I wear shorts to the theatre all the time when it's hot out. Also a tshirt. I usually will take a hoodie with since most theatres are freezing. I usually have a baseball cap on too. Lately it's been my Jagged Little Pill cap. I don't give 2 craps what people are wearing. As long as you are well behaved(stay off the phone, don't talk or sing along, don't eat candy or rattle ice in cups...etc) and don't stink I'm happy.
If you want to respect the actors, watch the show without disturbing them or the audience and respond appropriately to the performance. The actors are getting paid to perform every single show to every person in the audience, regardless what the audience is wearing and 95% of the time, they're not even supposed to notice the audience until curtain call, much less try and see if someone's legs are fully covered when they are sitting in their seats. I truly do not understand this weird equation of LONG PANTS = RESPECT FOR ACTORS comes from. It doesn't make sense at all.
And if you aren't enjoying the show to the point where you are uncomfortable wasting your time, then leave. Preferably, during intermission (if there is one), but any time you wish is actually appropriate. Purchasing a ticket does not commit you to being held hostage to endure the unendurable because someone once said on a message board that you owe it to the cast as a sign of respect. It's not true.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
At Angels,yesterday; even with shorts I was warm. Not unbearable. But I was so happy to be comfortable. The guy behind me was digging into his m&m's for the first 15 minutes of part 1. Luckily the lady to my right told him to "knock it off or I am shoving the bag down your throat". He stopped. They had words during the first intermission. I couldn't hear what they were . But I thanked her as did someone else. . Wearing shorts is fine.
BTW.. They have signs that they'll sell you water but put it in a cup because it's a quiet play and bottles make noise. Yet they don't mind the noisy candy????
DAME said: "At Angels,yesterday;even with shorts I waswarm. Not unbearable. But I was so happy to be comfortable. The guy behind me was digging into his m&m's for the first 15 minutes of part 1. Luckily the lady to my right told him to "knock it off or I am shoving thebag down your throat". He stopped. They had words during the first intermission. I couldn't hear what they were . But I thankedher as did someone else. . Wearing shorts is fine.
BTW.. They have signs that they'll sell you water but put it in a cup because it's a quiet play and bottles make noise. Yet they don't mind the noisy candy????"
Yeah, M&M's have become the bane of my theatre-going existence.
I would never wear shorts to the theater because I enjoy dressing up a bit for the occasion, and I do enjoy seeing people dress up a bit to see a show, but I can't say it matters that much to me. When it's 90+ degrees out, people have to try to keep as cool as possible.
A person wears a mini-skirt, another wears shorts -- WHAT'S the difference? You can look like a slob in a suit, you can look stunning in shorts. None of it matters, except your behavior.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
my personal preference is to dress up, because it just adds to the overall experience for me, but I am certainly not offended by what anyone else chooses to wear. And especially if someone else is hot natured - I'd rather they be comfortable in shorts than have to smell someone sweating near me.
I love it when we bump these threads from the 1950s!
Remember when you could wear anything on a Greyhound bus, but even a 12-year-old had to wear a jacket and tie when traveling on a commercial flight? (Not because the airline demanded it, but because of perceived social conventions.)
As for the theater, jeans are fine. Where I live we hit triple digits more than half of the year. I might wear shorts to a matinee if I don't know anyone at the venue, but for some reason, I always change into long pants (jeans or khakis) for evening performances.
I don't care what you wear. Let your gonads hang naked out the leg of your short-shorts, if you like. But "dress shorts" is an oxymoron, no matter how long you iron them.
I guess it's just a matter of personal choice. I would never wear shorts to the theatre, as I don't own a pair of shorts and never have. And, if I did own shorts - I would never wear them to the theatre.
And if it goes over 94 degrees, most theaters in the Times Square district don't object to this basic black dress wear. Not only sensibly priced but sink washable for week long theater going tourists in those steamy July and August months.
Yes, a matter of taste, with taste being the operative word. Taste has gone the way of the dodo bird. If people want to wear shorts to the theater no one is going to stop them. Nor is it going to stop me from thinking they have no taste. They don't care and I don't care and the world goes round. Some people think the theater is a very special place. Some think it's all about them and don't give damn about special places. I don't necessarily dress up to the nines but I am respectful of the building that I'm entering and what it represents for ME. But I understand the world in which we live today in which there is little taste and even less class.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
bk said: "Yes, a matter of taste, with taste being the operative word. Taste has gone the way of the dodo bird. If people want to wear shorts to the theater no one is going to stop them. Nor is it going to stop me from thinking they have no taste. They don't care and I don't care and the world goes round. Some people think the theater is a very special place. Some think it's all about them and don't give damn about special places. I don't necessarily dress up to the nines but I am respectful of the building that I'm entering and what it represents for ME. But I understand the world in which we live today in which there is little taste and even less class."
I wear shorts all the time but usually still wear a polo shirt. Certainly you can dress classy in shorts and a polo, which is much better than an old shorts and T-shirt that hasn’t been washed in days. I have seen many people wear shorts that look much classier than someone in long pants and button down shirt. So there is nothing wrong with shorts.
Honestly who cares what you wear. People wear pajamas on planes nowadays. Once the lights go out, no one really sees much anyway.
Wear whatever you want as long as you make no noise and aren’t bothering me. An old couple sat behind me at Angels for both parts, dressed very nicely might I add, but were constantly opening packets of gum or mints. It seemed they’d wait until each part began to do the process of opening the packets of whatever and they chew them obnoxiously. I kid you not they must’ve gone through 16 pieces of gum/mints/ricolas what have you. The only bad part of two glorious nights of theatre.
bk said: "Yes, a matter of taste, with taste being the operative word. Taste has gone the way of the dodo bird. If people want to wear shorts to the theater no one is going to stop them. Nor is it going to stop me from thinking they have no taste. They don't care and I don't care and the world goes round. Some people think the theater is a very special place. Some think it's all about them and don't give damn about special places. I don't necessarily dress up to the nines but I am respectful of the building that I'm entering and what it represents for ME. But I understand the world in which we live today in which there is little taste and even less class."
Taste and class, perhaps, but also a sense of performance. You apparently think you are part of the performance (which is fine for you).
Myself, I think others are being paid to perform and though I take my job as spectator very seriously, I don't think it matters if I am wearing jeans. I may have a duty to respond, but I'm not on the performance side of the footlights.
When was the last time any movie lead looked so effortlessly gorgeous as Armie Hammer in CALL ME BY YOUR NAME? We're so used to actors who spend hours per day with their personal trainers! Hammer may do so as well, but in that movie he managed to look like a young man from the days when the All-American young man looked generally athletic, but not like he'd spent four hours per day on Nautilus machines.