Overheard at the Theatre
Overheard at the Theatre
Broadway Star Joined: 5/7/03
Overheard at the Theatre#1
Posted: 1/9/26 at 6:49am
I'll start with some gems from last night at Oedipus, Usher Edition:
"Don’t climb over that seat!"
"Sir, what are you eating?"
"No intermission, 2 hours, if you leave your seat you'll have to watch from the lobby", 900 times.
and, audience favorite "Do you have any idea what the show is about?"
Overheard at the Theatre#2
Posted: 1/9/26 at 8:57am
Was at Wicked a few years ago. Sat in front of an elderly couple that talked very loud prior to the show. The husband asked his wife what the show was about. She replied: it’s about the “Salem Witch Trials”. At intermission, the husband said: “I don’t think this is about the Witch Trials”. Lol
Overheard at the Theatre#3
Posted: 1/9/26 at 9:01am
Leaving the theatre after a performance of Carrie Fisher's one woman show "Wishful Drinking"...
"It was too much about her. I didn't think it would be all about her"
Overheard at the Theatre#4
Posted: 1/9/26 at 9:26am
I don't think it will ever top the couple in front of me at "On Your Feet" (free ticket, I got....) who about 30 seconds into the show, one turned to the other and said "maybe we shouldn't have dropped acid before this......" Honestly, watching them for the next 2 hours was way more interesting than the show.
Overheard at the Theatre#5
Posted: 1/9/26 at 9:27am
Overheard during cabaret:
"Is this s3x? are we watching s3x?" during willkommen.
That man was my stepfather, that was the first show he didn't pass out in the middle of.
Overheard at the Theatre#6
Posted: 1/9/26 at 10:18am
A long time ago I was seated at Steel Pier and overheard a patron ask an usher if they knew what Cats was about. She responded in her raspy, smoker type voice with “It’s about a bunch of cats that sing and dance then one comes out and sings Memory and then they shoot her through the roof on a tire”. This one has stayed with me and still makes me chuckle.
Overheard at the Theatre#7
Posted: 1/9/26 at 10:58am
Two stereotypical Matinee Ladies following the curtain call of "Thou Shall Not":
"Well, they could have cut half of that."
"Yeah... but which half?"
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/7/12
Overheard at the Theatre#8
Posted: 1/9/26 at 11:22am
BwayLover5 said: "A long time ago I was seated at Steel Pier and overheard a patron ask an usher if they knew what Cats was about. She respondedin her raspy, smoker type voice with “It’s about a bunch of cats that sing and dance then one comes out and sings Memory and then they shoot her through the roof on a tire”. This one has stayed with me and still makes me chuckle."
This is the most accurate description of Cats that I've ever heard.
Overheard at the Theatre#9
Posted: 1/9/26 at 11:34am
not technically in the theatre, but at the stage door for JPITV I overheard this insane conversation between this mother and son. The son was a fully grown man probably in his 30s, but he was one of those crazy stranger things fans who brought stranger things merch
(multiple posters and a funko pop) for sadie to sign. (she thankfully walked right past him when the time actually came). the mother was getting a bit tired and wanted to leave but he started losing his mind literally shouting at his mother "STOP TREATING ME LIKE RAPUNZEL MOM" over and over again. I obviously don't know what their relationship is like but he was throwing a toddler temper tantrum and was kind of afraid. however, that is my favorite thing to quote of all time.
Overheard at the Theatre#10
Posted: 1/9/26 at 11:42am
I sat next to a nice young woman when I saw the Denzel/Jake Othello. At intermission she turned to her friend and said she "didn't realize it was going to be in another language and that hard to understand"
Updated On: 1/9/26 at 11:42 AMOverheard at the Theatre#11
Posted: 1/9/26 at 11:44am
TheGingerBreadMan said: "BwayLover5 said: "A long time ago I was seated at Steel Pier and overheard a patron ask an usher if they knew what Cats was about. She respondedin her raspy, smoker type voice with “It’s about a bunch of cats that sing and dance then one comes out and sings Memory and then they shoot her through the roof on a tire”. This one has stayed with me and still makes me chuckle."
