Singing Along- Page 3

[Aigoo]

Posted: 7/7/05 at 12:36pm

Is this issue still in question? Or are we still sharing anecdotes?

[Joe The Techie]

Posted: 7/7/05 at 1:14pm

I work in a high school, so normally we get a few people singing along, and the actors always complain..and I can understand why. It is so annoying!

OK, gather round, story time!
Last summer, The theater was performing a Mainstage (not a childrens theater) show, Seussical the Musical, and the Audience was being PERFECT, except for this one woman, who would sing VERY loudly to every song, I called on headset and asked an usher to please ask her nicely to stop....that didnt work. We had a little child playing Jojo, and after the woman ruined "Alone in the Universe" He came back almost in tears (opening night, young kid, first show ever...poor guy). So anyway, durning Intermission, I Changed out of my Blacks and into something Dressy, and courteously escorted the woman from he theater...she was not given a refund.(Included in the sectio0n about distractions IE.Cell phones, pagers, flash photography, there is a mention of Loud talking/singing, so thats how we got away with it )

It Really pissed me off, because this one woman ruinded the first act for like the entire audience...

long story short..If you want to sing along...stay away freom my theater

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/7/05 at 1:31pm

The worst.

At both major revivals of MY FAIR LADY I've seen (Broadway and London) there were people singing along around me. One was an usher! For shame.

There were also people singing along at MARY POPPINS.

I actually find London audiences worse for making noise then Broadway. Maybe its that ice cream and candy they sell during intermission.

[Sluggy]

Posted: 7/7/05 at 1:37pm

It's so funny that this thread has come up now. On the bus to New York on Saturday, my neighbor was saying that her brother hates her for giving his daughter the "Cats" video. ("Other kids come home from school and pop in Disney. My kid pops in "Cats".) She commented how great it was that her whole family went to see the show in Boston after that and the kid sang along with every song and commented, "Now so-and-so's going to come out," and "That's not how it is on the video." I wanted to shout, "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!", but didn't want to scare other people on the bus.

[jczelyph]

Posted: 7/7/05 at 2:19pm

Can I just get a reality check here? Mr Michael Bennett (it's just weird to steal a dead person's name, btw) is geting angsty about the stuff they sell in the UK theatres? Never have I been so dismayed by the number of people rustling candy wrappers, shaking boxes of raisins and tearing apart Twizzlers as I have in the past 10 shows of my theatre marathon, here in New York. So before you notice the speck in your neighbour's eye, notice the log in your own (Altar Boyz - and Bible... - reference). In other words, don't start attacking UK audiences when your precious American audiences are guilty of exactly the same thing.

[Dirty Rotten Scoundrel]

Posted: 7/7/05 at 2:25pm

If there was a person singing along when I saw a show, I'd be sooo pissed, and I would let them know it, let's just put it that way. Whether it's a Broadway or a school play, you need to respect the actors and the audience members. I was at a school's performance of Seussical and these fricken kids were singing the music, I seriously asked the dad to ask them to stop, everybody pointed out the annoying kids in the audience singing, so I was glad to put a stop to it.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/7/05 at 2:31pm

Wow JC -- Way to take things personally.

I never said American Audiences were ideal. In fact, as others have pointed out, they are often terrible. I simply said that MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES in London have had more talkative/disruptive audiences then my PERSONAL EXPERIENCES in NYC. I think its a luck of the draw.

For the record, some of the best theatre I've ever seen has been in the UK. This isn't an arguement about quality, or a dig at West End Theatre.

And its not really a reason for you to be nasty.



Updated On: 7/7/05 at 02:31 PM

[MagicToDo82]

Posted: 7/7/05 at 2:43pm

Good Lord. Don't sing along.

When I saw Brooklyn (don't laugh at me, people) there were two girls who were obviously Eden-obsessives. Like, they had brought her birthday presents and seen the show a million times, and they were front and center and sang every word of the show and danced along in their seats. It was SO obnoxious. I saw the performers deliberately avoid looking at them, as well.

