Musical Theatre Pet Peeves- Page 3

[hauntedcoffeepot]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 7:11am

Ppl in better seats than mine, who end up reading their playbill instead of watching the performance. (they're usually in my line of vision. i don't go searching for them)


Seriously, lets swap seats!
Updated On: 8/18/06 at 07:11 AM

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 12:41pm

When people arrive practically two scenes into the show, that pisses me off.

A person's cell phone went off during Act Two of The Color Purple and I think during Jersey Boys.

At that same performance of Jersey Boys, this middle aged couple was yakking their f***ing heads off. During the big meeting scene in Act Two, when Tommy says something to Frankie, the guy said, "Hit 'im, Frankie!" And they even sang along at some point. Badly. I came this close to saying, "Sir, they won the Tony, not you, so I would appreciate it if you would be quiet."

When I saw Into the Woods back in 2002, some horrible woman laughed when the Witch said that the Baker's Wife was dead. I came this close to yelling, "Hey, that's NOT funny."

The cigarette smoke in The Light in the Piazza was pretty annoying.

As much as I love the theatre, the only theatre in New York with leg space is the Gershwin. My feet were so sore the last time I went.

Shows that have closed for a while and yet the signs are still up. I saw it with Tom Sawyer, La Cage Aux Folles (even the window cards were still up), Gem of the Ocean (not a musical but worth mentioning), Good Vibrations, Brooklyn, Hot Feet, and Lestat. It's sad, really.

Now I'm not totally against singing along, partly because I CAN sing and those people couldn't to save their lives. I admit, when they do the reprise thing at the curtain call, I sing along. I've done it with Hairspray, Spamalot, The Color Purple, Jersey Boys, and The Wedding Singer (ok, I joined in on the last chorus of the finale. I couldn't resist.)

Updated On: 10/25/06 at 12:41 PM

[Duckie93]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 2:39pm

On Stage and off I HATE WHEN PPL LET THERE CELLS RING!!! I was in a production of H$S and in the middle of the show someone cell rang and my friend who was playing one of the leads stoped the show and told everyone to turn off the cells now and if an other one rings he would jump in tho the audicence and take it.lol
Also i hate just becuase some one saw RENT the movie and they think there theater people, i mean i went up to one of them and asked who Andrew Lloyd Webber is they had no clue
Also ( yeah i have alot of pet peeves lol) I hate when people say "The Jersey Boys" its "Jersey Boys" no The!! I also hate when people are talking in the middle of a performance there was these two woman talking very loudly in the middle of Jersey Boys so i couldent hear ( if you know me that is a big deal) so at intermission i just turn around and said " you know how rude you wore being in the middle of the frist act? you probly dont, but in the second act if you dont mind keep your mouth stunt i paid to hear Jersey Boys not you!"

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 2:42pm

I also have the same peeve with people adding extra "The's" It bothers me when people call Man in Chair, The Man in the Chair.

[worrell4077]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 3:37pm

I have alot of pet peeves, so get comfortable while I list them....

-Latecomers who show up like extremely late.

-Latecomers who show up and are in the same row as me.

-People who claim that they are musical theatre aficionados, but when you ask them who Andrew Lloyd Webber is, or Stephen Sondheim, etc and they just look at you with a blank face.

-Using excessive "Thes"(it's Jersey Boys, not The Jersey Boys).

-People eating during the show, VERY loudly or unwrapping candy bars.

-People who wear BIG hats during a show or have BIG head or just block your view of the show.

-Excessive talking during the show and it doesn't stop even if you ask them to stop or they think you're the rude one for telling them to shut up.

-Cell phones ringing during the shows(I mean honestly if you're cell phone rings during a show, you should wait until it stops and then turn it off, not just sit there and have it go off again).

-People who fart during the show(that's just incredibly rude and really nasty and disgusting to smell that during the show)

-People who take up too much space and invade you're personal space by putting their legs in the area where yours are r putting their arm on your arm rest or even put something of their's on or near you. I think the person next to me put her purse on my leg or under my arm rest.

-Really tiny spaces being filled by morbidly obese people, and having to sit next to that person or people during the show(that's a quick and easy way to get claustrophobia).

-People who yell out during the show at the performers on the stage.

