must really be getting desperate.
(During Over the Moon)
Mother: Who's that young lady?
Me: Idina Menzel
Mother: She's so off key. It's embarassing.
(after the show)
Mother: What ever happened to the homely girl?
Me: You mean the MALE playing Angel. Angel dies.
Mother: Really?
Me: Yeah. And "big hair girl" and "the boy with the funny pants" were a couple. As were the "homely girl" and "the black man". And "the off key one" and "the black woman". And a lot of them had AIDS.
Mother: WHAT!?!


So much fun with ignorant family members...

The first time I was at Rent...I don't know what I was high on at the time, but I told my parents(very loudly, I might add)that Frenchie Davis had originated Joanne. I didn't realize my mistake until *much* later, and have been mortified about it ever since.