Musical Theatre Pet Peeves — Page 2

I hate it when people talk over the overture. And then if you shush them, they say "It hasn't even started yet!" Some of us LIKE to listen to the music, thank you!

I also hate it when people use applause breaks to talk, or comment on the show so far. It's distracting, and irks me. Just SHUT UP and talk during intermission, or after the show.

And people who hum or sing along to songs...GAH! I didn't pay to hear YOU sing, ok? Thanks.

Little kids in shows...I hate them...

Don't get me wrong, though. Some kids are AMAZING, but for the most part, I can't stand watching them.

Yeah...

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Thirteen-year-old Rentheads. Wicked fans.


and people who leave at intermission.

Updated On: 8/17/06 at 04:30 PM

When actors don't project.

When a director thinks that walking around in a cirlce w/ everyone else is choreography... it's stupid

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People who decide "Oh, well, I'm going to the theater, so let's make my hair as big as possible!"

Singers who claim they're sopranos but can't even hit the high C note that the are required to sing.

Really cheesey lines. They make me cringe.

Latecomers. SO distracting.

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Standing ovations these days seem to be obligatory, regardless of the quality of the performances. That really annoys me.

Try this the next time people in back of you keep talking during the performance: "I'm sorry but the people up there on stage are making so much noise that I can hardly hear you."

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People are seriously worried about a dress code in this day and age? I can understand having issues with flip flops, maybe even shorts but as someone else said, a lot of people in the theater are tourists that walked around the city all day long and didn't make it back to their hotel room to change, I don't think that's a big deal as long as people are behaving properly once they are in the theater. Otherwise I agree with everyone else's problems with latecomers and talkers/sing-alongers being my worst pet peeve.

I'm curious how many people here have seen Mamma Mia. That was the last show I saw (tour) and people in the audience were singing along. I know the ads say people are dancing in the aisles, etc but I felt singing along was truly disrespectful to the performs as well as everyone else in the audience. So I've mentioned this to friends and there seems to be a split with some friends actually saying it's ok and that it's encouraged in this show. So is it ok to sing along at Mamma Mia (not including the encore) or was I right to turn to the man next to me and shut him up?

I hate that a standing ovation has become a standard after any show. Every show I've been to has gotten a standing ovation, and some of them didn't exactly deserve it. I know that the actors work very hard to please the audience, but sometimes, it's just not worthy of a standing ovation. Standing O's have lost their value, in my opinion.


edited to fix a typo!

Updated On: 8/17/06 at 09:29 PM

SINGERS!

Oh lordy. When I saw Wicked there were these two teenage girls fully dressed in Galinda and Elphaba regalia behind me who WOULDN'T SHUT UP the entire show. Even the dialogue.

Kiss Me Kate was also bad in that respect

as was Sweeney Todd. This twenty-something guy next to me insisted on singing along to ALL the parts. He even tried to sing all the parts (or at least snippets of each) when they sung together. His Beggar Woman was AWFUL

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i agree on hating the standing ovations on sucky shows. i just don't stand up and i end up being pretty much the only one and it makes me feel like a jerk. but hey- no way i was standing up for brooklyn.

i also hate when people clap in rhythm with a song (during a show and especially at the bows)

i also had a man start screaming and shouting out things like at a football game in the middle of mamma mia last month....i was embarrassed for him

Dress Codes should be what you shouldn't wear. like flip flops, logo tee-shirts, shorts, flipflops.

I have no issue with jeans, nice sneakers, polos, etc.

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I agree with the singing along thing. When I saw Drowsy, this girl sitting next to me would not SHUT-UP! When Sutton came out, she was like, "OMG!!! It's Sutton Foster", and she had to sing along the whole entire time. I don't usually wear jeans to see a show, but I had to one time, because our plane was delayed for 2 hours, so, that was a one time thing only!