Police Called at Fiddler Last Night- Page 3

[Kad]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 11:59am

House staff are really put in a no-win situation here.

[LuminousBeing]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 12:00pm

Ushers certainly don't have easy jobs these days.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 12:02pm

I say things and do not worry who they might offend. If you say anything , however slight, someone takes offense as we have become incredibly thin skinned.

 

For the record, my father was a life long teamster and yet he sometimes questioned union tactics like violence and other strong armed tactics. Was my father , longtime union member, an anti union guy in disguise? Thinking in lockstep on anything can be very dangerous.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 12:03pm

Roxy, you regularly block people who challenge the things you say on here.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 12:12pm

Yes, I'm absolutely serious. If people are shouting at each other during a show, an usher can and should absolutely intervene within a minute. A minute is not a short amount of time. 

 

My posts were very clear, are you confused? Stage management, and only stage management has a right and responsibility to stop a show. House management deals with audience members. 

I *could* cite many examples of actors being reported to AEA for unprofessional conduct such as breaking character and stopping a show, but just like any other type of workplace disciplinary action, they should not be discussed openly on the Internet. An actor can be fired after a certain amount of AEA write-ups (the number varies depending on the contract).

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 12:16pm

Understanding house staff do have a difficult job these days ...but if you think it is tough for an usher to have someone stop recording, imagine the disruption of climbing over several people to exit to speak to an usher/house manager.  So, on the rare occasions this has happened to me I sit in silence until intermission, missing the enjoyment of the show.  I would rather an usher be watching from the rear of the aisle or the side of the orchestra then have it become my responsibility. 

 

This is becoming a significant issue in the theater and the houses MUST find a way to deal with it.  Even if it means installing cameras to watch the audience   They can't abdicate their responsibility and  just ignore it or leave it to Benanti, Brightman or the paying patron to police the audience.

 

 

[Kad]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 12:19pm

You're leaving only one outcome, which is to accept disruption - from either patron or house staff- as a standard part of theatergoing.

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 12:24pm

I would rather a brief disruption from the management then be put in the position to be disrupted for the entire show.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 3:18pm

Cupid Boy2: Stories like this are why I'm so hesitant to call people like that out and why I usually ask to be reseated at intermission if possible. 

This. Generally the few times people have been so disruptive that I've been moved to say something I've gotten a positive response. But it can still create an uncomfortable tension that can affect the experience of viewing the show. If the immediate response is negative or argumentative like the girl at The Color Purple who said she'd turn down the brightness on her phone but didn't have to stop texting, I back down because I don't want it to blow up into something bigger. Really it's not about ushers or house staff or stage management or actors. It's about these few audience members and their incredible rudeness and entitlement. 

[goldenboy]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 4:06pm

Well I am glad there was finally some drama at the Broadway Theatre cause that lackluster production of Fiddler on the Roof is such a collosal misguided bore.

Poor audience behavoir is awful.... but maybe  they were bored and needed something interesting to happen..

 

 

 

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 4:39pm

Here's a situation I was in. It was still act 1. A woman in the same row I was sitting tried filming the show .....and my friend and I were sitting in the middle of the row and couldn't get out to alert anyone without disrupting a bunch of people.

Here's what my friend did.  She decided to turn on her own phone in full view holding it high up so the usher couldn't miss it. Of course, an usher came down to ask her to shut her phone and in the meantime the woman who was filming had to stop her filming...because the usher could see the entire row. My friend did not turn on her phone again but kept it in view making sure the usher kept an eye on our row for the rest of act 1. 

At intermission, my friend went to the usher, apologized but then explained why she turned on her phone. The usher laughed and said he would keep an eye out for any filming. Needless to say the woman who tried to film had no luck..

I actually thought my friend was pretty clever..though I don't know if I would have done it myself.

[mpkie]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 4:42pm

Your friend's a genius! Neat trick!

[SamIAm]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 7:14pm

It is not up to the actors. It is the decision of the Stage Manager and House Manager

[SamIAm]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 7:18pm

You are absolutely right. Actors should not (will not) stop a show. It is the job of the Stage Manager and the House Manager in concert and with people entering and exiting the stage, there is no reason the Stage Manager cannot be informed if she/he does not already know. 

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 11:02pm

"For the record, my father was a life long teamster and yet he sometimes questioned union tactics like violence and other strong armed tactics."

Can you cite any incidences of "violence and other strong armed tactics" that have occurred in New York?

"My posts were very clear, are you confused?"

I admit I don't quite understand this post of yours - can you clarify? 

"A minute is not a short amount of time."

It isn't? 

"I *could* cite many examples of actors being reported to AEA for unprofessional conduct such as breaking character and stopping a show, but just like any other type of workplace disciplinary action, they should not be discussed openly on the Internet. "

That I can respect.

Updated On: 5/16/16 at 11:02 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 11:19pm

You made a blanket statement saying I seemed to be anti union because I asked about the overtime issue  in union contracts re stopping Fiddler . Where you got to anti union from that I have no clue

 

I just brought up an example of my father decrying certain practices re unions at the time and I simply asked if he would be considered anti union for those thoughts based on your logic

 

I could care less one way or the other regarding unions good or bad.Quite simple.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 5/16/16 at 11:28pm

"You made a blanket statement saying I seemed to be anti union because I asked about the overtime issue  in union contracts re stopping Fiddler . Where you got to anti union from that I have no clue"

It was an observation from reading your posts over the years regarding unions I've been here that my opinion came from, not your question.

"I just brought up an example of my father decrying certain practices re unions at the time and I simply asked if he would be considered anti union for those thoughts based on your logic"

No, I don't think your father was anti union for being against violence and strong armed tactics. I would like to think, like most union people, he is (was?) a decent man.

"I could care less one way or the other regarding unions good or bad.Quite simple."

I think you meant you couldn't care less.

Updated On: 5/17/16 at 11:28 PM

[BenThomas]

Posted: 5/17/16 at 1:07am

I got home from NY today....and my husband and I were at this performance of Fiddler.  We were up in the mezzanine.  We didn't hear the entire encounter as described up there, but it did get loud enough and continued long enough that I honestly thought they were going to stop the show.  As it was happening there was a pause from Perchik, who never threw focus away from Hodel, but could obviously hear what was happening, and almost seemed from my perspective to be waiting to see if anything was going to be done about it.  It may have only been an extra second of hesitation, but in that moment it felt like an eternity to me. We also heard the sirens a short time later and never connected that the sirens were related to the ruckus until reading the original post.

Updated On: 5/17/16 at 01:07 AM

[LuminousBeing]

Posted: 5/17/16 at 9:22am

BenThomas said: "I got home from NY today....and my husband and I were at this performance of Fiddler.  We were up in the mezzanine.  We didn't hear the entire encounter as described up there, but it did get loud enough and continued long enough that I honestly thought they were going to stop the show.  As it was happening there was a pause from Perchik, who never threw focus away from Hodel, but could obviously hear what was happening, and almost seemed from my perspective to be waiting to see if anything was going to be done about it.  It may have only been an extra second of hesitation, but in that moment it felt like an eternity to me. We also heard the sirens a short time later and never connected that the sirens were related to the ruckus until reading the original post.

 

An usher who'd been stationed in the left mezz told me people up there were distracted and some were leaning forward trying to see what the brouhaha was about. I didn't notice Perchik hesitate, but I was distracted by the hubbub:, it's great to have another audience perspective on the incident. Dan Rappaport did say he'd heard the disturbance during that scene. I'm sorry your experience of the show was negatively impacted by this incident, and hope you enjoyed Act II. Thanks for posting your experience!