It was insanely obnoxious.

[jczelyph]

Posted: 7/7/05 at 2:51pm

I have often encountered people on this board moaning about UK audiences (either they're too disruptive or not disruptive enough) and it strikes me as being often based on scant experience of UK audiences and/or UK theatre. I'm just hyper-aware, I guess.

I'm glad you have enjoyed UK theatre - I enjoy Broadway.

[Broadwaygirl22]

Posted: 7/7/05 at 4:34pm

Do you think clapping along to songs would be okay depending on the song? For example would it be okay to clap along to "Seasons of Love"? When my chorus class and I sang that at a concert people clapped along.

[stagebeauty]

Posted: 7/7/05 at 4:35pm

im surprised this question was even asked.

ANY voluntary interaction with the show from the audience has got to be the most annoying and rude things that could happen during a show

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/7/05 at 7:31pm

Singing: HELL-to-the-NO! Shut up already....and for that matter SIT STILL. I was at Purlie out here in LA and this obnoxious idiot, a few rows in front of me and in my line of sight, bebop'd and bounced around during EVERY musical number (even the slow ones), 'feeling' the music and whipping his head around like he was a jacked up beatnik at a jazz bistro. Totally inappropriate and showy and distracting. It was totally "look at me, I'm white, yet I am so down with this Gospel, soul music." Reason I say that is the ONLY song he was blissfully still for was the song the white Colonel sings. Fooey.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/7/05 at 7:33pm

I think singing along to Confrontation in J/H would be scary

[ProducersFan]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 7:59am

"And if by a sudden miracle
a tune should appear that's lyrical
don't hum along..."


I swear they should sing "Invocation and Instructions to the Audience" from The Frogs before every single show, everywhere. Then maybe people would get the hint.

Then again, probably not...

~Jessica

[ken8631]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 8:36am

A woman next to my wife wasn't just singing along, she was also waving her arms around as she sang. My wife was afraid of moving in fear of getting hit by this woman!

DON'T SING along unless the people on stage ASK you to!

[ken8631]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 8:41am

We DID clap along (with the rest of the theatre) at Boy From Oz during the Judy tribute song - but Hugh Jackman (as Peter Allen) was encouraging it.... What a great show! Audience participation in that show was rampant and very much encouraged at certain points during the show. And MOSTLY appropriate.

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 11:26pm

I CONFESS THAT I HAVE WRONGED!!!

I have done that too many times, especially since 2001. I promise to try NOT to do that again. Is it not noticeable if you mouth? "Moving your lips along with the actors"?

[actor]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 11:36pm

Singing along is annoying. I was seeing Jersey Boys, and this woman next to me is standing up and singing through the entire show. When I saw the show again, I enjoyed it so much more.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 11:47pm

You think musical theatre audiences are bad? You should hear the ones who sing along at the opera..... yikes.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 11:55pm

Patrons who conduct are especially annoying.

[JACXR71]

Posted: 9/29/06 at 12:01am

Last time I saw Hairspray, the person next to me was doing the entire choreography of "You Can't Stop the Beat" in his seat. I kid you not.

[emo_geek]

Posted: 9/29/06 at 12:09am

During the Brooklyn tour I was so use to singing alone to my cd that I almost sang along...but I snapped out of it just in time.

[justme2]

Posted: 9/29/06 at 12:15am

Singing along is wrong.
Clapping along to a song is wrong (this ain't a hoedown, ho)
Clapping along to an invisible beat instead of applauding performers at curtain call is wrong.

it's justifiable homicide.

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 10/4/06 at 6:35pm

"Patrons who conduct are especially annoying."

I was one of them.
Again, I confess I have wronged.

Sorry.

[MandaGurl]

Posted: 10/4/06 at 6:43pm

its one thing to sing along in your head..who doesnt do that, but out loud is for the most part obnoxious, unless of course its encouraged by the actors, for some odd reason, usually during a curtain call and the start singing again and they encourage the audience to get into it, but other than that its really rude so dont do it.

-Amanda*