Is this a thing? …overly enthusiastic balcony at Wicked

Olivia11 said: "Ashamed to say that I saw Wicked for the first time this weekend. I do not mind an enthusiastic audience but the balcony seemed almost organized starting organized loud cheering well before the show started. Once it started, there was almost a Rocky Horror participation style, which felt odd to me.


it’s possible it was a school group, as it definitely had a teen vibe to it but it felt more “super fans” that had seen the show many times.

Is this a thing? It wasn’t hugely distracting (we were second row side orchestra) but I didn’t love it."

Oh, it's a thing.

It is the "I love this musical so much I'm going to act like I'm in it or part of it" effect. It's no bueno.

I know a few cynics who think it's pre-recorded - and it's ALWAYS in the balcony. Same for Hamilton. All this screaming coming from the balcony - not one person doing that in the orchestra and from what I was told, the balcony wasn't either, although a few joined in when they began hearing it. Is that a crazy thing to think? Since I'm a cynic, I don't think it's such a leap :)

It's just because the more enthusiastic, passionate, and typically younger part of the audience is not able to afford "premium" seats, e.g. now most of the orchestra and even mezz at many Broadway shows. 

Scarywarhol said: "It's just because the more enthusiastic, passionate, and typically younger part of the audience is not able to afford "premium" seats, e.g. now most of the orchestra and even mezz at many Broadway shows."

Yeah, but that would be true at all shows. I get that some shows have a younger following, so it might happen more at a Wicked, Rent, or Beetlejuice but this seemed extreme. 

…maybe I’m just old.  Then again, I’ve been going to theatre for 35 years (yep, that math just proved the old thing) and have never felt the urge to act like that?  
 

 

I noticed something similar at Sweeney a couple of weeks ago. I was mid-mezz, and there was insane energy from the section behind me. Way worse than your typical applause and cheering for big names--they were screaming, gasping and borderline squealing in general, but specifically for Gaten and Jordan. In this case, I'm 99% sure it was a school group.

veronicamae said: 

To compare yourself 35 years ago to 20-somethings of today is not apples to apples - behavior today is different than norms 35, even 10 years ago."

What I was trying to say was that as a regular theater goer for 35 years, I have never been at a show where this happened, including the next night at Hadestown, which was well within the normal range. It seemed very specific to Wicked, hence my question. 

I’ve also seen enthusiasm from family and friends (which I find charming, actually) but this was much more, unless someone brought 300 people.
 
It felt organized and not the first time the same people have been involved, if that makes sense. The pre-show cheering event was so loud, the entire orchestra section turned around and it went on and on and on. Once the show started, there were weird audible reactions that felt like people wanted it to be part of the show. Again, Rocky Horror vibes but not as extreme. 

Updated On: 3/29/23 at 11:47 PM

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