Spongebob and the Right to be Upset (Rant)

I saw Spongebob Squarepants Friday night with my boyfriend as a fun date night. We got the very back row of the balcony, not the best seats but we just wanted to have a fun time and the ushers were really nice until the show started. They sat and talked throughout the entire show, and were singing along to the songs, they also ruined some comedic timing with their talking by saying the line that would be funny before the actor on stage had a chance to. I got so fed up with it that I went and talked to them during the second act and told them that I could hear them talking and that, that was not okay. Do I have the right to be upset? Am I overreacting? I just found it very unprofessional and distracting because thats what I remember about the show, not the great performance and cool technical elements I watched.

Agreed with ljay. Ushers can do whatever they want to during the show, but chat within hearing distance of the audience? No.

Definitely contact the house manager.

You definitely have the right to be upset. After paying for a ticket, you're entitled to the full experience of the show. Ushers see a show so many times that they can forget that it's a special, one-time experience for each new audience. I'd even say you showed restraint by approaching them to complain during the second act. I would have been far less tolerant of anyone ruining the experience, and would have spoken to whoever their supervisor is. It's totally unprofessional.

This page lists the Palace house manager as Brooke E. Smith, and says the contact number is for Nederlander Organization: 212-840-5577.

You're a saint!



I would have jumped on their faces THE MINUTE I heard them talking. TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!

mjp14018 said: "[t]he ushers were really nice until the show started. They sat and talked throughout the entire show, and were singing along to the songs, they also ruined some comedic timing with their talking by saying the line that would be funny before the actor on stage had a chance to. I got so fed up with it that I went and talked to them during the second act and told them that I could hear them talking and that, that was not okay."

How did they respond when you spoke to them? Were they still the same "really nice" people at the beginning of your anecdote (did they apologize, for example, and cease their unwanted behavior)? If they responded to you apologetically, and quieted down, I would cut them some slack.

I wonder if your experience might have been different had you spoken to them sooner?

I once complained via email to a house manager (not of this theatre or landlord) both about noisy ushers and a filthy bathroom situation (we were some of the first people in the house, so they clearly hadn't cleaned up that well beforehand), and got a really nice email back and a card for a free drink on the house next time I go.

You definitely shouldn't have had to go out of your way to do that, no.

dramamama611 said: "And while that's a good point, it still shouldn't have happened. (And still the responsibility of the house manager, yes?)"

That's absolutely correct. However, I just wanted to point out that people are too quick to say it was the ushers, when it could easily have been merchandise or bar staff. It also could have been people associated with the production (who are not always quiet themselves).

Yero my Hero said: "What you were probably hearing was the bar staff closing down."

That's a possibility too. There is actually a major problem with the bar staff not shutting down early enough to be off the floor in Broadway houses where the bar is inside the house. They keep bar lights on when they should be off, they clink bottles and slam cabinets. It's an issue that is difficult for house managers since the bar is staffed by a vendor and the HM can't simply fire them or tell them they can't work in that theater.

However, not to paint a broad stroke or to bash the bar and merchandise staff, but they generally cause more unnecessary disturbances than the ushers do (i.e., ushers may cause a disturbance in the course of doing their jobs, though some are better at minimizing these disturbances than others). Bar and merch staff tend to bw more of the type fans typical of these types of boards (or aspiring performers), so are more excited to be at work and feel like they are a part of the show. Most ushers aren't fanatical about theater. Many are from the neighborhood, and are part of a long family tradition of ushering on Broadway. While they may enjoy theater, they aren't fanatical. As such, I've seen merch/bar staff run around the theater looking for ideal places to watch the show, or use their phones, or talk or play games. Merch staff rotate more frequently than bar staff, so they are less likely than the bar staff to diligently follow house rules, and some often ignore the ushers (I had one merch woman tell me point-blank she didn't have to listen to the ushers when they told her she was making too much noise).

Of course, not all merch/bar staff behave this way, and ushers aren't beyond reproach and also can be seen talking or looking at their phones. But most of the time the audience won't be aware of anything the staff is doing. My point though is before saying to management that is was an usher that made the noise, know for a fact it was an usher (I say this because then the issue will only be addressed to the usher staff, and if it wasn't an usher that did it then it's not really being addressed to the correct people).

finebydesign said: "To the OP, I was there the other night in rear orchestra seats and heard the chatter back there. Twice I turned around to try and shoot some daggers their way. It was def the ushers and their police security guest. I'm not sure who was chatting but it was the right side (not the Judy Garland entrance). It was def not merchandise or bar. Those people are usually back there btw. Anyway I worked at the Palace before years ago so I know the lay of the land. It was def ushers. I'd be quite surprised it was thr bar or merch. They operate with way less freedom there than the house staff."

Yeah I was in the last row on the left balcony. I didn't realize where it was coming from during the first act and thought staff would do something and tried to ignore it, but when it happened again my boyfriend looked and saw where it was coming from, which is why I talked to them when I did. I knew at least one of them was an usher because she showed me to my seats and I didn't recognize the other two, so they could have not been ushers, but the whole situation was just insane to me and nothing I ever experienced before in my life.