Inappropriate audience laughter — Page 2

Fluffy 2 said: "I’ve heard stories of people laughing when Melchior rapes Wendla in SA, probably just because they’re uncomfortable, but still weird."

I love the score to Spring Awakening so much, which makes me love the show, but have a very hard time taking that melodramatic book seriously. Like, I know the part with the switch/stick is supposed to be very serious, but both times I saw it (original and DW revival) I was definitely giggling in my head. Not out loud, because I wouldn't be disrespectful in the theatre, but I found it very hard to take seriously. Don't know if that's a fault of the book or the actors, to be honest. But I've always struggled with the tone of that show, since it's about such a heavy subject, but so often is tongue-in-cheek or downright silly.

kdogg36 said: "The original production of PASSION elicited some unintended laughter. I’m afraid, despite the fact that I now consider this a masterwork, that I might have been part of the problem. I can’t cite the source, but I think Sondheim has said that inappropriate laughter is always the fault of the creative team, not the audience.

I am keenly looking forward to seeing PASSION at the Signature (Virginia) this season. "

I believe Sondheim claimed it wasn’t just laughing but also cheering when Fosca collapsed. I do wonder what it must have been like seeing Passion OBC for the first time without any knowledge of the show. It’s truly bizarre.

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I have never seen a production of West Side Story where the audience doesn't laugh when Tony gets shot. I guess the gunshot scares people but it is outrageous how inappropriate people are.

"I do wonder what it must have been like seeing Passion OBC for the first time without any knowledge of the show."

It was a deeply uncomfortable experience that felt like it went on and on without any shape or direction. The two loveliest songs in the score, "Loving You" and especially Fosca's Letter ("I don't know how I let you so far inside my mind..." stood out a mile from the rest, because they held to a basic 32-bar structure, which was a great relief after all the formless recitative that came before. We were not fans of the show, and were very surprised to hear such adulation from most of our friends who saw the show later in the run. Years later I made sure to catch the hailed CSC revival-- lovely music-making but the show was still a bore and a chore for me.

All 4 times I saw Frozen someone laughed loudly when Elsa struck Anna for the first time at the beginning of the show. There is a lot of funny stuff in the show but that isn't one of them.

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I saw the original production of Passion and was probably the only person in the world that absolutely loved it. The audience was consistently disrespectful and vicious and would laugh and sneer and boo, loudly during the show. I remember watching it really affect Donna Murphy on stage, who gave one of my favorite performances of all time. It's a treat to go back and watch the PBS broadcast without all the nastiness. I always saw it's multiple Tony wins as a form of justice in a way.

I've seen every Sondheim musical with the original cast since A Little Night Music, which I saw when I was quite young. His shows always puzzle audiences and the response is usually strange in the house. I remember seeing Sweeney Todd opening weekend and the response was both a mixture of loud gasps and roaring laughter. The woman next to me thought it was a horror drama and the man next to me thought it was a comedy.

I saw the London production of PASSION with Maria Friedman and Michael Ball first, before I saw the filmed production of the Broadway PASSION. Coupled with her grotesque makeup and stalkerish pursuit of Giorgio, there was not much sympathy for Maria's Fosca, until maybe when she fell terminally ill. Tbh, I found the interpretation by Donna Murphy more sympathetic even if I did like Maria's singing better. Surprisingly, I found the score a little more melodic than other works of Sondheim but that is just a personal preference.

I was in a play once about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, and I played the superintendent of the factory. In one of the last scenes of the play, he shows up drunk to one of the funerals, and it ends with one of the survivors spitting in his face and saying she'll never forgive him.

The audience laughed. That was four years ago, and it perplexes me to this day.

GeorgeandDot said: "I remember seeing Sweeney Todd opening weekend and the response was both a mixture of loud gasps and roaring laughter. The woman next to me thought it was a horror drama and the man next to me thought it was a comedy."

They were both right.

In Saint Joan, Patrick Page has a short monologue that is quite serious and earnest as the Inquisitor. There were chuckles and titters throughout the audience until almost the very end. I'm not sure if the irreverence of the rest of the play confused people or if they just really hate organized religion and didn't realize they were supposed to take what he was saying at face value. I'm curious if this happens all the time or if it was just my audience.