-Little Kids who won't shut up during the show or who run around before the show.

-People who are at the show and really don't care for it and sit there reading magazines or talking or texting.

-People who dress to inapproiately. I mean jeans are alright as long as they don't have any holes in them, but sweatpants, shorts, flip flops, tank tops; this is Broadway not Disney world.

-People who sing or recite the show along out loud or get up and dance during the show(I mean it doesn't bother me as much as maybe just like lip synching the words, but if I'm there hearing quotes or the songs in the show from behind me then there's a problem. A couple of people sitting next to me and my mom when we saw All Shook Up, sang along with just about every song in the show.

-Finally, People who take it apon themselves to take their shoes off during the show(The last time I saw La Cage, I looked around and I saw a guy sitting without his socks on and shoes off;You're not in your living room).
________________________________________________________________Bob Crewe:"You're not hearing it right. I hear it sky blue and you're giving me brown."
Tommy DeVito:"That's cause you're paying us s***."

[sdsm2006]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 4:39pm

~In musicals, audience members singing along irritates me to no end.


And the rest of these apply to both musical and non-musical theatre...

~People that show up really REALLY late... "Les Mis" in LA a couple of years ago - people were being escorted in during "At the End of the Day". I work at a theatre where if you're late, you sit in the back until intermission and THEN you can get to your seats.

~People who don't seem to hear the booming pre-show announcement to "Turn off your cell phones!" and then it rings during the show. Again at "Les Mis" this woman's cell phone went off TWICE behind us.

~People who feel the need to point out the obvious or vocalize what's happening during the show.

~Just being rude and stupid in general. At "Wicked" a couple of weeks ago, this guy behind me seemed to think he was in the show and not only responded in monkey sounds in the beginning, but felt the need to respond back to the actors ("Oh, that's so low!")

~Bringing food into the theatre/ unwrapping things during the show.

~I second/ third/ whatever with those who said people taking up your space. I'm short enough and when people take my arm rests and leg room, I just get cramped.

~I'm not even going to go off on people who bring their little kids to professional theatre - I'm fine with the ones who can keep still and quiet. But I just seem to see the hyper-active ones that bounce in their chairs in front of me.

~At work I actually saw a girl going to a show in daisy dukes and a cut-off top... I died a little inside.

and my ultimate pet peeve is

~People who get up and walk-out during the show. It bothers me when people walk-out in general, but during a show it's not only distracting to the people around you but it's rude to those onstage and backstage as well. A few weeks ago during a show I was seeing, 3 people walked out after the first 5 minutes. The theatre isn't that big and I felt so bad for the actors who could probably see it... and if that weren't enough, these patrons decided that closing the door quietly was too much of an effort. So in the middle of a speech, the door in the back of the theatre slammed shut. Interestingly enough, they walked out before anything violent or shocking happened in the play...

Updated On: 8/20/06 at 04:39 PM

Posted: 8/18/06 at 5:31pm

I go to high school in a little hick town, so no one really knows theatre. People in shows call rehearsal "practice", auditions "try-outs". I also don't like it when people say Broadway "soundtrack" instead of "cast recording".

It drives me ****ing crazy!

[Horton]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 6:43pm

When people will be like: OMG WICKED IS THE BEST BROADWAY PLAY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!

ANd when people mix up plays and musicals

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 6:45pm

Latecomers
Cell phones going off despite announcements to turn them off
People talking throughout the show

Posted: 8/18/06 at 7:01pm

ugh, latecomers are the worst!! they are sooo distracting!

and i hate ppl that clap at shows during a song. the clapping isnt THAT bad except for the fact that theyre NOT ON BEAT!! ugh, get some rhythm ppl.

ha ha, sry, thats something that has always bothered me for some reason.

