Is it rude to give a standing ovation when no one else is?

I don't think it's rude at all. I give standing ovations from the second the curtain rises because to me the ensemble deserves one as much as the leads.

Updated On: 6/24/19 at 02:40 PM

I don’t think it is rude at all. Just as it isn’t rude not to stand if you don’t want to. I do think that the automatic standing ovation which seems to be the norm on Broadway and has sadly infected the West End, is rather sad. It’s like the word legend. Overused! It has devalued the practice. I do stand for something special if I am moved to do so. Nowadays people seem to stand for mediocre shows and so-so performances. What a shame.

Standing ovations are like a bell that cannot be unrung. I don't see them stopping. Also, I think they are nice for the performers who seem to enjoy them.

Not rude at all, the cast sees you, and they appreciate it.

I find it awkward when you don't feel it deserves a standing ovation - what do you do? You can sit down and look like an ungrateful sod who didn't enjoy it (even if I did), or stand with the crowd like everyone else does and as Sondheim (I think - or someone else) said "justify the cost of your ticket". I know this topic is done to death but standing ovations sadly seem meaningless in New York now :-/.

If you sit and everyone else is standing, you can't see a bloody thing.

Apart from throwing myself on stage at the feet of Megan Hilty last week, then best I could do without internally combusting, was to give her a standing ovation, and yell a lot!

I would never stand alone, just make a loud noise because clapping in not enough--loved the wooden floors when the stamping created such a racket of appreciation.

Stand sit blow raspberries leave---do what you want, you bought the ticket.

PS----My pet hate is the audience clapping in time to the music as the ensemble and minor cast members take their bow. It robs them of their individual 'thanks yous' as it's just a musical clapp-a-long.

Updated On: 6/25/19 at 05:16 PM

No.

RaisedOnMusicals said: "It's hard to tell whether the above was sarcastic, but standing ovations have been around since the time of Ancient Rome, and they became associated with the theater in the 17th century. <>

http://mentalfloss.com/article/89214/how-did-standing-ovation-originate"

I was being sarcastic but I love Mental Floss so appreciate the link anyway.

Whether a production, from an artistic point of view, merits a standing ovation or does not change the fact that if you stand, then the person behind you must also stand in order to see the curtain calls. What if that person doesn't wish to stand? That person misses the curtain calls.

Consideration for others, in the theatre, as in all aspects of life, is definitely worth considering.

mailhandler777 said: "I don't think it's rude at all. I give standing ovations from the second the curtain rises because to me the ensemble deserves one as much as the leads."

^^ I’m with you. Within the last few months whenever I see a show I stand from the end of the finale because of everyone on that stage.

dramamama611 said: "What do I do? I dont stand. I dont care what the strangers around me think."

I don't care what strangers think of me either, but at some point remaining seated seems to become a potentially unintended comment on the performance. I'd rather stand at that point than give the impression I am making a negative comment on a show I enjoyed. (Of course, I'm talking about when my friend gives me her fifth row center seat, where I am visible to the performers. When I'm in the seats I can afford in the mezzanine, I do as I please.)