Mamma Mia - Friday Night - Ushers and patrons gone wild- Page 2

[bjh2114]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 9:04am

Frankly I don't think it's "supposed to be awful". Most people who aren't regular theatre goers don't see that as a game or a joke as you do. All of my friends who have seen the show came out and were like "that was so poorly constructed and it made no sense." Besides SeanMartin, even IF the idea were to make a guessing game out of the songs, that does not mean the book needs to be poorly written too. And it most certainly is.

[Rotel1026]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 1:17pm

I thought we did find out who the father was? I always thought what was funny about the show was that essentially the daughter read the mother's diary and found out she was whoring around with three men. The copout to me was that in the end, turns out she didn't sleep with any but one. Or did I totally imagine the ending where we found out she wasn't a whore and only slept with one?

And is there always singing coming from the audience at this show? I know there was when I saw it and it was pretty aggravating. I'm paying to hear people who can actually sing do so, if you want to sing along, stay at home and listen to your ABBA albums.

[BillFinn]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 1:43pm

Singing-along is only appropriate at the end, when they come out to do the mini-concert. The writers knew the audience would be busting out to let out some catharsis, so they added that at the end. In Tampa's Tour a few years ago, I heard people got OUT OF THEIR SEATS and were dancing in the aisles. It's wonderful that theatre can still do that to an audience and reunite them.

I thought we all assumed Sam was the real dad, but essentially, it didn't matter because Donna is the real parent. And Sophie gained 3 faux-fathers.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 2:19pm

I've never seen Mamma Mia. Probably, I never will (although the prospect of a hot usher...) since I don't really know any ABBA songs. No appeal.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 3:20pm

The usher was gorgeous.
I wanted to see carolee...

Joey,
We should check it out sometime!

[JRybka]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 3:59pm

Okay-- So tell me again why we can't love Fred Ebb AND ABBA? Is there a rule that says if you love theater you either have to love Grey Gardens/Sondheim/ stuff or you like Mamma Mia/Saturday Night Fever/Fooloose... IS there no happy medium. I think that most people kind-a know what they are getting into.

I mean I did not go to Saturday Night Fever expecting Chekov. But then again I don't go to Williams expecting Footlose. But I like it all... Is there anything wrong with that? If it is.. then I am AlL for being wrong.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 4:18pm

amen!

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 9:01pm

>> Besides SeanMartin, even IF the idea were to make a guessing game out of the songs, that does not mean the book needs to be poorly written too. And it most certainly is.

To whicb I respond gleefully, Who cares?. You're not going to MAMMA MIA to see Shakespeare or Ibsen. You're going to see a show built around some spectacularly silly Abba songs. You want deep, meaningful investigations of the plightof the social underclass as contemporaized by a girl's search for her long-lost father? Sorry, not here.

Besides, you ever read the scripts to just about any show that has a score by Gershwin? You wanna talk about lame plots...

I repeat, MAMMA MIA is nothing more and nothing less than mindless, brain-in-neutral entertainment. You walk in with minimal expectations, and you're never disappointed.

[WinterGarden1]

Posted: 8/1/07 at 3:21pm

Which usher might that be? Since I work at Mamma Mia......

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 8/1/07 at 3:22pm

all of you! lol

[WinterGarden1]

Posted: 8/1/07 at 3:34pm

Ok

As the Usher who works the third aisle on the left of the ORCH, I have to defend the people I work with. We basically have about 35min to get everybody into the seats, through the doors and all settled in. Mamma Mia isn't exactly a theater going crowd kinda show. Most are tourist who have never been to the theater. Bag checks annoy not only us, but patrons who don't have bags who have to wait to get into the theater.

You would not believe how many people come with FIVE or SIX, HUGE shopping bags and then want to stuff them into the seat with them. I have found that most days were not trying to be rude, but people don't listen the first time, or the second on things we have to repeat EVERY NIGHT (No pictures ANY TIME, Standing room must stay standing, no the Sunday show is not at 8pm, its at 7pm. You may not get your money back, the time was on the ticket......no madam...its right there on the ticket......its your job to look at the ticket....no....no....no...its on the ticket.)We are pressured to get everything settled by the hour so that we can give the house to the stage manager, if we wait, the show goes over and their are many union rules.

Its not trying to make people have a bad time, its just that some people do not wish to listen and we cant hold everybodys hand and answer 10 questions for one person and become a concierge (I have had people ask me whats on the menu at restaurants, how many minutes does it take by cab to get to JFK etc) we simply don't have the time. If we do have the time, we do help and are pleasant. But you really are juggling twenty things at once and you have a countdown going on in your head while you deal with 1,500 people.

I'm sure its easy for somebody who gets their ticket scanned and walks in, sits down, to look over while they wait for twenty min to think that there really isn't much too what we do. But I dare you to step into the job for one week, and then post on here again on how they felt at the end of the week. :o)

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/1/07 at 10:39pm

Sounds like a fair explanation to me. Brava to you guys for the hard work that you do.

[Coolness_]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 3:43pm

Mamma Mia! is one of if not the best shows on Broadway and its going to run for years and years.

[kellybean2]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 3:58pm

"Brava to you guys"

LOL!

[BillFinn]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 5:55pm

I think it was you, WinterGarden...

*hums "Small World", Patti LuPone version...*

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 6:59pm

WG1, I have interacted with you at the WG, and you have always been friendly each time I have seen you there. The usher I say was rude and obnoxious was the usher working on aisle 2. He isn't in a hurry to do his job... he is in a hurry to be rude as he can possibly be....

[Phantom2]

Posted: 8/5/07 at 8:13pm

Ah, the days of Joe Machota as Sky...