[Julian2]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 9:11pm

Ok, this may be just me, but have you ever encountered someone who has been to a show and not appriciated it at all and you would have killed to fill there shoes? I have a family full of this. I have an aunt who has seen Les Mis in London and fallen asleep. An uncle whoes seen CATS, and didn't appriciate it (I personally fall into the percentage that loves it), and that same uncles parents (not my grandparents) had VIP tickets with gift baskets to Aida, hated it, and had my uncle sell their gift baskets on ebay (I wasn't aware he had them or wasn't into Broadway yet, otherwise I would have begged for them). But the topper of them all was when another aunt and uncle went to see A Chorus Line and nearly walked out! Luckily they didn't, however when I first heard this story the Les Mis aunt thought they should have. And once, my uncle asked me what was so great about it, and after I said something about the great meaning it has to show people (Had I known more about the show I would have said something more cohesive), and he responded to me by saying he thought it was quote 'kaka'. I hate these people.(not really, but you know what I mean)

Updated On: 8/18/06 at 09:11 PM

Posted: 8/18/06 at 9:16pm

omg, YES!! ugh, i hate that!! its like, if i was there i would have enjoyed it!! but i have also been on the other end of that. i almost fell asleep during Lestat and im sure there were other ppl out there who would have loved to be where i was! it was just a boring show, plain and simple. not even the lighting was all that great.

[broadwayboy1007]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 9:32pm

OK its a little hard to explain but when actors start to walk across the stage and step w/ the wrong foot and then they completely close them sleves off! like if you need to start walking to the right and u start walking w/ your left foot...ughh drives me CRAZY!

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 10:51pm

Has anybody had somebody conducting next to them. Both times I saw Gypsy, whoever sat next to me conducted the entire score. What is worse, however, is when people who have no rhythm and/or don't know how to conduct do so. My dad started doing that all of a sudden, and he neither has even a basic sense of rhythm nor knows how to conduct. It's also annoying with the arms flairing and such. I can't stand it!!!

[broadwayboy1007]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 10:59pm

O and i also hate people who dont like braodway (all the popular girls at my school) and think they are cool and buy Wicked t-shirts cause everyone is wearing them even tho the only songs they know from the musical is Popular and Defying Gravity! argg

[queendork]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 11:13pm

Updated On: 8/28/06 at 11:13 PM

[Matthewjames]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 11:36pm

I hate a disrespectful audience

When I saw rent back in april anytime collins and angel kissed I would hear booing and people saying ew. and kids were laughing during the final scene beofre mimi wakes up

annoying. also people who only want autographs and pictures with the star and totally ignore the rest of the cast. that pisses me off so much

[Matthewjames]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 11:36pm

I hate a disrespectful audience

When I saw rent back in april anytime collins and angel kissed I would hear booing and people saying ew. and kids were laughing during the final scene beofre mimi wakes up

annoying. also people who only want autographs and pictures with the star and totally ignore the rest of the cast. that pisses me off so much

[Matthewjames]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 11:36pm

sorry my comp froze so i clicked the post botton twice

Updated On: 8/18/06 at 11:36 PM

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 11:53pm

Has anyone else noticed that suddenly people feel that they can just stand up and leave to use the bathroom in the middle of a show. That pisses me off to no end.

Again, the jeans...Ick.

Oh, and people who think they know what they are talking about, but really, they don't. They get on my nerves.

[brdwybound2]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 12:30am

Yeees, my friends saw the movie RENT, and now they think they know the show completely, and when I play the OBCR they're always like, "Mmm this is NOT from RENT, when was this in the movie??" etc. etc. It drives me crazy, but I'm seeing RENT (the actual show) tomorrow night! Whoo.

[broadwayboy1007]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 12:51am

ah! haha i was just complaining to one of my friends how people who think they have seen a movie/musical think they are theatre people..it pisses me off too! argg like my friend who is like yess i love broadway! and imlike hmm what musicals have u heard of and they are like..rent and wicked.BUT im oging to get the phantom of the opera soundtrack realll soon! and im like uhh no..really please dont

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 12:56am

Not enough Nudity in Plays,

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 1:01am

1. When old people comment on who an actor or actress is, it just drives me crazy. I saw "Curtains" and when Robert Walden came out, this woman commented, "Oh, he should have gotten more applause." Or, when Idina Menzel came out for her final show in "Wicked", there's a husband saying, "That's Idina." I hate when people interrupt the show to make a comment to their neighbor.

2. Neighbors who think they're your friends, so they can make their actor/actress comment to you. Oy.

[matt schneider]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 1:10am

Late arrivals and jazz hands

Also when I saw sweeney they wouldn't let you in if you were late till 40 in after performance started. I think that is strict, but a good thing.