This is the most accurate description ofCatsthat I've ever heard."
My wife loves cats and I...do not. This is fairly close to how I describe it, and she is not a fan of it
Stand-by Joined: 11/15/13
Overheard at the Theatre#12
Posted: 1/11/26 at 1:57pm
The other night at New World Stages:
”I really wanted to see Avenue Q but apparently they moved again!”
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
Overheard at the Theatre#13
Posted: 1/11/26 at 3:22pm
Apparently Hello, Dolly! is not about the life of Dolly Parton, and Bernadette Peters sucks at playing her. True story. I got those ladies kicked out of the Shubert.
Overheard at the Theatre#14
Posted: 1/11/26 at 7:10pm
merrily_we_roar_on.11 said: "not technically in the theatre, but at the stage door for JPITV I overheard this insane conversation between this mother and son. The son was a fully grown man probably in his 30s, but he was one of those crazy stranger things fans who broughtstranger things merch
(multiple posters and a funko pop) for sadie to sign. (she thankfully walked right past him when the time actually came). the mother was getting a bit tired and wanted to leave but he started losing his mind literally shouting at his mother "STOP TREATING ME LIKE RAPUNZEL MOM" over and over again. I obviously don't know what their relationship is like but he was throwing a toddler temper tantrum and was kind of afraid. however, that is my favorite thing to quote of all time."
I just got a total visual and laughed out loud!
Overheard at the Theatre#15
Posted: 1/11/26 at 7:16pm
IronMan said: "Two stereotypicalMatinee Ladiesfollowing the curtain call of "Thou Shall Not":
"Well, they could have cut half of that."
"Yeah... but which half?""
“Dohhhhh-ho-ho-ho!”
Overheard at the Theatre#16
Posted: 1/11/26 at 11:06pm
schubox said: "I sat next to a nice young woman when I saw the Denzel/Jake Othello. At intermission she turned to her friendand said she "didn't realize it was going to be in another language and that hard to understand""
I LOL at this one because I heard something very similar when Denzel did Julius Caesar about 20 years ago.
Others for me:
The woman sitting behind me at the last revival of Sweeney Todd: "This is disgusting! I had no idea this show was about people!"
At the 1999 revival of Death of a Salesman:
Person A - "Do you know what this show is about?"
Companion - "I'm not sure, but I think it's about the death of a salesman."
Overheard at the Theatre#17
Posted: 1/12/26 at 4:24am
Saw the premiere of Millions last year. Horrible show. Overheard an elderly woman say at intermission:
“I’m not sure I’m following the story….I’m trying”
Overheard at the Theatre#18
Posted: 1/12/26 at 9:34am
For those who haven’t seen the Wieir, it is set in a bar where the patrons begin to tell ghost stories. The play is long and as the last ghost story monologue begins, a woman sitting in front of us said in a very loud voice during a brief moment of silence “Ach..not another ghost story”.
Overheard at the Theatre#19
Posted: 1/12/26 at 11:15am
I once went to BAM to see an experimental piece by Robert Wilson, The Forest. It was typical Wilson: slow, dense, heavy-going. Not exactly a crowd-pleaser. During Act One, about 15 minutes in, I could hear a buzz of conversation a couple of rows away. It was an elderly couple. It became clear the wife had suggested seeing the play, and persuaded the husband to go along. He hated it. He was saying things like "We coulda seen Big River, but no, you hadda see THIS!" She tried to defend Wilson, but sounded defensive.They squabbled like that all through the act. At the first intermission, they left.
During the rest of the show, I found that I missed them.
Overheard at the Theatre#20
Posted: 1/12/26 at 1:40pm
Was at theCher show a few years ago, and two elderly ladies behind me were so upset because they thought she was in the show and they then left during the show !😂
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