Standing Ovations

I never know when it is considered appropriate to stand. Like do you stand right at the beginning with the ensemble bows or wait for the leads? I like to stand towards the beginning, but don't want to block the people behind me (especially if it's lotto/rush seats). Usually I just wait and follow the crowd I guess. I'm such a sheep - haha.

Updated On: 1/5/06 at 08:18 PM

I'm often surprised by the shows that get ovations versus those that don't. Like, Brooklyn got one? Please!

Chitty was hard pressed to find one, even though the audience was usually roaring with applause. meh. I suppose I can understand why it didn't get them, but the audience seemed enthusiastic at curtain call until they might have to move their bodies to stand.

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I guess it would depend on how you feel about a particular show, or actor, or performance. I didn't even realize I was standing at some shows, that's how swept away I was!

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Most shows I go to get most if not all people standing in the end. However... when I went to London a few years ago, I went to the theatre every night and no one in the audience ever stood except me and my sister. When we saw The Graduate, I was, in fact, the ONLY person (and it was a large theatre) who stood up to recognize the cast during the curtain call. It worked in my favor, though, because when I went to the stage door Kathleen Turner--who was surrounded by middle-aged men--singled me out, walked directly over to me and asked if I was the girl who stood in the end. She graciously thanked me and stood talking to me for a few minutes. She even took a picture with me.

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Standing ovations are definitely overused and taken for granted in this day and age. Usually, the people standing are tourists who are rewarding THEMSELVES for paying $100 for a ticket and making it through till the end of the show.

That said, I take it on a case-to-case basis. If everyone else in the theatre is standing and I don't feel the show deserves a standing O, I have no problem being the only person sitting. Likewise, if I feel a show truly deserves it and nobody else does, I have no problem being the only person standing.

The last time I gave a standing ovation was SWEENEY TODD. I think I was the only person in the entire theatre who didn't stand for THE COLOR PURPLE, and I just couldn't stand for Chita because the show was such dreck.

I've found that matinees tend to get less standing ovations mainly because they tend to have less energy in general and the cast is more rushed to get off stage and get their break. The only recent production I can recall that had a standing ovation for the ensemble was in La Cage Aux Folles and the Cagelles most definitely deserved it.

It seems like one of the reasons they're so common now is that so many shows have someone famous in a lead role. People are excited to be in their presence; they get applause for entering the stage, they get standing ovations before they leave it. Christina Appelgate who got mostly negative reviews for her performance in Sweet Charrity often recieved standing ovations from her fans after most performances not necessarily because she was good but because of who she was.

A general necessity, however, for a standing ovation is a nearly full house. People won't stand for a curtain call if there isn't an energetic intimate audience. Audiences often get a 'team' feeling for cheering on the actors and when it seems like that 'team' isn't there, they are less compelled to feel involved with the show and therefore won't stand for the curtain call.

And let's also face the fact that age of the audience changes whether or not an audience will stand. I've been to plenty of shows where the eldery won't bother standing and a lot of little kids need their parents' motivation to stand during the ovation.

When I saw The Producers for the first time soon after it had opened and it had just received its rave reviews, Nathan Lane got a standing ovation mid-show (keep in mind this is about 5 minutes into the show if you include the overture and opening announcement). Also, Brian Stokes Mitchell got a mid-show standing ovation both times when I saw him in Man of La Mancha for singing The Impossible Dream -- which I suppose could be expected.

What probably annoys me the most is when I see people leaving during a standing ovation or curtain call in general. It's become more and more common, as is the tourists common attempt to steal a picture during a curtain call, overutre or occasionally a brave mid-show picture.

Personally, I think standing ovations SHOULD be pretty commonplace. Those people putting on the shows work really hard. That said, if I think a show is terrible, I don't usuallly stand. But, for the most part, it isn't that much extra energy, and those people (most of the time) deserve it. Even though you may have paid megabucks, they still spent 2+ hours entertaining you.

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The standing ovations I've seen always seem awkward, which probably means that they aren't totally deserved. A few people stand, and then a few more, etc., until eventually most of the audience is on its feet. That article that Margo posted put it well in saying, "The undeserved standing ovation creeps across the theater like a plague." I don't mind ovations like these, but just once I'd like to see an honest-to-goodness standing ovation, where everyone is excited and stands immediately because they were just that inspired by a particular performance, not because they feel that politeness obligates it.

I think that the standard for Standing ovations have become too low. Yes, it is good to appreciate the work of the cast, but I think a standing ovation is something that should be saved for a really special occasion, where either a specific performer or a whole company really gave an exceptional performance that is nothing short of legendary in its quality.
I have given probably around 7 ovations in my experience with theater, and I think only 3 of these were for musicals.

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*That was great Margo - funny & true*

To answer your question, when I saw Piazza (sp?)everyone did not participate in the standing-O, but almost everyone was up for Victoria Clarke (sp?)

I agree with what's been said here & what was said in the article. When you feel very moved to stand. Stand.

Is Nathan Lane widely considered a Broadway legend?

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While it might seem a bit early yet (he doesn't even turn 50 until next month) and I think even he'd be a bit hesitant in embracing the title ("legend" sounds too much like people are expecting you to die in the near future), with two Tonys and 5 Drama Desk Awards in over a dozen Broadway plays in two decades , I think Lane deserves to be considered a contemporary Broadway legend at this point.

And I think Sondheim has said it best -- audiences now pay so much money to see a show, the standing ovation is a means for them to congratulate themselves on having made such a good choice. It has NOTHING to do with what has happened on the stage in front of them (too many truly awful shows get standing ovations regularly).

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Updated On: 1/6/06 at 02:40 AM